Effect of airtightness on thermal loads in legacy low-income housing

Spain's high winter weather-associated death count, the second largest in Europe, can be attributed primarily to the low construction standards of its social housing, particularly the stock built prior to the entry into effect of the earliest statutory provisions on envelope quality. Hence, imp...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Domínguez Amarillo, Samuel, Fernández-Agüera, Jessica, Campano, Miguel Ángel, Acosta García, Ignacio Javier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/87958
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/87958
https://doi.org/10.3390/en12091677
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Air infiltration
Airtightness
Blower door test
Energy demand
Residential buildings
Southern Europe
Descripción
Sumario:Spain's high winter weather-associated death count, the second largest in Europe, can be attributed primarily to the low construction standards of its social housing, particularly the stock built prior to the entry into effect of the earliest statutory provisions on envelope quality. Hence, improving building envelopes to both reduce energy consumption and raise occupant comfort levels is important. Air leakage is one of the factors with the greatest impact on indoor comfort and domestic energy consumption. This study explores the sensitivity of energy consumption to that parameter in a series of types of social housing built between 1950 and 1979 in five Mediterranean climate zones. Demand in a total of 53 housing units located in 21 developments was simulated to that end. The findings show that air permeability has a significant effect on wintertime demand in the sample studied. Although the impact is greater in the more severe climates where it is estimated to be over 10 kWh/m2, it may also affect energy consumption in mild climates.