airtightness

It is now internationally accepted by the disciplines of structural engineering and building physics that in the interests of energy efficiency heated buildings should be equipped with airtight building envelopes. The airtightness of the building envelope as a fundamental construction objective is therefore no longer in question. But it is...

If there are leaks in an airtight layer which cannot be accessed any longer, the question arises as to whether the structure is still fit for purpose, or in more pragmatic terms: "Can rework be avoided?" Rework is always extremely resource intensive, so it must be specifically required. “Moisture safety” - which is purely a matter of building physics...

All too often, we experts and measurement technicians are totally fixated on airtightness issues. Based on three practical cases, I would like to demonstrate that windproofness, minimal convection in the insulation layer, and the convective separation of different structural elements from one another should also be taken into account...

In recent years, the level of prefabrication in timber construction has increased many times over. Although breaking down wall sections into prefabricated elements presents few problems at certain interfaces as long as this work and subsequent installation are done with care, unfortunately this is not yet the case for the roof elements. This paper...

Airtightness is mandatory, which also makes ventilation concepts mandatory. Today, the construction/renovation of a building without a ventilation system is impractical in terms of energy efficiency. The minimum air change rate and moisture protection must also be taken into account. Unfortunately, in many buildings...

Even though air leakage assessment is key towards a better energy performance of buildings, Spain has still not established limitations regarding airtightness. National building regulations in Spain are gathered in the National Building Code (CTE), which was first released in 2006 and updated several times so far. Airtightness should be...

The situation in Switzerland is as follows: Neither the Swiss Energy Act nor cantonal energy acts/energy regulations stipulate a legal measurement of airtightness. The current standards of the Swiss Engineers and Architects Association (Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein, SIA) are the latest standards for architecture...

I have already talked about the issue of airtightness designs in Swiss standards at the Buildair Conference in 2015. What are the challenges we are facing two years later, regarding airtightness in Switzerland? And which of the issues in this context could be of interest for other countries...