Air tightness measurements of residential houses in Athens, Greece

Sfakianaki, A.; Pavlou, K.; Santamouris, M.; Livada, I.; Assimakopoulos, Margarita-Niki; Mantas, P.; Christakopoulos, A.

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.01.006

Cited by 122 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…It is deduced that one of the variables with greater relevance is the year of construction [27][28][29][30]. Also, characteristics of the building such as typology [31], type of construction [30], type of window/glazing [15] and window frame [6,32], foundation [28], construction system [33], materials [15,24,32,34], floor area [28], total height [28], number of storeys [33], ventilation system [35,36], type of insulation [30] and sealing devices [34], and management type [31] should be considered. In addition, the execution also seems to be a relevant factor in the airtightness of the envelope [36,37].…”

Section: Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study

et al. 2018

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Air leakage and its impact on the energy performance of dwellings has been broadly studied in countries with cold climates in Europe, US, and Canada. However, there is a lack of knowledge in this field in Mediterranean countries. Current Spanish building regulations establish ventilation rates based on ideal airtight envelopes, causing problems of over-ventilation and substantial energy losses. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that allows the characterization of the envelope of the housing stock in Spain in order to adjust ventilation rates taking into consideration air leakage. A methodology that is easily applicable to other countries that consider studying the airtightness of the envelope and its energetic behaviour improvement is proposed. A statistical sampling method has been established to determine the dwellings to be tested, considering relevant variables concerning airtightness: climate zone, year of construction, and typology. The air leakage rate is determined using a standardized building pressurization technique according to European Standard EN 13829. A representative case study has been presented as an example of the implementation of the designed methodology and results are compared to preliminary values obtained from the database.

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Section: Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sfakianaki et al [6] conducted a study in 20 single-family homes in the Attica area, Greece. Both the tracer gas decay and pressurization methods were used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study

et al. 2018

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“…In the last years, the interest in air-tightness in building envelopes has increased, mainly due to the rising concern toward energy saving, even in southern European countries with a Mediterranean climate [19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Air-Tightness Analysis in Mediterranean Buildings after Windows Retrofit

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Energy saving and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in buildings are strongly affected by air leakages. Several studies reveal that the energy loss owing to leaky windows can account for up to 40% of the total building energy demand. Furthermore, at the design stage, the possible infiltration of outdoor air through windows is not taken into account when determining the nominal outdoor airflow rate of the ventilation system. This practice may result in an oversizing of the ventilation system and consequent energy waste. Thus, the air-tightness class of a wall assembly should be assessed for each window component considering the type of material, the presence of the seal, the type of closure, the sealing and the maintenance condition. In this paper, the authors present the experimental results of air-tightness measurements carried out using the fan pressurization method in three residential buildings located in the Mediterranean region before and after a window retrofit. Two different window retrofits were investigated: the application of rubber seals on window frames and the substitution of existing windows with new certified high performance windows. The effectiveness of such retrofits was estimated also in terms of energy saving. Test results demonstrated a high variability of the building air tightness after window retrofits, despite the fact that air tight-certified windows were used.

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“…However in most cases, the empirical results were not compared to the designed values to reveal the extent of the 'performance gap'. A study of 20 single-family houses in Greece undertook airtightness and infiltration measurements, and found the average number of air changes per hour (ACH) varied from 0.6 ACH to 7 ACH (at a 50 Pa pressure) when the tracer gas or the Blower Door test methods were used; the results also identified linear relationships between total window frame length and airtightness [32]. An empirical study in 23 spaces of housing, office and school buildings in Portugal investigated the contributions of windows and roller-shutters to rooms permeability and found out that on average, windows contribute by15% and roller-shutters by 44% to the room permeability of typical heavy construction buildings of Southern Europe context [33].…”

Section: Building Fabric Thermal Performance: Evidence To Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Magnitude and extent of building fabric thermal performance gap in UK low energy housing

Gupta

Kotopouleas

2018

Applied Energy

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• Air-permeability, U-value and whole house heat loss data were statistically tested.• Building fabric thermal performance gap was widespread in low energy dwellings.• Airtightness gap was trivial in Passivhaus but significant in non-Passivhaus units.• Gap increased by 0.8 m 3 /h/m 2 for every 1 m 3 /h/m 2 decrease in design air permeability.• Building regulations should require in-situ tests to reduce fabric performance gap. ARTICLE INFO Keywords:Building fabric Low energy dwellings Passivhaus Airtightness Heat loss Thermal transmittance Co-heating test ABSTRACT This paper presents new evidence from a nationwide cross-project meta-study investigating the magnitude and extent of the difference between designed and measured thermal performance of the building fabric of 188 low energy dwellings in the UK. The dataset was drawn from the UK Government's national Building Performance Evaluation programme, and comprises 50 Passivhaus (PH) and 138 non-Passivhaus (NPH) dwellings, covering different built forms and construction systems. The difference between designed and measured values of air permeability (AP), external wall/roof thermal transmittance (U-value) and whole house heat loss were statistically analysed, along with a review of thermal imaging data to explain any discrepancies. The results showed that fabric thermal performance gap was widespread especially in terms of AP, although the magnitude of underperformance was much less in PH dwellings. While measured AP had good correlation with measured space heating energy for PH dwellings, there was no relationship between the two for NPH dwellings. The regression analysis indicated that for every 1 m 3 /h/m 2 reduction in designed air permeability, the gap increased by 0.8 m 3 /h/m 2 @50 Pa. Monte Carlo analysis showed that likelihood of AP gap was 78% in NPH dwellings designed to 5 m 3 /h/m 2 @50 Pa or lower. The study provides useful evidence for improving the fabric thermal performance of new housing through in-situ testing.

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Air tightness measurements of residential houses in Athens, Greece

Cited by 122 publications

References 9 publications

Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study

Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study

Experimental Air-Tightness Analysis in Mediterranean Buildings after Windows Retrofit

Magnitude and extent of building fabric thermal performance gap in UK low energy housing

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