Airtightness of buildings and ductwork: The TightVent Europe platform

Building and ductwork airtightness represent a key challenge towards very-low energy buildings and therefore towards the ambitious 2020 targets set in the recast of the energy performance of buildings directive. Results of the EU ASIEPI project (www.asiepi.eu, [6]) have shown that for most European climates, leaky envelopes and duct systems have a severe impact on the total energy use of the building, e.g., on the order of 10 kWh per m2 of floor area per year for the heating needs in a moderately cold region (2500 degree-days) and 0 to 5 kWh/m2/year for the ducts plus the additional fan energy use [2][10]. Few European countries have taken steps to overcome this challenge, but whether good or bad, their experience is worth sharing to accelerate the market transformation needed on these issues [4][8][9].  This paper gives an overview of the TightVent Europe platform that started in January 2011 and its scheduled activities for year 2011. More information can be found on the TightVent Europe website (www.tightvent.eu).