Moisture buffering utilises hygroscopic construction materials as a more sustainable approach to passively moderate indoor humidity. This study seeks to develop a reproducible test method to obtain a moisture buffering value of common building materials under conditions that reflect typical indoor environmental conditions. Temperature and humidity variations in sinusoidal profiles for two different materials, typically used to finish internal surfaces, have been studied to identify their potential moisture regulation behaviour. Outcomes were then combined and ranked indicating the potential of materials to passively regulate the indoor humidity and the need for robust methods of investigation.

Practical application: In response to current practice and materials’ testing procedures, a reproducible test method is considered to enable comprehensive understanding of a hydroscopic materials’ behaviour, where subsequent interpretation of their performance can be quantified. The practicality to consider the use of passive regulation using hygroscopic materials can then be justified to bring indoor RH closer to the optimal range without heavy reliance on mechanical solutions, achieving a more effective passive indoor climate monitoring. It is expected that the outcome of this investigation can potentially form the basis of further improvement on a standardised test method to obtain moisture buffering value of hygroscopic non-structural elements for pragmatic application during design integration process.

水分缓冲利用吸湿性建筑材料作为一种更可持续的被动调节室内湿度的方法。本研究旨在开发一种可重现的测试方法，以获得在反映典型室内环境条件的条件下常见建筑材料的水分缓冲值。已经研究了两种不同材料的正弦曲线中的温度和湿度变化，通常用于完成内表面，以确定它们潜在的湿度调节行为。然后对结果进行组合和排序，表明材料被动调节室内湿度的潜力以及对稳健调查方法的需求。

实际应用：根据当前的实践和材料的测试程序，考虑采用可重复的测试方法来全面了解吸湿材料的行为，从而可以量化对其性能的后续解释。考虑使用吸湿材料进行被动调节的实用性可以证明，在不严重依赖机械解决方案的情况下，使室内 RH 更接近最佳范围，从而实现更有效的被动室内气候监测。预计这项调查的结果可能成为进一步改进标准化测试方法的基础，以获得在设计集成过程中实用应用的吸湿性非结构元件的水分缓冲值。