| 主权项 |
1. A method of reducing the amount of cooling energy required to cool a building interior, said building having an enclosed room being cooled, said room being partially defined by an outer wall, an upper wall plate, and an attic space disposed above said upper wall plate and further disposed between a ceiling of said room and a roof of said building; said method comprising:
a) disposing a porous insulating material substantially covering a floor in said attic space, said porous insulating material including at least 1 wt-% desiccant, wherein the porous insulating material includes a first layer and a second layer, and the desiccant is disposed in a separate layer between the first layer and the second layer to form a unitary batt; b) adsorbing water moisture and releasing heat from the attic space with the desiccant-bearing porous insulating material; and c) absorbing heat and desorbing the adsorbed water moisture from said desiccant-bearing porous insulation material through said ceiling and into said room being cooled, while the relative humidity in said attic space is higher than the relative humidity in said room being cooled, resulting in a reduction in the amount of heat flux entering said room and reducing the cooling energy required to cool said building interior; wherein the building is located in a cooling dominated climate; the building is air conditioned; the attic space has a relative humidity that is during the daylight hours of the day higher than the relative humidity of the room; the building experiences an exterior temperature greater than 72° F.; and whereby the heat flux entering said room is reduced by about 17% to about 29% compared to a control having a same construction as the porous insulating material but without the desiccant. |
