Field Testing Unvented Roofs with Asphalt Shingles in Cold and Hot-Humid Climates

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1220557· OSTI ID:1220557

Ueno, Kohta ^[1]; Lstiburek, Joseph W. ^[1]

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1. Building Science Corporation, Westford, MA (United States)

Test houses with unvented roof assemblies were built to measure long-term moisture performance, in the Chicago area (5A) and the Houston area (2A). The Chicago-area test bed had seven experimental rafter bays, including a control vented compact roof, and six unvented roof variants with cellulose or fiberglass insulation. The interior was run at 50% RH. The Houston-area roof was an unvented attic insulated with spray-applied fiberglass. Most ridges and hips were built with a diffusion vent detail, capped with vapor permeable roof membrane. In contrast, the diffusion vent roofs had drier conditions at the roof peak in wintertime, but during the summer, RHs and MCs were higher than the unvented roof (albeit in the safe range).

• Research Organization: Building Science Corporation, Westford, MA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1220557
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO--102015-4705; 7181
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ASHRAE 160
BSC
Building America
Residential
Residential Buildings
asphalt shingles
cathedralized roof
cellulose
conditioned attic
dense-pack cellulose
insulation
inward drive
roof insulation
roof retrofit
unvented attic