house

Reports the investigation of the natural ventilation of three test houses. Describes the houses which were of standard design. Natural ventilation rates were measured using sulphur hexafluoride as a tracer gas. An energy audit was also performed using a fan to pressurize and depressurize the house and an infrared scanner to detect the leakage paths. The tracer gas measurements were converted to a format similar to thepressurization results by using a previously developed model. Gives results in the form of graphs.

Documents and compares the air infiltration levels experienced in five Twin Rivers townhouses before and after retrofit. The retrofits sealed and caulked window frames, sealed cracks along the attic floor/party wall Junction and reduced leakage from basement to attic. Weather data and air infiltration rates were analysed using multiple regression, polar plotting, stemleaf plotting and comparisons of infiltration rates with inside to outside temperature differences. Gives results in graphs and tables.

Shows need for intermittent high ventilation in dwellings to remove water vapour and odours. Suggests openable windows as the simplest and most common method of ventilation control. Gives air-change-rates in two british houses using carbon dioxide andnitrous oxide as tracer gases, showing the effect of opening windows. Shows that increase in ventilation rate caused by opening windows can be tenfold and is not confined to the room with the open window. Closing of internal doors has a significant effect. Describes investigation of air flow within rooms using smoke.

Reports measurements in seven groups of town house in Gavle, Sweden of concentrations of radon and daughter products. Gives results with the type of building materials, the ventilation systems and air-change rates measured using nitrous oxide as a tracer gas. Gives formula for the permitted limits of radionucleides in building materials. Discussed results and concludes that the concentration of radon does not differ significantly from single family to multi-family houses.

Proposes general method to identify contribution of resident-dependent effects to observed variability of energy consumption in similar houses. Method assumes that in addition to records of energy consumption over time, there is access to information about date of change of occupants. For data on TwinRivers, New Jersey, shows that the role of resident-dependent effects dominates the role of effects that depend on structural variations over which residents have no effective control.

Presents method for collecting air infiltration data in a large sample of dwellings. The method consists of a tracer gas dilution technique using sulphur hexafluoride and employing air sample bags which are analyzed in a central laboratory. Themethod is easy to perform and inexpensive and will be used in approximately 300 dwellings on 16 sites to give air exchange rates under typical heating season conditions. Presents preliminary data on air infiltration rates in low-income housing in Portland, Maine.

Describes pressure method for testing whole houses for air leakage. States main advantages compared to tracer gas technique are that equipment is inexpensive, easy to handle and so well adapted to routine tests. The house is pressurized using a powerful fan and the flow through the fan is equivalent to the leakage through the building envelope at given pressure. Summarizes measurements made on test houses. and shows use of thermography to detect leaks. suggests use of pressure test to estimate the natural ventilation of a house.

Describes portable air leakage apparatus capable of measuring the air infiltration of whole dwellings directly on site by the pressure method. Main assembly consists of a flow measurement duct and electric fan. Describes test procedure and gives air leakage curves for an ordinary semi-detached house and an experimental house. Finds that doors and windows account for a surprisingly small proportion of total leakage.

Points out that increased levels of thermal insulation in dwellings make ventilation heat loss an increasingly significant proportion of total dwelling heat loss and of great significance for sizing heating installations and selecting their control equipment. Treats attempts to reduce ventilation loss by specifying greater tightness of building structures, especially windows.

Ventilation rates in two test home were measured using helium as a tracer gas. Pressure differences across the exterior walls of the house were recorded using pressure taps. Gives results for air infiltration tests and the calculated air infiltration. Finds that during summer air infiltration rates varied approximately linearly with wind velocity. During the winter, the pattern and extent of air infiltration were influenced by both house stack action and furnace operation.