CONTAM

The importance of reducing adventitious infiltration in order to save energy is highlighted by the relevant building standards of many countries.  This operational infiltration is often inferred via the measurement of the air leakage rate at a pressure differential of 50 Pascals.  Some building codes, such as the UK’s Standard Assessment Procedure, assume a simple relationship between the air leakage rate and mean infiltration rate during the heating season, the so-called leakage-infiltration ratio, which is scaled to account for the physical and environmental properties of a dwelling.  The

Using a passive tracer gas technique, 1 and 2 week averages of local mean ages of air have beenestimated in an occupied detached single family house in mid-Sweden during one year. In this paperthe measurement result is compared with the result of transient simulation of ventilation using theCONTAM program. The simulation shows that the whole-house air change rate is dominated by theinfiltration due to mechanically created pressure difference as long as the outdoor temperaturedifference exceeds approx. 10 C.

A literature search was undertaken to assemble and interpretthe-best available· data that can be used for perfonning multizone airflow modelling in mid and high rise apartment buildings. The best currently available data is presented and areas where further field testing research is required are identified. A multizone airflow modelling software tool was used to provide an analysis of ventilation related energy issues in a newly constructed 10 story high-rise apartment building.