Air leakage characteristics of dwellings in high-rise residential buildings in Korea

Reliable airtightness data is needed to calculate the estimate of air infiltration and the thermal loads for building energy efficiency and indoor comfort. While useful information on air leakage in low-rise dwellings does exist, there is little data available on dwellings in increasing high-rise residential buildings (particularly ones with central core plan). In this paper, we conducted airtightness measurement using fan pressurization method for about 350 dwellings in 4 high-rise residential buildings in Korea. The results were compared to airtightness requirements for high performance buildings or several airtightness ratings. The measured results show that average ACH50 was 2.3, and the ACH50 value was within the range of 2~5 which are level of 'quite tight' on the basis of ASHRAE airtightness ratings. The results of the building component test show that the most leak parts of dwelling are the internal walls between residential units.