The traditional house of Japan, Kominka, is constructed of wooden pillars and beams, and clay walls.The indoor space in the Kominka remains cool in summer because overhanging eaves block solarradiation and the open frame airs out. Technology to make small cracks airtight is undeveloped.Consequently, drafts enter the indoor space and chill occupants during winter. Improvements of indoorclimate have not been realized. This report describes "Yukis house," which is a Kominka built in thelatter 1700s, defined as a residence of the privileged class.
International building legislation is setting stronger and stronger requirements for the energy performance of buildings. The most recent example is the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in the European Union. The improved energy performance of buildings can't be achieved by additional insulation or more effective building systems only. A major influence factor on the energy quality is the ventilation technology and also the airtightness of the building.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directivementions that each member states' energyperformance (EP) calculation methodology mayinclude envelope airtightness. In fact, manymember states have included envelopeairtightness in their EP calculation method.Many countries have also specific requirementsfor ductwork airtightness. However, they seemto be unequally successful in achieving a markettransformation. This paper describes themechanisms that have been used in somecountries, with a special focus on success storieswhich could inspire other member states.
Fan-pressurisation method was used to test the air infiltration rate of 191 dwellings in England. All tested homes were either pre or post the introduction of energy efficient retrofit measures such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, draught stripping and energy efficient heating system. Results show that the average air infiltration rate of the post dwellings is only marginally lower by 4% compared to the pre dwellings.
The paper describes the development of unsteady pulse pressurisation techniques for measuring the leakage of buildings. The original version of the technique (the UP technique) has been investigated experimentally and theoretically in a single cell test space. The initial results are very promising, with a good degree of repeatability and similar sensitivity to changes in leakage levels as the conventional steady (DC) technique. An interesting outcome of these early tests was the observation that quasi-steady flow could be established in a short time.
Twenty terrace houses without heating system has been built in Sweden. The houses are extremely well insulated and very airtight. They are also quipped with a high efficiency ventilation heat recovery system. The total electricity consumption and the air temperature in two positions has been monitored for each of the houses on an hourly bases. Further has the environmental conditions, i.e. outdoor temperature, wind, sun etc been monitored. In six of the houses separate measurements of electricity consumption for ventilation and hot water has also been performed.
Describes a new airtightness test procedure for testing a single zone within a multizone building. The technique enables the measurement of partition leakage so that it can be subtracted from the overall zone leakage.
Describes how substantial differences resulted from performing a 'Duct Blaster' test during the framing stage and at completion. Outlines the tests used to pinpoint the problem. The tests included: frame-stage leakage - unit untaped; frame-stage leakage - unit taped; finish-stage leakage - face taped; finish-stage leakage - complete-taped; subtraction method; leakage to outside. The data obtained allowed the quantification of leakage at air handler units, at metal supply boots to outside and at supply registers to inside.
Most dwellings in the United States are ventilated primarily through leaks in the building shell (i.e., infiltration) rather than by whole-house mechanical ventilation systems. Consequently, quantification of envelope air-tightness is critical to determining how much energy is being lost through infiltration and how much infiltration is contributing toward ventilation requirements. Envelope air tightness and air leakage can be determined from fan pressurization measurements with a Blower Door. Tens of thousands of unique fan pressurization measurements have been made of U.S.
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