residential building

Discusses ventilation efficiency and production rates of water vapour in residential buildings, using a three person flat of 100 m2 living area as amodel. The cold outer surfaces of a building are the critical ones regarding condensation. To avoid surface condensation, the ventilation requirement is that the air change rate must reduce the vapour content in the room air at least so far as to reduce the dew point temperature below the lowest surface temperature.

The development and construction of portable test equipment to determine air leakage has made it possible to carry out measurements on a large number of dwellings built using different construction technologies. The recording and analysis of the data collected is presented in this paper. This makes it possible to propose a method for taking sealing defects into account in the calculation of air infiltration of dwellings.

In the past several years measurements of radon and its daughters made in residential buildings in the USA indicate that in some situations the potential health hazard to the occupants of buildings from inhalation exposure can be significant.

Provides general information on indoor air pollution sources, the pollutants commonly found indoors and their potential health effects. Contains chapters on formaldehyde and other household contaminants, radon, particulates, combustion products, smoking, energy-efficient buildings, control of indoor air pollutants, air quality in office buildings, and legal and regulatory issues in the USA. Further sources of information are given.

The Aardvark automated system has been developed for continuously measuring the air-exchange rate and 222Rn (radon) concentration in an occupied residence. The air-exchange rate is measured over 90 min intervals by tracer gas decay using sulphur hexafluoride as the tracer gas.

A subcommittee of the Nordic Committee for Building Codes has released guidelines for building regulations regarding indoor air quality, especially concerning ventilation. The main features of the guidelines, such as acceptable outdoor air quality for ventilation and minimum outdoor air flows for dwellings and offices, are presented and discussed. Mechanical ventilation is, in principle, required in all buildings including dwellings, due to therequirement of a minimum outdoor air change of 0.5 h-1 and the normal highly airtight nature of new buildings.

An increasing incidence of 'building illness' is being noted among white-collar workers due to the high pollutant content of air in modern energy-efficient office buildings. 

Describes a mathematical model for the detailed calculation of ventilation heat losses in buildings. The model takes account of the prevailing wind and buoyancy forces, the leakiness of the building facades and internal doors, and the effect of mechanical ventilation. Derives a simplified calculation method. The calculation results are presented as formulae, in numeric and graphical form. Presents results for a 70 m high residential building.

Concentrates on low energy housing construction in Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular, where typical new detached houses with a floor area of 140 m2 now use less energy for space heating than water heating. 

Contains articles on rain penetration and moisture damage in residential construction, moisture sources in houses, control of surface and concealed condensation, and ventilation of houses. Illustrates the various types of condensation problems that may occur, explains the active processes involved in some of these problems and discusses in detail the principal factors surrounding these phenomena i.e. sources of moisture, choice of construction detail, and current ventilation practice.