Residential buildings airtightness frameworks: A review on the main databases and setups in Europe and North America

Poza-Casado, Irene; Cardoso, Vitor E.M.; Almeida, Ricardo M. S. F.; Meiss, Alberto; Ramos, Nuno M. M.; Padilla-Marcos, Miguel Ángel

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107221

Cited by 29 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The analysis of airtightness requirements around the world [5] do not show any relationship between limited values of n 50 and local climatic conditions. The legal requirements can be treated as local/country regulations and are mainly differentiated due to the expected standard of buildings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Governing approaches differ from country to country as some laws impose mandatory restrictions on air infiltration through the building envelope, while others only make recommendations or do not consider infiltration at all as an essential building parameter. [5,41].…”

Section: Airtightness Requirements-the Current Statementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is commonly recognized that airtightness has a large impact on the energy efficiency of buildings [1][2][3], which directly affects the level of CO 2 emissions [4]. More and more recent studies and publications pay attention to the impact of air infiltration on the level of energy losses [5][6][7]. Some analyzes [8][9][10] show that infiltration is responsible for even 13%-30% of energy losses during the heating season and 4%-14% in the cooling season, while others [11] found that the impact was more significant (even up to 50%).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parametric Study of Air Infiltration in Residential Buildings—The Effect of Local Conditions on Energy Demand

Miszczuk

Heim

2020

Energies

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Airtightness is nowadays one of the physical parameters which determine overall building energy performance. In a wide range of states, the upper limit for air change rate at a Pa (na), air permeability rate at a Pa (qa), or specific leakage rate at a Pa (wa) is determined by the formal regulations. It should be highlighted that airtightness requirements are mainly the same around the world, disregarding any site and climatic conditions. The main goal of the presented work was to reveal the effect of individual location and surrounding infiltration rate and heat demand. The analyses were done using numerical techniques and computational models of the three buildings developed and calibrated based on the blower door test results. The compared buildings characterize by a similar geometry but differ in the air change rate at 50 Pa (n50). Analyses done for different locations and levels of sheltering by surrounding elements allow the determination of the real effect of local conditions. The obtained differences in energy demand between two locations from the same climatic zone were from 70% to 90%, depending on the airtightness of the buildings. Considering different sheltered conditions, the differences for the same location can be even 200%. The obtained results allowed for the formulation of the general conclusion that building location and level of exposure could be considered in future airtightness regulations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Airtightness Requirements-the Current Statementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parametric Study of Air Infiltration in Residential Buildings—The Effect of Local Conditions on Energy Demand

Miszczuk

Heim

2020

Energies

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“…nZEB refers to buildings which generate the same amount of energy as they consume over a specific period [3]. As will be described below, one of the measures that must be taken to achieve this balance is the infiltration control [4] as it leads to a reduction in heating demand [5].In fact, the Passivhaus Institut [6] understands it as one of the main measures to be taken to minimize heat losses in low-energy buildings [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the Water Vapour Permeability of Airtight Sheets on the Behaviour of Facade

et al. 2020

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The air-tightness of the thermal envelope of buildings is one of the measures to reduce their energy demands in order to achieve global warming reduction targets. To this end, airtight sheets with different water vapour permeability characteristics are used. The different products studied are highly dispersed in terms of equivalent air thickness values, leading to confusion. After the analysis carried out, it is concluded that all airtight sheets are vapour barriers. To clarify whether or not these sheets are necessary as vapour barriers, a condensation analysis was carried out on 13 different facades for 3 climate zones with severe winters as defined in Spanish regulations. The results reveal that interstitial condensation occurs in only 7 of the 39 case studies, with the traditional facades of brickwork with render causing the greatest problems if the appropriate products are not used. In these cases, airtight sheets with water vapour barrier characteristics must be applied on the interior face of the insulating material. In all other cases (32), the airtight sheets must be permeable to water vapour if it is looked for a more breathable wall to water vapour and a better control of the interior humidity conditions.

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“…In addition, other voluntary standards such as Passivhaus certification introduce strict minimum airtightness performance (Passive House Institute, 2016). The focus is also different regarding the criteria to determine airtightness limitations (Poza-Casado et al, 2020), which can depend on:…”

Section: Airtightness Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airtightness performance of the building envelope of dwellings in Spain. Characterisation and energy impact of air infiltration

Casado¹

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Only after the oil crisis in the 1970s has there been an undeniable growth in the level of interest in reducing the use of fossil fuels. In this regard, the countries of the European Union predict a sustainable, competitive and decarbonised energy system by 2050. For that purpose, it is crucial to address the energy efficiency of buildings, which are responsible for a significant percentage of energy consumption, and, therefore, greenhouse gas emissions. The potential seems obvious, considering that, according to the European Commission, 75% of the buildings in Europe are energy inefficient.In this context, uncontrolled airflow through the building envelope, or air infiltration, is a phenomenon that involves energy loss since it needs to be conditioned at the interior comfort conditions. Air infiltration is also related to the ventilation of buildings and, thus, has an impact on indoor air quality. In this sense, a relationship is established between air infiltration, energy impact and ventilation. Since airtightness is the main characteristic of the envelope that determines air infiltration, its study is essential to understand the performance of the building envelope.However, this issue has not been addressed in depth in most countries with temperate climates, and, specifically, in Spain, given the traditional dependence of air renewal on air infiltration. Currently, the implementation of controlled ventilation systems guarantees adequate indoor air quality in residential buildings. Therefore, air infiltration is no longer necessary as an air renewal source and, consequently, its reduction is a priority to achieve nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB). In this sense, the airtightness characterisation of the envelope of existing buildings is essential to prioritise efforts and determine strategies for the renovation of the existing building stock according to the decarbonisation objectives which have been set at a national and international level.

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Residential buildings airtightness frameworks: A review on the main databases and setups in Europe and North America

Cited by 29 publications

References 40 publications

Parametric Study of Air Infiltration in Residential Buildings—The Effect of Local Conditions on Energy Demand

Parametric Study of Air Infiltration in Residential Buildings—The Effect of Local Conditions on Energy Demand

Influence of the Water Vapour Permeability of Airtight Sheets on the Behaviour of Facade

Airtightness performance of the building envelope of dwellings in Spain. Characterisation and energy impact of air infiltration

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