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The Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) recently developed design/construction strategies that improve the energy efficiency, reduce the potential for mould, and improve indoor air quality in newly constructed buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations. ERDC-CERL performed building envelope leakage tests on Army facilities to test their general integrity and the effect of increased airtightness on building energy consumption.

This paper presents results from whole building air leakage tests used to document the leakage reduction due to envelope sealing and assess the accuracy of contractor's estimates of the impact of their sealing. The measurements also compare the differences in envelope leakage reductions determined from depressurization versus pressurization tests and determine mechanical system leakage.

Concern over the airtightness of commercial buildings in North America goes back to the mid nineteen sixties, and with increasing concern in the mid-seventies, primarily due to the energy crisis, but also due to building performance, comfort and durability issues. The Model Canadian National Building Code was the first to adopt airtightness requirements for air barriers in 1985 and quantify it in 1995.

The Proceedings of the 34th AIVC Conference " Energy conservation technologies for mitigation and adaptation in the built environment: the role of ventilation strategies and smart materials", held in Athens, Greece, 25-26 September 2013.

The Presentations of the 34th AIVC Conference " Energy conservation technologies for mitigation and adaptation in the built environment: the role of ventilation strategies and smart materials", held in Athens, Greece, 25-26 September 2013.

The paper focuses on the assessment of indoor comfort and the energy consumption in a University building, during winter and summer time. The examined building belongs to the Cyprus University of Technology, it is located in coastal city of Limassol and it is used for teaching and offices. The main aim of the paper is to make a comparative study of the occupants’ behaviour and its effects on the building’s energy consumption, as well as on the indoor thermal and optical comfort, between winter and summer season.  

An earth-to-air pipe type heat exchanger (EAHE) is a simple and effective ventilation system component, used for preconditioning of the fresh air supplied to a building. This paper presents two sets of results of operational parameters long-term measurements and energy analysis of EAHEs, located under two different retail buildings of floor area over 1000 square meters each.  

The deep hot hyperarid valley between Israel and Jordan presents unique design and construction challenges in terms of energy conservation and thermal comfort. Winters are relatively mild, summers are extremely hot during the day and at night the air temperature remains above 25°C.  Such conditions present real challenges in this sparsely populated yet rapidly developing region. Such development depends on the ability to provide acceptable indoor environments at a low energy investment.