Development and verification of the Fraunhofer attic thermal model

Attic spaces are one of the most dynamic components in the building envelope. Engineers, designers, architects, and contractors can utilize different attic designs, materials, and mechanical equipment in attic spaces to optimize attic thermal and energy performance and to meet the needs of home owners, codes, and standards. The design of attic spaces becomes extremely important when considering energy usage. Simple changes can often drastically change the energy characteristics and long-term durability performance. Historically, interest has been focused on attic spaces with gable ends and materials with constant thermal properties. However, recent years have seen increasing interest in more geometrically complex roofs, and in novel materials tailored for the building envelop. Modification of the state-of-the-art attic simulation software to include these changes is very difficult, since most of the software developments date back to the 1970s. This paper discusses development and verification of the Frau...