Roof leak detection and risk management: humidity alone is not enough
At Inscio Roofs we measure moisture, humidity and temperature in roofs. And we do that for a very good reason. Only by monitoring these three parameters together does a complete picture emerge of what is happening in a roof. Whereas humidity and temperature mainly help to identify trends and deviations, only the measurement of free moisture gives the certainty as to whether there really is a risk. We know that not from theory, but from experience - based on millions of measurements in roofs.
Humidity is not a hard measure
What we see in practice: humidity in a roof is largely determined by conditions on the day of installation. Is it wet during construction? Then the roof starts with high humidity. Is it dry? Then low.
In other words, humidity is anything but constant. A value of 95% or even 99% humidity can be quite normal. We even regularly see roofs with 99% humidity, without even measuring free moisture.
Moreover, humidity can increase sharply with a drop in temperature, while no moisture enters the roof at all due to a leaky roof. That too makes humidity in itself an unreliable measure.
The risk? Roofs are opened up unnecessarily, resulting in high costs and disruption, while no moisture is entering the roof and therefore there is actually no problem.
"Those who only measure humidity do not get certainty but a guess. Measuring humidity is the only hard truth."
Monitoring with sensors and data
And ultimately only one thing counts: is there actually moisture present in the roof?
We determine that via conductivity. Water conducts, dry material does not.
Higher conductivity = more moisture.
No conductivity = no moisture.
And it's that simple. By measuring free moisture, you have certainty whether there is a problem in the roof. And we know this not only because it sounds logical, but because we see it time and again in our practical measurements. Millions of data points confirm it: humidity alone is not enough.
For the property owner and roofer, this means: no unnecessary interventions, better risk management and longer roof life.
