Criteria published for moisture-design analysis of building envelopes
ASHRAE Standing Standard Project Committee 160 (2021) · ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers)
A consensus standard sets out the inputs, boundary conditions, and evaluation criteria to be used when performing a hygrothermal moisture-design analysis of a building envelope assembly.
What they studied
A consensus standard developed and periodically revised through ASHRAE's standards process, rather than a single experiment.
It specifies design indoor and outdoor conditions, rain-loading assumptions, material property inputs, and simulation procedures for moisture-design analysis.
It defines the criteria against which an analysed assembly is evaluated for mold growth potential, corrosion, and moisture accumulation.
What they found
The standard states that moisture-design analysis requires transient, climate-specific boundary conditions rather than a single steady-state dew-point calculation.
It specifies quantitative evaluation criteria, including surface relative humidity and temperature conditions over defined averaging periods, for judging simulated assembly performance.
It states that results are conditional on the input assumptions used, and requires those assumptions to be documented with the analysis.
What it does not establish
A design-analysis standard, not a measurement of any constructed building's performance.
Outputs are simulation results that depend entirely on the inputs and material data supplied.
The standard does not report health outcomes of any kind.
This entry reports the standard. It is not a statement about any building Sage Co. designs or constructs.
Source
- ASHRAE Standing Standard Project Committee 160 (2021). ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 160: Criteria for Moisture-Control Design Analysis in Buildings · ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) · Read at the source
Last reviewed August 30, 2026.