Quality Assurance

IEA-EBC Annex 68 “Indoor Air Quality Design and Control in Low Energy Residential Buildings” is an international collaborative project to provide new insight into methods and strategies for ensuring high indoor air quality in dwellings during both design and operation phase of their life cycle. Within the Annex 68 work, we defined a common exercise, which focusses on model-to-model comparison of different simulation tools to assess their modelling abilities with respect to combined heat, moisture and pollution transfer.

A project at the Energie- und Umweltzentrum (e.u.[z].) Springe looked into strategies how insulation and sealing components can be installed in existing constructions to improve the best airtightness.

This project investigated the feasibility of using existing software test cases to provide reliability scores for lighting simulation software. Estimation of lighting levels is a key element in commercial building design. And, many lighting programs claim to render light accurately. However, there is little published information on their accuracy. In thermal simulation, the IEA BESTEST (Judkoff et al), recently adopted by ASHRAE as Standard 140 (ASHRAE 140), certifies the acceptability of a thermal simulation code. (e.g.

Progressive design practices are increasingly cognisant of the potential of building energy simulation to assist the delivery of energy efficient, sustainable buildings. However, the success of any building performance assessment hinges on the capabilities of the tool; the collective competences of the team formed to apply it; and, crucially, the existence of an in-house framework within which simulation can be applied with confidence (McElroy and Clarke 1999).

Rad Elec Inc., located in Frederick, MD, USA is the only commercial producer of electret ionchambers (EIC) systems. These are distributed under the brand name of E-PERM, electret-passiveenvironmental radon monitors. Different versions of these are used in various applications, whichinclude: measurement of indoor/outdoor radon, thoron (220Radon), radon flux, radon in water, radiumin soil/building materials, environmental gamma radiation, tritium in air and on surfaces, alphacontamination on surfaces and in soil.

Mould can cause allergic, toxic or infectious reactions (Bardana 2003). The lack of quality standardsfor assessment and removal of indoors mould has caused the German Federal Environmental Office(germ: Umweltbundesamt, UBA) to issue several health-related guidelines (UBA 2002). This studyrecorded to what extend these recommendations has been realized by experts for assessment andremoval of indoors mould damage in Greater Bielefeld, Germany. The expert companies conductedeither assessment (inspectors) or removal (craftsmen) or both, assessment and removal, of mould(case managers).

Air leakages can cause a significant energy penalty, inability of the heating system, and failure of the ventilation system – especially in passive houses. However, they can be avoided if given serious consideration in the design phase. The use of adequat