The stud space of full scale, wood-frame wall having asbestos-cement board siding were constructed. The halves of these test walls were conventional walls and the other halves were walls with ventilation space outside backing board. These test walls were sandwiched between a hot and cold box apparatus in the laboratory.
Thermal characteristics and moisture control within various components (vapor barrier, holes in the backing board) of the two halves of the test walls were compared.
The ventilation space and the holes in the backing board were not effective for preventing moisture accumulation in the absence of siding heating imaged solar radiation. In such a case, only vapor barrier was effective. But, those components were extremely effective in the presence of siding heating.
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