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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.

While the importance of air barrier systems in buildings has been understood for decades, it is only in the past decade or so that they have been given appropriate attention in the energy codes of most countries. While at least one country has had air barrier requirements in their codes since the mid-1980s, the “model energy codes” of others have largely ignored the issue until recently.

With the constant evolution of the French EP-regulations, good building airtightness has become mandatory to reach required energy performance. More than 60,000 airtightness tests are performed each year since 2015. Each measurement performed by a qualified tester must be recorded in a national database that is therefore growing fast (more than half million in 2020).

Worldwide, the demand for airtightness tests of tall buildings with a height of approximately 100 m is increasing. This report provides information on the planning and measurement concept for testing the entire building as a “single-zone” and presents the results and findings of the airtightness tests. The test set-up and the tests as such are based on the Passive House Institute's Guide to Measuring Tall Buildings [5] which includes recommendations that go beyond the ISO 9972 standard.

Building air infiltration rate is required as an important input in the calculation of building heat loss. Tests to directly measure infiltration rates are complex and time-consuming to perform, and are therefore usually substituted with an airtightness test as a more efficient alternative. An empirical ratio, or sometimes an infiltration model, is then used to predict the building infiltration rate from the measured airtightness value. For instance, in the United Kingdom the building air permeability measured by a steady pressurisation test and reported at 50 Pa

Air leakage in building envelopes is responsible for a large portion of the building’s heating and cooling requirements. Therefore, fast and reliable detection of leaks is crucial for improving energy efficiency.

As part of the mandated standards for estimating the energy performance of buildings CEN 16798-1 and -2 was developed to provide input for the indoor environment (thermal comfort, air quality/ventilation, lighting, acoustic) to energy calculations and design of buildings with its heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting systems. A revision of this standard has now been started.

Ventilation and air cleaning of interior spaces are promising methods for the reduction of airborne pathogen spread and may reduce the number of (airborne) infections. With this in mind, and in response to the 2020-2022 COVID-19 pandemic, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), in collaboration with TNO have initiated this research program focusing on ventilation (P3VENTI) as part of the larger Pandemic Preparedness Program of VWS (300 million Euros, annually).

ASHRAE’s 2022 publication of a new position document on indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) has been a significant contribution to ongoing discussions of how indoor CO2 can be used to understand ventilation and indoor air quality (IAQ). The position document clarifies what is known about the relationship between CO2 concentrations and ventilation rates, the effects of CO2 on building occupants, and how CO2 concentrations relate to airborne infectious disease transmission. While the position document is a key step to addressing ongoing debate and

The Airborne Infection Reduction through Building Operation and Design for SARS-CoV-2 (AIRBODS ) project aim is to deliver guidance on the ventilation operation and future design of non-domestic buildings and to quantify the risk of, and reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in buildings. It is doing this through experimentation, computer simulation and fieldwork supporting the guidance and tools.