Dynamically ventilated exterior wall assembly

Abstract

A dynamically ventilated exterior wall includes a sealed exterior wall assembly and a ventilation assembly fluidly coupled to the exterior wall assembly. The exterior wall assembly includes an interior wall portion and an opposing exterior wall portion, and insulation and a flexible porous grid disposed between the interior and exterior wall portions. The ventilation assembly includes a head end unit coupled to air supply conduit(s) and air return conduit(s), where each of the conduits communicates with the porous grid of the exterior wall assembly. The head and unit is configured to supply conditioned air through the air supply conduit(s) to the exterior wall assembly and remove humidity from the exterior wall assembly through the air return conduit(s).

1 . A dynamically ventilated exterior wall system comprising: 
 a sealed exterior wall assembly including an interior wall portion and an opposing exterior wall portion, and insulation and a flexible porous grid disposed between the interior and exterior wall portions; and    a ventilation assembly fluidly coupled to the exterior wall assembly, the ventilation assembly including a head end unit coupled to at least one air supply conduit and at least one air return conduit, each of the conduits communicating with the porous grid, wherein the head end unit is configured to supply conditioned air through the at least one air supply conduit to the exterior wall assembly and remove humidity from the exterior wall assembly through the at least one air return conduit.    
   
   
       2 . The dynamically ventilated exterior wall system of  claim 1 , wherein the insulation is disposed within the wall assembly adjacent to the interior wall portion, and the porous grid is disposed between the insulation and an inner surface of the exterior wall portion.  
   
   
       3 . The dynamically ventilated exterior wall system of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible porous grid comprises: 
 a core defining at least one air passageway communicating between the insulation and the exterior wall portion and at least one air passageway extending along the core between the interior and exterior wall portions.    
   
   
       4 . The dynamically ventilated exterior wall system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one air supply conduit and at least one air return conduit communicate with the core of the flexible porous grid.  
   
   
       5 . The dynamically ventilated exterior wall system of  claim 1 , wherein the ventilation assembly defines a plurality of zones, each zone comprising at least one air supply conduit, at least one air return conduit, and at least one humidity sensor communicating with the at least one air return conduit.  
   
   
       6 . The dynamically ventilated exterior wall system of  claim 5 , wherein each humidity sensor of each zone is coupled to the head end unit, and further wherein the head end unit is configured to control a supply of conditioned air through the air supply conduits to control a relative humidity of the exterior wall assembly.  
   
   
       7 . The dynamically ventilated exterior wall system of  claim 1 , wherein the head end unit comprises a heating ventilating air conditioning (HVAC) unit.  
   
   
       8 . A method of dynamically ventilating a sealed exterior wall that includes an interior wall portion and an opposing exterior wall portion and insulation adjacent to the interior wall portion, the method comprising: 
 disposing a porous grid between the insulation and the exterior wall portion to define an air space within the sealed exterior wall;    supplying conditioned air through the air space; and    removing humidity from the air space.    
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein disposing a porous grid between the insulation and the exterior wall portion comprises disposing a flexible porous grid including a core defining at least one air passageway communicating between the insulation and the exterior wall portion, and at least one of a longitudinal and a lateral air channel extending along the core.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein supplying conditioned air through the air space and removing humidity from the air space are performed by a ventilation assembly having a head end unit coupled to at least one air supply conduit and at least one air return conduit, the conduits communicating with the core.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the ventilation assembly comprises a zoned ventilation assembly, each zone including: 
 at least one air supply conduit extending between a blower of the head end unit and the core;    at least one air return conduit extending between the core and the head end unit; and    a humidity sensor coupled between the at least one air return conduit and the head end unit.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein removing humidity from the air space comprises removing humidity from the air space of one zone, including: 
 pressurizing the porous grid by blowing air from the head end unit through the air supply conduit into the core;    removing air from the air space through the air return conduit;    sensing a humidity level of the air removed from the air space with the humidity sensor; and    controlling a flow of low humidity conditioned air from the head end unit through the air supply conduit into the core.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein controlling a flow of low humidity conditioned air through the air supply conduit comprises: 
 cycling from a first zone to a second zone of a plurality of zones in the sealed exterior wall a flow of low humidity conditioned air from the head end unit into the core of a respective one of the plurality of zones.    
   
   
       14 . An exterior wall system comprising: 
 an exterior wall assembly including an interior wall portion and an opposing exterior wall portion, and a flexible porous grid disposed between the interior and exterior wall portions; and    means for transporting moisture through the flexible porous grid and out of the exterior wall assembly.    
   
   
       15 . The exterior wall system of  claim 14 , wherein the means for transporting moisture through the flexible porous grid comprises a ventilation assembly including a pressurized air source coupled to the porous grid.  
   
   
       16 . The exterior wall system of  claim 14 , wherein the means for transporting moisture through the flexible porous grid comprises a ventilation assembly including a driven air return conduit coupled to the porous grid.  
   
   
       17 . The exterior wall system of  claim 14 , wherein the exterior wall assembly forms an insulated exterior wall of a building, the building including a heating ventilating air conditioning (HVAC) system, and the means for transporting moisture through the flexible porous grid fluidly couples the HVAC system to the porous grid.  
   
   
       18 . The exterior wall system of  claim 14 , wherein the means for transporting moisture through the flexible porous grid comprises a ventilation assembly including at least one humidity sensor configured for sensing a relative humidity level between the interior and exterior wall portions.  
   
   
       19 . The exterior wall system of  claim 18 , further comprising: 
 a programmable controller coupled to the at least one humidity sensor, the programmable controller configured to activate an air conditioning head end unit of the ventilation assembly in response to data read from the at least one humidity sensor.    
   
   
       20 . The exterior wall system of  claim 18 , wherein the means for transporting moisture through the flexible porous grid comprises a ventilation assembly including at least one air supply conduit, at least one air return conduit, and at least one humidity sensor communicating with the air return conduit.