Passive climate regulation with transpiring wood for buildings with increased energy efficiency.

ABSTRACT: Buildings are significant end-users of global energy. About 20% of the energy consumption worldwide is used for maintaining a comfortable indoor climate. Therefore, passive systems for indoor temperature and humidity regulation that can respond to environmental changes are very promising to reduce buildings' energy consumption. We developed a process to improve the responsiveness of wood to humidity changes by laser-drilling microscopic holes and incorporating a hygroscopic salt (calcium chloride). The resulting "transpiring wood" displays superior water adsorption capacity and high moisture exchange rate, allowing regulation of humidity and temperature by the exchange of moisture with the surrounding air. We proved that the hygrothermal performance of transpiring wood can be used to regul

SUBMITTER: Ding Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9810104 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature