Review of building airtightness and ventilation standards.

Increased attention to the reduction of energy consumption in buildings and greater awareness of the need to maintain acceptable standards of indoor air quality have led to the development of new or revised standards of building airtightness and ventilation requirements. In this review of the existing standards of twelve countries, an attempt has been made to compare their main features and criteria. In many cases, direct comparison is not possible because of different ways of expressing the significant parameters. However, where comparison is possible, some differences between countries are evident.Recognition and further consideration of these differences may be important in the further development of relevant national and international standards.