Research on airtightness durability in Norway

Achieving adequate airtightness of a building envelope is crucial for preventing moisture-related damages in cold and humid climate zones, such as in Norway. Leaky joints and perforations in air and vapor barriers are often critical points where damaging air leakages arise. Thus, the durability of products, such as adhesive tapes, is crucial to ensure a proper airtightness and performance of critical building details and overall constructions. Having in mind that deterioration of airtightness due to failure of the adhesive systems leads usually to increased heat losses and in turn an increased heat demand, the energy efficiency can be significantly weakened as well. The TightEN competence project carried out in the years 2019-2022 and leaded by one of Europe’s largest research institutes, SINTEF, in cooperation with industry and university partners, among others the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, aimed to highlight and strengthen the research on adhesive tapes and develop test methods adequate in the cold climate conditions to ensure a proper durability of sealing solutions over time so that energy efficiency is maintained throughout buildings’ lifetime.