Factors influencing airtightness and airtightness predictive models: A literature review

Prignon, Martin; Moeseke, Geoffrey Van

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.04.062

Cited by 82 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Despite the difficulty, it would be advisable for further research to focus on identifying good practice in ventilation and the optimization of envelope airtightness. This would serve as a basic step for the development of specific guides, with the potential for specialization by building type and features [75][76][77]. These could provide tailored ventilation protocols and calendars which would allow users to modify their current customs, which are often counterproductive to maintaining good conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

TVOCs and PM 2.5 in Naturally Ventilated Homes: Three Case Studies in a Mild Climate

et al. 2019

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In southern Europe, the present stock of social housing is ventilated naturally, with practice varying in the different seasons of the year. In winter, windows are kept closed most of the day with the exception of short periods for ventilation, whereas the rest of the year the windows are almost permanently open. In cold weather, air changes depend primarily on the air infiltrating across the envelope and when the temperature is warm, on the air flowing in through open windows. CO2, PM2.5, and TVOC concentration patterns were gathered over a year’s time in three social housing developments in southern Europe with different airtightness conditions and analyzed to determine possible relationships between environmental parameters and occupants’ use profiles. Correlations were found between TVOC and CO2 concentrations, for human activity was identified as the primary source of indoor contaminants: peak TVOC concentrations were related to specific household activities such as cooking or leisure. Indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations were likewise observed to be correlated, although not linearly due to the presence of indoor sources. Ventilation as presently practiced in winter appears to be insufficient to dilute indoor contaminants in all three buildings, nor does summertime behavior guarantee air quality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

TVOCs and PM 2.5 in Naturally Ventilated Homes: Three Case Studies in a Mild Climate

et al. 2019

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“…Also it has been adopted as a standard testing method by ASTM, CAN/CGSB, and ISO for demonstrating compliance and used in many voluntary standards across the globe, such as Passivhaus standard. Meanwhile, numerous scientific studies have been undertaken over the last few decades to investigate a wide range of building research associated with airtightness, covering unregulated or temperate/hot climate countries [ [56] , [57] , [58] ], its relationship with the infiltration, ventilation and indoor air quality [ [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] ], building characterization [ 56 , 58 , 63 , 70 ], retrofitting [ [63] , [64] , [65] ], measurement uncertainty [ [66] , [67] , [68] , [69] ], indoor air quality [ 70 ] and other relevant aspects [ [71] , [72] , [73] ].…”

Section: Steady Pressurisation Methods and Alternativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A practical review of alternatives to the steady pressurisation method for determining building airtightness

Zheng

Cooper

Gillott

et al. 2020

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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As an important indicator of construction quality and envelope integrity of buildings, airtightness is responsible for a considerable amount of energy losses associated with infiltration. It is crucial to understand building airtightness during construction and retrofitting to achieve a suitable envelope airtightness which is essential for obtaining a desirable building energy efficiency, durability and indoor environment. As a convenient means of measurement, the current steady pressurisation method has long been accepted as a standard testing method for measuring building airtightness. It offers an intuitive and robust approach for measuring building airtightness and performing building diagnostics. However, it also has some shortcomings that are mainly related to its high pressure measurement, requirement for skilful operation, long test duration and change to the building envelope. Efforts have been made by manufacturers and researchers to further improve its accuracy and practicality with much progress achieved. Work has also been done to develop alternative methods that can overcome some of the issues. This paper provides a practical review on the incumbent methodology and efforts that have been made over the past decades in research and development of other methods to achieve a similar purpose. It compares them in relation to aspects that are considered important in achieving an accurate, quick and practical measurement of building airtightness and the finding shows other methods such as acoustic and unsteady technique have their own advantages over the steady pressurisation method but also add some of their own restrictions, which therefore makes them suited for different applications.

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“…In the last few years, there has been, in this field, an important development in the methods used for the testing of windows and other elements of the building envelope, largely due to the needs of energy evaluations for buildings [22]. In this way, permeability measurement techniques such as the test blower door [23,24], thermometric tests for the measurement of the transmittance [25], infrared thermography [26] and tests of watertightness against the effects of wind-driven rain [27], among others, are increasingly present (both in the scientific literature and in their spread in the industry).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cataloguing of the Defects Existing in Aluminium Window Frames and Their Recurrence According to Pluvio-Climatic Zones

et al. 2020

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The sustainability of building envelopes is affected by its windows, since these establish the connection/separation between the indoor rooms and the external environment. They can also lead to problems if they do not offer sufficient protection against external agents. The data source in this research is unprecedented, as it is based on records of court sentences. There is a significant number of cases (1615), which provides high representativeness for the functional reality of windows. The methodology that was developed classifies the defects and the causes that were found, also analysing correspondence with their recurrence according to aspects of climatological location. In the results, the cases pertaining to water infiltration, air permeability and humidity by condensation are highlighted. This study provides a vision that categorizes problems related to aluminium windows that may be useful for future interventions by agents participating in the construction process.

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Factors influencing airtightness and airtightness predictive models: A literature review

Cited by 82 publications

References 45 publications

TVOCs and PM 2.5 in Naturally Ventilated Homes: Three Case Studies in a Mild Climate

TVOCs and PM 2.5 in Naturally Ventilated Homes: Three Case Studies in a Mild Climate

A practical review of alternatives to the steady pressurisation method for determining building airtightness

Cataloguing of the Defects Existing in Aluminium Window Frames and Their Recurrence According to Pluvio-Climatic Zones

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