Climate data for hygrothermal simulations of Brussels

Moisture is a dominant agent in the degradation of building components. To assess degradation phenomena in building envelopes, hygrothermal simulations are performed. The hygrothermal behaviour of building envelopes depends on the outdoor climate conditions. Therefore, it is important to use climate data near the location of interest when running hygrothermal simulations. There are no appropriate climate data for hygrothermal simulations of Belgian cities. Therefore, we created two types of climate files for Brussels, i.e. the capital of Belgium. This paper presents the climate data that are selected based on the framework developed by Vandemeulebroucke et al. The first climate file is a long-term 30-year climate file. Using this climate file is the most reliable, but computationally expensive. This climate file is recommended for academics having sufficient computational power. The second file is a Moisture Reference Year (MRY), which is one year of climate data that represents the 90th percentile of moisture stress on building envelopes. The MRY is selected based on a climate index that is critical for many applications, i.e. the free wind-driven rain load. The reference year is called a generic climate-based MRY. The latter climate file is recommended for building consultants or academics performing very large studies, as it requires less computational power at the cost of a lower level of detail.