Uncertainties in building pressurisation tests due to steady wind

Carrié, François Rémi; Leprince, Valérie

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.01.029

Cited by 36 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Firstly, the uncertainty of the measurement results has become a key concern in several countries over the past years. Studies have been conducted regarding the impact of wind and temperature differences [21], [22] and [23]. These studies propose different methodologies to estimate the uncertainties, based on numerical evaluations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving building envelope knowledge from analysis of 219,000 certified on-site air leakage measurements in France

Mélois

Moujalled

Guyot

et al. 2019

Building and Environment

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The French air leakage testers' scheme led to the development of a national database, which includes about 219,000 airtightness measurements, mainly from residential buildings built since 2010. This paper first presents the measurement methodology and the requirements of the testers' scheme regarding the reliability of the data included in the database. Different analyses are then presented, to:-give a general overview of the new French building stock;-analyse several factors, including insulation, ventilation systems, and main building materials, that may significantly impact building leakage measurement results;-identifying levers to improve the practices of building construction stakeholders and testers. These analyses reveal influential factors, such as the main material of the building, the thermal insulation technique and the type of ventilation system. The most frequently identified leaks and the most influential leaks have been identified, in order to improve building airtightness. The common use of last-minute correction has also been identified, despite the impact on airtightness durability. Finally, these analyses confirm that the multi-point testing method fits well with the French context, buildings and climates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving building envelope knowledge from analysis of 219,000 certified on-site air leakage measurements in France

Mélois

Moujalled

Guyot

et al. 2019

Building and Environment

Self Cite

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“…When quantifying airtightness by fan pressurization tests there are three common types of errors: precision and bias errors on measurements and modelization errors on the used model [17,18].Wind speed and direction fluctuations are one of the main sources of precision and modelization errors [19]. The zero-flow measurements intend to tackle part of it, but still, for uncertainty purposes, the assumptions made show significant importance [20,21].…”

Section: Results Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reliability of quantitative and qualitative assessment of air leakage paths through reductive sealing

Cardoso

Ramos

Almeida

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

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A full characterization of a building air leakage is labour intensive. As results of laboratory and mock-up experimentation rarely portray in situ conditions, the assessment of real case studies bring added value. Still, the results of experimentation of the latter face more challenges than the former. In this work a full quantitative and qualitative assessment of air leakage paths is performed, using a light steel framing (LSF) modular building with structural insulated panels (SIPs) as case study. Blower-door measurements undergo for a sealing campaign of eleven steps, a technique often described as reductive sealing. Additionally, smoke tracer measurements were carried out to visually identify the air leakage locations. The application of three regression methods resulted in different uncertainty estimates. Less than 7% of the total air leakage was not attributed to one of the considered types of air leakage paths. Assessing less impacting leakage paths first and placing similar types of air leakage paths in a consecutive sealing order seems to be the most correct strategy when using the reductive sealing technique. On average, at a reference pressure difference of 4 Pa, the sealing step uncertainty averaged, 9.9%, 18.8%, and 27.5%, depending on the method used for regression of the blower door test results. Despite the highest calculated uncertainty, literature shows that the application of the method leading to it, Weighted Line of Organic Correlation (WLOC), provides the results in closer agreement with the observed uncertainty of measurements.

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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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Uncertainties in building pressurisation tests due to steady wind

Cited by 36 publications

References 2 publications

Improving building envelope knowledge from analysis of 219,000 certified on-site air leakage measurements in France

Improving building envelope knowledge from analysis of 219,000 certified on-site air leakage measurements in France

Reliability of quantitative and qualitative assessment of air leakage paths through reductive sealing

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

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