Technical Commission 6 - Building Physics

Head of the working group: Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Kehl

There are 15 - 20 people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland represented in the WG.

The revision of guideline 6-2 "Fundamentals of hygrothermal simulation" was published as a blueprint in 2014. The guideline 6-8 "Moisture assessment of timber building components - simplified verification and simulation" was published in December 2016 as a blueprint. In the meantime, the guideline 6-1 "Guideline for hygrothermal simulation calculations" has been revised and will be published as a draft in 2022.

Since 2021, the working group has been working again in almost the same composition with some new members. The guidelines 6-2 and 6-8 are due for revision. The experiences of the last few years with the guidelines and the latest findings from practice and science are incorporated into the work.

Head of the working group: Dr.-Ing. Martin Krus

The work group was reactivated at the beginning of 2015 to update and revise the guideline 6-3. The content of the guideline is to be expanded to include the transfer of results to the Mould Index and the measurement of isopleths. In addition, the content of the guideline is to be streamlined somewhat.

The revision will be completed in the course of this year.

Head of the working group: Dr.-Ing. Anatol Worch

The working group is very large with over 20 registered members. It deals with issues related to interior insulation. So far, the guidelines 6-4 and 6-5 have been published.

The guideline 6-4 "Interior insulation according to WTA I: Planning guideline" was completely revised and republished at the end of 2016. The guideline 6-5 "Interior insulation according to WTA II: Verification of interior insulation systems by means of numerical calculation methods" is from 2014 and is very well recognised among experts.

In 2018, there was a meeting. The revision of guideline 6-5 was suggested. New experience is to be incorporated here; in particular, there is a need for regulation of building components in contact with the ground and driving rain (W-value of 0.2 kg/m∙h0.5). The subject of driving rain should also be discussed with Technical Commission 3 (Eberhard Wendler).

Head of the working group: Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Walther

Three guidelines on air tightness in existing buildings have been published. The working group's activities are suspended until they are revised.

Head of the working group: M. Eng. Benjamin Standecker

In 2017, the working group completed a guideline entitled "Building thermography in the existing building stock", which deals with stock-specific aspects, such as the consideration of trusses, building materials or building constructions and their impact on the application of thermography.

In 2018, the guideline was published in yellow print and the objections received were dealt with in the working group. The guideline was published as a blueprint at the beginning of 2019.

Head of the workig group: Prof. Dr. Philipp Leistner

The working group was founded in 2014 and has started its work.

In the past year, several objects/projects on the topic were dealt with, including the noise sensitivity of historic buildings using the example of Ludwigsburg Palace. They expand the pool of practical experience and are currently being collected, sorted and subsequently evaluated.

The future work of the WG is currently being reoriented. The need is mainly due to the changed standardisation with regard to the new/old building situation.

Head of the working group: Dr.-Ing. Andrea Staar

The working group, which was founded in 2016, has 29 members. The WG meets several times a year for working sessions. As things stand, there are to be three guidelines: Basics, Planning and Execution are the headings of the individual areas. Furthermore, topics such as temperature control (component protection) and cooling are considered or addressed.

Head of the working group: Dr.-Ing. Peggy Freudenberg

The overheating protection of buildings is increasingly becoming a challenge in view of climate changes (stronger and longer heat phases) and increasing urbanisation (heat island effect). A focus on the requirements for new buildings does not do justice to this circumstance. We have an enormous building stock that does not offer sufficient protection against heat periods. If we do not want to run the risk of undermining the hard-won winter energy savings through the widespread use of inefficient decentralised air conditioning systems, we need strategies for upgrading the existing building stock.

Before the introduction of normative requirements for the overheating protection of buildings in 1981 (DIN 4108-2:1981 as well as TGL 35424-4), there were no requirements at all for the summer thermal insulation of new buildings. Buildings from the 1970s and before consequently have a considerable overheating risk. Buildings constructed later, from the 1980s to the early 2000s, are also not significantly more stable in terms of indoor climate, as the first version of the standard only set low requirements. For existing buildings, there were and are currently almost no requirements, except for the workplace directive (ASR 3.5 version 2021) with an unhelpful limit value of 35°C. There is also a lack of clarity in the standards for indoor climate stability. Likewise, there is a lack of clarity in the assessment methodology and the selection of suitable improvement measures in terms of indoor climate and design.