Describes air leakage tests performed in 2 similar houses (one with added insulation and increased airtightness) using the fan pressurization method. Air infiltration measurements were also conducted using the tracer gas decay method and CO2
Reports on a study carried out by HUDAC and DBR on four identical detached houses built in Ontario in 1977. House 1 was built according to the insulation requirements of the 1975 Ontario Building Code, the others were constructed with increased levels of insulation and air tightness. Some of the aims are:
Compares the air change rates measured with SF6 and CO2 using the tracer gas decay technique and the fan extraction method over a wide variety of test chamber sizes and mixing systems. Shows that the conventional air handling orportable floor fans can provide adequate mixing for SF6 tracer gas decay measurements of infiltration. Warns that the mixing operation may become the dominant driving force of infiltration during calm climatic conditions. Finds that +-0.08 ach/h is a reasonable measure of experimental error at the 95%confidence level using SF6 as the tracer gas.
As part of a study by the Building Research Foundation on control methods for the thermal quality of homes, research has been carried out into the usefulness and consequences of a measuring method for the determination of the the airtightness of houses. Airtightness measurements were carried out in sixhouses. Data on occurring ventilation was already available from other research. It appears that the pressurization test for the airtightness of houses can be used to determine the thermal quality of the home.
Reports measurements of air leakage rates in the four energy-conservation research houses using the fan pressurization method. One of the houses is standard for the area and the other three houses have added insulation and vapour barriers. One house has a heat pump and one an air-to-air solar heating system. Air infiltration rates were measured in two of the houses using CO2 as a tracer gas. Discusses results and compares tracer gas with pressurization tests.
Proposes a method of linking pressurization measurements in buildings with infiltration rates. The method is based on a simple theoretical model. Gives details of whole house pressurization tests and tracer gas measurements of ventilation rate (using N2O) in fifteen houses. Gives details of the theoretical model and compares field measurements with model predictions. Finds good agreement and concludes model may be used to estimate air change rates using leakage data. Finds surface pressure coefficients for typical house shapes and notes a dearth of data of this type.
Presents a technique using fan pressurization results and weather data to calculate infiltration. The geometry, leakage distribution, and terrain and shielding classes are combined into two reduced parameters which allow direct comparison of wind-induced and temperature-induced infiltration. Using these two parameters and the total leakage area of the structure (found from fan pressurization) the infiltration can be calculated for any weather condition. Presents experimental results from 15 different sites for comparison with theoretical predictions.
There is a need for correlating results of pressurization tests with infiltration tests, making it possible to predict the infiltration rate of a building on the basis of a pressurization test. Discusses problems with calculation models
Presents a model for predicting air infiltration that eliminates many site- specific parameters normally required. The only information necessary is the geometry and leakage of the structure obtained from fan pressurization measurements. Theleakage quantities, expressed in terms of effective areas, are total leakage area and the leakage areas of the floor and ceiling. Weather parameters are mean wind speed, terrain class, and average temperature difference. The model separates the infiltration problem into two distinct parts: stack and wind regimes.
Presents theoretical model which represents a technique of correlating the easily performed pressurization measurement with the more difficult tracer gas technique. The neutral pressure level is explicitly included to estimate the distribution of openings around the building envelope. Describes model in detail and its application to a number of houses in New Jersey and California.
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