ENEDI Research Group

EnediPHYS is responsible for managing the Thermal Area of the Laboratory for the Quality Control in Buildings (LCCE) of the Basque Government located in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It works in the field of energy efficiency of buildings by providing complete equipment for thermal characterization of advanced and innovative building components.

It is also equipped with a complete hygrothermal properties laboratory located in the Polytechnic School in Donostia (EUPD), for characterization of building materials behaviour in presence of moisture.

The main activities of EnediPHYS are focused on the thermal characterization of construction materials and building components experimentally and numerically.  EnediPHYS also focuses its research and development on methodologies for energy assessment of buildings. It focus also on buildings moisture transport simulation models in order to predict and analyze the potential problems related to moisture in buildings as interstitial and surface condensation and the effect of moisture on the energy demand of buildings

• Two PASLINK test cells named EGUZKI and ILARGI. In the EGUZKI test cell opaque or semitransparent  vertical building components can be tested under real climatic conditions. While in the ILARGI test cell also horizontal building component solutions can be tested.
• Two guarded hot box equipments designed and manufactured by Angelantoni company in accordance with the specific regulations of tests for calculation of the thermal transmittance of opaque and semi-transparent walls.
• Conductivimeter NETZSCH-GERÄTEBAU HFM 436 Lambda for insulating materials
• Conductivimeter THASYS from Hukseflux company for conductive construction materials.
• Thermal Imaging Camera Flir P60 with germanium narrow and wide lens.

• Programmable and automatically controlled temperature and humidity chamber,  to study the transient behavior and the hygroscopic dynamic balance of enclosures  and for the simulation and analysis of interior conditions in buildings hygroscopic equilibrium
• Autopore IV generation mercury porosimeter, intrussion pressure up to 200 MPa, equivalent to pore sizes of 0.007 mm, for analysis and determination of the microporous structure of porous building materials, porosity index measurement, calculation of the water retention curve and determination of the pore size distribution
• Trinocular epi-fluorescence microscope for detection of capillary condensation phenomena in porous and granular media 
• Hygroscopic room for moisture sorption testing with deseccators and hygroscopic salts for determining the diffusion vapor permeability and sorption isotherms of porous materials.
• Complete Laboratory for determination of basic hygroscopic properties of building materials

EnediPHYS leads and / or supports the development of research activities, innovation and development, both academically and for companies in the building sector, in the following lines:

• Thermal characterization of materials: optimization of existing products and development of innovative products.
• Steady-state and dynamic thermal characterization of constructive solutions both under controlled conditions and under real outdoor conditions.
• Thermal characterization of dwellings by means of in situ measurements and parametric modeling.
• Development of thermal models using parameter identification techniques.
• Modeling the transport and storage of moisture in walls
• Influence of moisture in buildings
• Hygrothermal properties of building materials
• Behaviour of wet granular media