HTflux is highly suitable for designing, optimizing or assessing timber constructions. The design of timber constructions can be very demanding from a hydrothermal point of view. HTflux will give you the information you need for this task. It provides precious information for passive house planners, but it’s ease of use make it suitable for the whole construction industry. As an example we present a pitched roof junction detail of a timber frame construction. The detail was imported of a CAD software via DXF format, materials were assigned using the drag & drop functionality and the HTflux material database. Once you are done with these steps HTflux can give you plenty of precious information with very little effort, e.g.
- automated Ψ-value calculation (aka “linear thermal transmission coefficient” or psi-value)
- automated U- and R-value calculation (one and two dimensional)
- automated minimum temperature calculation with mold and dew-point temperature calculation
- customizable temperature and heat flux views to assess thermal bridging effects
- unique Glaser 2d simulation to assess vapor diffusion
- humidity view to see relative humidity and condensation spots
- vapor flux view to find the cause of the condensation
- water vapor partial pressure view to get a better understanding of the hydrothermal aspects of the detail.
Once you have this information you can use HTflux’s drawing function and material database to optimize the details, e.g. change insulation materials, add vapor barriers, change the thickness of elements and so on. Within seconds you will see the thermal and hydrothermal consequences of your optimizations.
Here are the results of the thermal and hydrothermal simulation as an example of the capabilities of the software (click on the images to get higher resolution):
Materials view of the eaves detail of a timber frame construction. Automated PSI and U-Value calculation displayed.
Temperature view of the eaves detail of a timber frame construction. Automated minimum, mold and dew point temperatures displayed.
Heat flux view of the eaves detail of a timber frame construction. You can visually perceive the thermal bridging.
Glaser 2d humidity view of the eaves detail of a timber frame construction. You can see condensation on the extra vapor barrier in the corner.
Vapor flux view of the eaves detail of a timber frame construction. Low diffusion into roof, higher diffusion through the wall, and condensation in the junction area.
Water vapor partial pressure view of the eaves detail of a timber frame construction. Sharp change of pressure at the vapor retarder and the quite vapor proof OSB board.
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