Methods for air tightness analysis for residential buildings in Nordic countries

• Envelope air tightness is one factor that has impact on the energy performance ofbuildings. The goals of the directive 2010/31/EU, on energy performance ofbuildings, raise the importance of building energy performance analysis in theprocess. Measurements of air tightness can be useful both when evaluatingbuilding energy performance and developing new building techniques. The aimof this paper is to review and evaluate methods to measure air tightness in bothnew and existing residential buildings in Sweden, Norway and Finland, based onan international literature study and a survey. The methods are categorized basedon a number of criteria to determine their suitability in different situations.Advantages and disadvantages of the methods are discussed, as well ascommonly used methods in the three countries. The review shows that thestandard ISO 9972 is used for verification in all three countries, but alternativesexist that might be more suitable in certain situations. Simpler methods are usedin the building process to increase air tightness. To achieve a comparablemeasurement, both common methods and commonly defined units are needed.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Husbyggnad (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Building Technologies (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik -- Energisystem (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering -- Energy Systems (hsv//eng)

Keyword

air tightness measurements

residential buildings

cold climate

energy use

building regulations

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)