infiltration modelling

By 2050, the European council proposed to achieve total decarbonization in buildings. In this way, building energy models are key factors to predict the energy consumption in the design, use and retrofit stages. However, these models may present a relevant gap between predicted and measured energy performance, which should be minimised by cutting uncertainties with real data. Air leakage is one of the main uncertainties and causes of increasing building loads by renovating the indoor air in an uncontrolled way.

Buildings represent approximately 40% of global energy demand and heat loss induced by uncontrolled air leakage through the building fabric can represent up to one third of the heating load in a building. This leakage of air at ambient pressure levels, is known as air infiltration and can be measured by tracer gas means, however, the method is disruptive and invasive. Air infiltration models are a non-disruptive way to calculate predictive values for air infiltration in buildings.