The effectiveness of Multipor in insulating historic buildings is best demonstrated by its implementations. On the Polish market, it has been used for 16 years and on more than 2,000 historic buildings. This amounts to more than 700,000 sq. m of insulated walls, thanks to which the monuments have gained adequate thermal insulation without interfering with the shape of their precious facades. Two museums have been added to the long list of successfully insulated buildings, the Uprising Museum in Góra Świętej Anny and the Gallery of the Opolian Silesia Museum in Opole. However, the work for Xella does not stop with the implementation of the interior insulation.

Using probes for monitoring and measurable results
'We are carrying out ongoing monitoring of several buildings insulated from the inside using the Multipor system to check whether the new insulation layer does not damage the building envelope," says prof. Dariusz Bajno from Wrocław University of Technology who is conducting research for Xella.  Testing of insulated buildings is carried out using special probes placed at sensitive points in the walls – at the interface of the thermal insulation and the wall (in the so-called bonding layer), at various points in the envelopes, e.g. in the corner of the wall, in perpendicular walls, etc. They measure temperature and humidity. A dozen probes were placed in each of two buildings in Upper Silesia.

"Dating back to 1830, the gallery building in Opole has been in use for more than five years, when a major refurbishment of the building was completed. Since then, it has been regularly monitored by us. Early on, mineral wool thermal insulation was used here, protected on the inside by a film. Unfortunately, mould started to grow under the film, the insulation was damp and did not do its job. Hence, it was decided to remove it and replace it with continuous insulation made of lightweight mineral Multipor panels," explains prof. Bajno. As he adds: "Today, the mass moisture content measured at the interface between the wall and the thermal insulation during the most difficult period, that is winter, stays within 3%. After many years of monitoring this building, we see that there are no negative side effects arising from the internal insulation. There are, however, significant advantages, such as the many times better thermal insulation of the walls and the good microclimate in the interiors, which is important in view of the artworks on display in the gallery."

Moisture under control
The Uprising Museum is a newer implementation. It only finished its first heating season. And although the walls of the building are not yet free of process moisture, the probes placed at the interface of the historical envelopes and the Multipor system internal insulation layer show only 6.3% mass moisture. As prof. Bajno assures, this value will decrease in the following seasons.
Wojciech Łasut, Director of the Technical Sales Support Department, explains that fluctuating moisture levels in Multipor panels are a natural phenomenon: "Light dampness is not harmful to Multipor panels. The system takes into account the moisture condensation in the pores of this material during periods of low external temperatures and its evaporation during the summer. Thanks to these changes, Multipor panels naturally regulate the humidity in rooms."
Xella recommends the preparation of a thermal and moisture analysis, which is drawn up by the company's technical department, before improving thermal efficiency from the inside. And if a more difficult subject requires it, it commissions an independent expert opinion.