LAUSR

Building guidelines vary greatly from one country to another; hence, significant regional variations in climate patterns should be acknowledged in building design. This study applied the mathematical mould-growth model to simulate common residential single-family building structures in different locations across Finland. The aim of this work was to show the degree of significance to which local differences in climate can influence mould-growth risk in the time frame of a few years. The mould-growth scenarios were analysed in common house walls, and numerical hygrothermal simulations were carried out to determine the conditions inside the wall structures. The risk of mould growth on the structures in different locations was modelled during 6–10 years of exposure to local weather conditions. Significantly higher mould-growth risk was observed in coastal locations, whereas the drier inland and northernmost locations performed much better. The local climate conditions were seen to affect the structural mould sensitivity.