Moisture-buffering assessment of materials applied in a residential unit in taiwan by using the mold germination graph method

Moisture buffering is critical for indoor air quality and human health. The objectives of this study were to define the hygroscopic properties of Douglas fir, confirming the relation between the indoor ventilation rate and the moisture buffering effect, using the mold germination graph method (Moon, 2005) to evaluate the mold growth risk, particularly for residential units in Taiwan, which has a high temperature and high humidity climate. The hygroscopic properties, including sorption isotherm and permeability, of Douglas fir, were investigated and applied as parameters in numerical simulations. Additionally, the EMPD method was conducted using the EnergyPlus program to simulate moisture-buffering performance at varying ventilation rates. The mold germination graph method was then used to evaluate the mold growth risk. The results revealed that Douglas fir can moderate indoor moisture variation to decrease the mold germination rate. Additionally, according to the results of the mold germination graph, compared with other ventilation strategies, the optimal ventilation rate was 12, and the moisture-buffering performance exhibited more favorable results in winter and less favorable results in spring.