English

The airtightness just after the end of a building phase is assumed to be relevant criteria for high energy performance. Testing on site the initial performance of the airtightness via the blower door test has become nowadays a common practice. This test is generally realized at the end of the construction works. What about the influence of ageing on the airtightness? Many questions exist on the durability of this initial performance.

This paper presents the new framework for the realization of reliable pressurization tests in Belgium and the provisions taken to widen the number of buildings where a valid pressurization test can be realized.

Airtightness becomes a more and more important parameter in the rationalization of the energy consumption.  The quality of the works during the construction process is essential. However, this particular step is on itself absolutely not sufficient to build airtight buildings. Airtightness has to be taken into account from the pre-project. For that, architects have to deal with a large bunch of items. Steps as the definition of the ambition level, the precise positioning of the airtightness barrier into the building are essential.

Higher insulation and air tightness levels of buildings, increase the risk on overheating. Ventilative cooling as passive technique can limit overheating and decrease cooling energy consumption. The national energy performance regulations (EPBD) determine whether, how and under which requirements ventilative cooling can assist to reduce cooling demand and overheating. Therefore, those regulations are a key factor in the market uptake of ventilative cooling. Without a realistic and achievable approach, ventilative cooling will marginally be applied in buildings.

The mixing of a tracer gas with zonal air was compared between two zones in an unoccupied test building in both the horizontal and vertical direction. A constant injection of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas was released into each zone separately and its concentration was measured at different positions within the zone. Variations in concentration were observed for different horizontal positions in the southern zone indicating incomplete mixing.

Passive cooling by night ventilation is one of the most promising approaches to reduce cooling energy demand of office buildings in moderate climates. However, the effectiveness of this system depends on many parameters.

Traffic emissions have a significant impact on urban air quality, which particularly concerns street canyons, i.e. spaces with limited air exchange. Traffic emissions in street canyons create high concentrations of air pollutants. Based on measurements carried out for selected routes and model experiments conducted in a wind tunnel, it is shown that a roadway’s urban structure has a significant impact on concentrations of pollutants from traffic emission which enter buildings by means of mechanical and natural ventilation systems.

Many buildings in Sweden are in need of renovation in order to meet the current standards of energy use in buildings. Particularly challenging are old listed buildings, the majority built before 1950, because the renovation is restricted to the parts that do not change the appearance of the building. This paper presents experiences gained during the renovation of a listed building where aging of materials, movements and settlements during the building operation have left trails in form of air leakage paths that are difficult to cover by renovation.

A voluntary certification for very low energy buildings has been implemented in 2013 in France, which requires among other the ventilation systems to be controlled by an independent technician. To ensure the expertise of these technicians, a certification scheme has been implemented for the airtightness measurement of ductwork. This certification will soon be required for the ventilation system controls.

When one intends to evaluate buildings energy efficiency their airtightness is a fundamental parameter. Airtightness is linked to undesirable and uncontrolled ventilation and, therefore, should be minimized. Quantitative characterization of expected leaks of common building elements would be useful for practitioners that intend to improve building enclosures for airtightness optimization. The most well accepted experimental procedure to evaluate in-situ buildings’ airtightness is the fan pressurization method, typically making use of a “blower door” device.