Proposal of Acceptable Air Tightness Classes for Buildings in Chile

Abstract

In order to limit the energy demands the building ordinances establish requirements for reducing to acceptable levels the energy losses and/or gains. This situation obliges to define acceptable standards for thermal parameters. This report covered the evaluation of representative samples of Chilean homes built in 2007 and 2010 in the 54 provincial capitals of the country. A sample of 191 units was determined, representative of the construction, materials and housing architecture in Chile. Experimental techniques were used (Blower Door test) for obtaining air tightness of samples; numerical models (LBL Model) for relating the air tightness properties with the weather characteristics of every province in order to obtain infiltration coefficient classified by type of construction and province; simulation techniques (Thermal Analysis Simulation Software) for determining the energy demand of housing The Air Tightness classes are established combining two criteria: the one that measures the current state of air tightness of housings and other that limits the infiltration demand to a limit value that explains itself economically.Keywords: Air Tightness, Residential Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Infiltration, Class SCOPEBuildings are essential components of society and economy. They offer safe spaces and environments that have thermal protections for the development of human activity. From a purely energy point of view, a building can be conceptualized as a technological product designed and created for supplying services that demand energy and whose construction and operation during its lifetime and following demolition has impacts on the environment. 45% of the energy produced worldwide is used for heating, cooling, lightening and ventilating buildings. The consequence is that 50% of global warming is prod87uced by fossil fuels consume in buildings (The Aalborg Commitments, 1994). In Chile the building sector is responsible for 26% of the final use of energy, for 34% of production of solid waste, for 33% of greenhouse gas emissions and for 6% of water use (Minvu, 2013). As a result, the energy demand of buildings has also important ethic and social dimensions that cannot be omitted.The legal and political systems in practically all countries require buildings to have socially acceptable performance. This is frequently achieved stating minimum requirements related to objectives of safety, health, energy saving and sustainability among others. The laws usually include these ordinances in norms, technical itemized, regulations or ordinances that are the judicial tools destined to guarantee that the building, once built and in use according to these tools, offers socially acceptable performances for the users and the community (Meacham, B.J., et al., 2002). To do this, it is also essential to make inspections and regulatory controls of design, construction and operation of the building in its different stages.In practice, establishing minimum requirements of energy performance raises the issue of optimizing the r...

Comparación de Demandas Energéticas en Viviendas Unifamiliares en Climas Extremos

“…Respecto a lo mencionado en (BOBADILLA et al, 2014), el nivel de infiltración promedio a nivel nacional es de 12,9 renov/hora (estudio realizado con viviendas sociales). Este valor, no puede ser comparable directamente con el obtenido ya que el estudio no presenta el detalle de las infiltraciones medidas en la región, pero si queda claro que Magallanes, con un promedio de 14 renov/hora medido, es de las regiones que aporta una de las mayores tasas de infiltración a nivel nacional.…”

“…Investigaciones realizadas anteriormente, como la de (VERA; ORDENES, 2002), presentan resultados de energía para climatización en Punta Arenas de 370 kWh/m 2 año, mientras que en (BOBADILLA et al, 2014), presentan 484 kWh/m 2 año. Estos valores son inferiores a los obtenidos en el presente estudio, en el cual se alcanzó en promedio los 540 kWh/m 2 año, debido a que en este trabajo se han tratado de incorporar todos los detalles relevantes de los proyectos inmobiliarios, desde la orientación real en la que se encuentran las viviendas, hasta el detalle de considerar el valor de infiltración medido en ellas, datos con los que probablemente no contaban o no fueron considerados por los autores en las referencias anteriormente mencionadas.…”

“…Esto evidencia la necesidad de establecer una estrategia que incorpore nuevas exigencias en lo que respecta a reglamentación térmica, sobre todo a nivel regional, ya que Magallanes es una de las regiones de Chile con el mayor consumo promedio (BOBADILLA et al, 2014).…”

Simple Tool to Evaluate Airtightness in Chilean Homes

“…According to [18], the first database of air permeability values is created starting from the airtightness baseline study of thermal envelopes of residences built in Chile, information that allows establishing the calculation basis of the EHeD software. This study covers each region of the country, where the relevant factors are evaluated, namely the age of the building, the predominant wall material, the number of floors, the area built and the regulatory thermal demands.…”

Project shelter, Part 1: Fire resistance and thermal insulation

“…"The wide range of buildings in Chile has a reduced capacity to limit the energy demand for thermal conditioning. This phenomenon is greatly attributed to the low thermal insulation standards contemplated in the current regulations and the lack of guidelines focused on limiting air infiltration" (Bobadilla, Diaz, Figueroa, & Arriagada, 2014), in social housing this has been approved and regulated by the OGUC, but even lower conditions can be expected in unregulated emergency housing.…”