The Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) focusses on research, development, testing, demonstration, and consulting in various areas of building physics. These general areas include noise control and sound insulation in buildings, optimization of acoustics in indoor spaces, solutions for improving energy efficiency, and optimizing lighting technology. More specific issues under investigation include those related to climate control and the indoor environment, hygiene and health protection, building material emissions, weatherproofing and protection against heat and moisture, preservation of building structures, and conservation of historical buildings and monuments. The Institute also employs life cycle engineering methods to analyze the potential environmental, social, and technical impacts of products, services, and processes. The Institute thus enables evaluation and development of lasting improvements towards sustainability and fostering of innovative processes in the built environment. Our portfolio of building science services also includes building chemistry, building biology and hygiene, as well as cutting-edge work in the field of concrete technology. Fraunhofer IBP has locations in Stuttgart, Holzkirchen, Kassel, Nürnberg, and Rosenheim. More information can be found at the Fraunhofer IBP website.

With the desire and need to have buildings that are energy-efficient, cost-effective, comfortable, and healthy, the demands on building physics are becoming increasingly complex. It is now necessary to employ wide-scale computer simulations to address the relevant building physics questions. For this reason, the Department of Hygrothermics at the Fraunhofer IBP has deleveloped theWUFI^® software family. WUFI^® performs dynamic simulations of coupled heat and moisture transfer. The methods have been validated world-wide and provide realistic simulation of hygrothermal conditions in building components and buildings.

Furthermore, at the Fraunhofer IBP, well-document measurements of the hygrothermal response of building components are performed. These measurements are performed in laboratory settings as well as in open-air situations. The experimental results enable continuous development, improvement, and validation of the WUFI^® software family. In particular, comparison of hygrothermal behavior of components in the laboratory setting can be compared to the more complex and more realistic situations for open-air buildings and building components.