Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study

Air leakage and its impact on the energy performance of dwellings has been broadly studied in countries with cold climates in Europe, US, and Canada. However, there is a lack of knowledge in this field in Mediterranean countries. Current Spanish building regulations establish ventilation rates based...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Feijó Muñoz, Jesús, Poza Casado, Irene, González Lezcano, Roberto Alonso, Pardal, Cristina, Echarri, Víctor, Assiego de Larriva, Rafael, Fernández-Agüera, Jessica, Dios-Viéitez, María Jesús, Campo Díaz, Víctor José del, Montesdeoca Calderín, Manuel, Padilla-Marcos, Miguel Ángel, Meiss, Alberto
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/75019
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/75019
https://doi.org/10.3390/en11040704
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Infiltrations
airtightness of the envelope
blower door test
residential buildings
Descripción
Sumario:Air leakage and its impact on the energy performance of dwellings has been broadly studied in countries with cold climates in Europe, US, and Canada. However, there is a lack of knowledge in this field in Mediterranean countries. Current Spanish building regulations establish ventilation rates based on ideal airtight envelopes, causing problems of over-ventilation and substantial energy losses. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that allows the characterization of the envelope of the housing stock in Spain in order to adjust ventilation rates taking into consideration air leakage. A methodology that is easily applicable to other countries that consider studying the airtightness of the envelope and its energetic behaviour improvement is proposed. A statistical sampling method has been established to determine the dwellings to be tested, considering relevant variables concerning airtightness: climate zone, year of construction, and typology. The air leakage rate is determined using a standardized building pressurization technique according to European Standard EN 13829. A representative case study has been presented as an example of the implementation of the designed methodology and results are compared to preliminary values obtained from the database.