Software / WUFI / News
New WUFI Version 5.2
(February 2013)
The new WUFI version 5.2 has been released.
A detailed description of the changes in version 5.2 can be found on our update page.
The update from version 5.x to version 5.2 is free.
Users of WUFI version 5.0 or 5.1 can download an updated installation
package from the same link from which they downloaded the previous version,
unzip it and install it using their existing license code. If the user-defined
materials are not transferred to the updated database, please refer to
http://www.wufi-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=756
for how to recover them.
• Users of the post-processor WUFI-Bio may download an updated version
(so far without updated documentation, however):
http://www.hoki.ibp.fraunhofer.de/wufi/downloads_e.html#wufibio
• Users of WUFI 2D can download an updated installation package which
contains an unchanged WUFI 2D, but the updated database and an updated
version of the data analysis program WUFI Graph.
Download the installation package from the same link as the previous version, unzip it and
use the existing 2D license code for installation.
The new WUFI Plus version 2.5.1 is now available.
New introductory and explanation movies as well as tutorials with overview movies are available at http://www.wufi-wiki.com.
Users of all previous WUFI Plus Versions can download
the current download package, unzip it and install it using the existing licence key.
If the user-defined materials are not transferred to the updated database, please refer to
http://www.wufi-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=756
for how to recover them.
A new product of the WUFI family is available: WUFI Passive.
WUFI Passive combines the steady-state method for the design and the certification of passive houses with the hygrothermal whole building simulation capabilities of WUFI Plus. WUFI Passive has been developed in cooperation with the Passive House Institute US.
On the one hand the monthly balance method is used to achieve fast results about the energy demand of a building and to check whether the building meets the passive house criteria. On the other hand it is possible to conduct a detailed hygrothermal whole building simulation, based on the same building model (with the same or adjusted, time-dependent boundary conditions). This allows a more granular assessment of the energetic building performance, the comfort conditions in different zones of the building but also an analysis of the hygrothermal conditions on and in building components under realistic boundary conditions.
The flyer at
http://www.hoki.ibp.fraunhofer.de/download/120108_WUFI_Passive_Flyer.pdf
describes WUFI Passive in more detail. The software can be purchased as one-, three- and ten-years licence
in the
WUFI online shop.
New WUFI Version 5.1
(January 2011)
The new WUFI version 5.1 has been released. Its major new feature is the possibility to integrate postprocessors for evaluating and assessing the raw hygrothermal data produced by WUFI.
Updating from version 5.0 to 5.1 is free. Users of version 5.0 may download the updated installation file for WUFI Pro or WUFI IBP/ORNL and install it, using their existing serial number.
A detailed description of the changes in version 5.1 can be found on our update page.
New WUFI 2D Version
(July 2010)
The updated WUFI-2D version 3.3.2 has been released, offering numerous bugfixes and improvements for stability and usability.
Users of earlier WUFI-2D versions may download the updated installation
package from
[Link removed]
for free and install it using their existing serial number for WUFI-2D.
A detailed description of the new features can be found on our update page
New WUFI version
(November 2009)
The updated WUFI version 5.0 has been released, offering several new features:
[Update link removed]
Cooperation
(October 2002)
In addition to the successful cooperation with ORNL (USA), IBP has now also signed cooperation contracts with VTT (Finland) and CSTB (France). These cooperations will result in the respective language versions of WUFI and new climate and material data; possible model enhancements are being discussed as well.
Predictive Model for Mold Growth
(October 2001)
A predictive model for mold growth, developed in a recently completed
dissertation, is currently being turned into a software tool for the practitioner.
Info: Dr. K. Sedlbauer.
50 Years Branch Institute Holzkirchen
(Apr. 2001)
In order to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Branch Institute Holzkirchen, a symposium was held on May 30 2001. After a review of 50 years of research in Holzkirchen, future research trends were presented. Several talks described and discussed current or planned project ideas and major undertakings.
On May 31 three parallel seminars were held, covering the subjects
After the seminars, a building physics bazaar presented the numerous project and
research facilities available in Holzkirchen, including WUFI.
WUFI for North America
(Nov. 2000)
In cooperation with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA), IBP has developed a special WUFI version for the North American market. The Cutter Information Corp. comments this in their weekly e-mail service "CutterEdge Buildings" (extended version in the October 2000 issue of the "Energy Design Update" Newsletter):
ORNL, FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE RELEASE POTENT NEW DESIGN TOOL FOR NORTH AMERICA
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Germany's Fraunhofer
Institute of Bauphysics (IBP) have teamed up to bring a powerful
new moisture engineering tool to North America. Though the
name -- WUFI-ORNL/IBP -- doesn't exactly roll off your tongue,
the software holds real promise. For the first time ever,
designers and researchers will have a simple, accurate tool
to evaluate the temperature and moisture conditions within any
building enclosure over time. Thus, designers will be able to
model different climatic conditions, materials, and assemblies
to see how wind-driven rain might penetrate the envelope, how
much condensation will form under what conditions, and where and
when wood decay is likely to occur.
One might speculate that had WUFI-ORNL/IBP been on the scene
in North America 10 years ago, the construction industry might
have avoided millions of dollars in legal claims related to failed
exterior insulation and finish systems and stucco-clad buildings
in the Southeast and Northwest.
The Windows-based WUFI, developed by Hartwig Kuenzel, Andreas Holm,
and other researchers at IBP, was first introduced in Europe in 1994
and has since been accepted there as a reliable research and design
tool.
Kuenzel, who is IBP's laboratory hygrothermal director, says that WUFI
was developed to help European designers understand how heat and
moisture interact within a building enclosure. Currently, more than
200 universities and research institutes, plus a growing number of
private firms, use the European version.
When a collaborative agreement was struck between ORNL and IBP
in 1998, a joint team of researchers led by ORNL's Achilles Karagiozis
and IBP's Holm began to modify and improve WUFI for use in North
America. The new model interface was specifically designed for both
the novice and the expert, which was not a simple task given the
complexity of hygrothermal physics, says Holm, the modeling group
leader at IBP.
Karagiozis tells *EDU* that the North American version
of WUFI-ORNL/IBP will be available free to anyone living
in the USA or Canada by downloading the model from ORNL's Web site:
http://www.ornl.gov/btc/moisture (set to be available at the end
of November). He says that the current model has a somewhat limited
database of material properties but that more materials will be added
in the months ahead. The WUFI-ORNL/IBP model will also be included
in "Moisture Analysis for Buildings," a manual to be published by
the American Society for Testing and Materials.
