Airtightness measurement of large buildings by using multi-zonal techniques: a case study

Nowadays the improvement of building airtightness is an essential condition to achieve high energy performance of buildings. Therefore, there is a need to precisely describe and quantify buildings infiltrations. 

The future of passive techniques for air change rate measurement

Ventilation is critical in interpreting indoor air quality (IAQ), yet few IAQ assessments report ventilation rates; even when they do, the measurement method is often not fully described. Most ventilation assessments use a tracer gas test (TGT) to measure total air change rate. In a TGT, the indoor air is marked with an easily identifiable gas (tracer) so that the air exchange rate can be inferred by monitoring the tracer’s injection rate and concentration.

Airflow measurements at supply air terminal devices on residential balanced ventilation systems

In France, the control of ventilation system at commissioning is mandatory in the context of the Effinergie + label and the measurement of airflows in residential houses is mandatory since 2017 in this label. The Promevent project (2013-2016) was aiming at improving the reliability of those controls. Guidelines have been issued for visual inspection of system, airflow measurements at air terminal devices (ATD) and ductwork airtightness measurements.  

Non-intrusive experimental assessment of air renovations in buildings and comparison to tracer gas measurements

The work reported in this paper extends previous work on the feasibility to characterise air leakage and mechanical ventilation avoiding intrusiveness of traditional measurement techniques. The feasibility to obtain the air renovation rate itself, as well as the possibilities to express it as function of other variables (such as wind speed, atmospheric pressure, etc.), are studied. Tracer gas measurements based on N2O have been used as reference.

An extended pressure range comparison of the blower door and novel pulse method for measuring the airtightness of two outdoor chambers with different levels of airtightness

The steady pressurisation method measures the building leakage in a range of high pressures, typically 10-60 Pa. It is implemented by creating a steady pressure difference across the building envelope and measuring the corresponding airflow exchange rate between the indoor and outdoor simultaneously. This method has been widely used and accepted as the standard test for demonstrating building air-tightness compliance. Conversely, the novel pulse technique, has been developed to measure the building air leakage at low pressures typically in the range of 1-10 Pa.

Individual unit and guard-zone air tightness tests of apartment buildings

The air tightness of eight apartment buildings containing six to eleven units each on three or four floors has been tested with and without guard-zone pressure, i.e. with and without consideration of internal leakages. The layouts of these buildings varied: two of them had no central stairwell, in two other buildings, only some of the apartments were connected to the central stairwell, and the third type had all apartments connected to a central stairwell.   During these tests, two to eight BlowerDoor systems were used simultaneously to create guard-zone pressure conditions.  

A cost-effective and versatile sensor data platform for monitoring and analysis of building services

Conventional building management systems are costly to install in existing buildings. Building services fail, which results in a cascade of incorrect responses, or occupants and administrators misuse systems. A possible way to reduce the installations costs is to use wireless sensor networks (WSN) to monitor and control building services. 

Indoor air quality investigation in a ventilated demonstrator building via a smart sensor

This study deals with ventilation effects on measured and perceived indoor air quality (IAQ) in a demonstrator building where IAQ problems can occur. Unlike outdoor air, indoor air is usually recycled continuously, which makes it trapping pollutants. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is characterized by a pollutants' concentration, as well as air temperature and humidity. The study's aim is to implement an efficient and smart ventilation system while leaning on continuous measurements of indoor air pollutants in a demonstrator building via a smart sensor based on a Raspberry Pi 3 model B+ card.

Are low-cost sensors good enough for IAQ controls?

Over the past few years there have been advances in sensing of some pollutants, primarily particles, that might lead to ventilation controls based on direct sensing of pollutants – particularly those relating to health. In this study we evaluated low-cost (about $200 US) IAQ monitors that measured PM2.5 - the most important health-related pollutant in indoor air. Controlled laboratory tests were carried out with known sources of particles (cooking, cleaning, candles, cigarettes) and by comparing the IAQ monitors response to research-grade and reference measurement methods.

Use of low cost IAQ sensors?

The difficulty in measuring IAQ indicators like VOCs and particles, lies in the multiplicity of the composition of these pollutants. Analysis of the responses of some low cost IAQ sensors when subjected to real sources of pollution shows that they do not react homogeneously, due to their sensitivity and post-treatments. These sensors can be used by consumers to understand the effect of their actions on the evolution of IAQ indicators, not to rely directly on the values displayed.

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