Why Does a High Humidity Level Form in Low-Income Households Despite Low Water Vapor Generation?

Younhee Choi, Younghoon Lim, Joowook Kim and Doosam Song
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Younhee Choi: Center for Built Environment, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea
Younghoon Lim: Samsung C&T Co., DS-Retrofit, Samsung SDS Tower, Seoul 53302, Korea
Joowook Kim: Center for Built Environment, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea
Doosam Song: Department of Architectural Eng., Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: This study uses long-term field measurements to quantify the indoor humidity generation rates of low-income households vulnerable to condensation and related problems. We found that the mean internal moisture excess of low-income households in Korea was 4.69 g/m 3 higher than those of prior studies. Indoor water vapor generation rates of various activities considering the life style of low-income households were also quantified. The moisture generation rates of the shower and bath were 125.3 g/event and 51.1 g/event, respectively, and showed a similar or lower value compared to the existing results. The moisture generation rate of cooking showed the largest difference due to the residential characteristics of low-income households, such as cooking less frequently due to meal delivery services from the welfare center and the lower number of residents per household. Even though the moisture generation rates of low-income households for certain activities showed lower values compared to the results of prior studies, the indoor conditions were very humid due to the lower ventilation rates and studio-type open floor plan.

Keywords: low-income household; humidity level; water vapor generation activity; field measurement; long-term measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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