Experimental Air-Tightness Analysis in Mediterranean Buildings after Windows Retrofit

Francesca Romana D’Ambrosio Alfano, Marco Dell’Isola, Giorgio Ficco, Boris Igor Palella and Giuseppe Riccio
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Francesca Romana D’Ambrosio Alfano: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale (DIIn), Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Marco Dell’Isola: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Meccanica (DICEM), Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale, Via G. Di Blasio 43, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Giorgio Ficco: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Meccanica (DICEM), Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale, Via G. Di Blasio 43, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Boris Igor Palella: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale (DII), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Vincenzo Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Giuseppe Riccio: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale (DII), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Vincenzo Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 10, 1-9

Abstract: Energy saving and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in buildings are strongly affected by air leakages. Several studies reveal that the energy loss owing to leaky windows can account for up to 40% of the total building energy demand. Furthermore, at the design stage, the possible infiltration of outdoor air through windows is not taken into account when determining the nominal outdoor airflow rate of the ventilation system. This practice may result in an oversizing of the ventilation system and consequent energy waste. Thus, the air-tightness class of a wall assembly should be assessed for each window component considering the type of material, the presence of the seal, the type of closure, the sealing and the maintenance condition. In this paper, the authors present the experimental results of air-tightness measurements carried out using the fan pressurization method in three residential buildings located in the Mediterranean region before and after a window retrofit. Two different window retrofits were investigated: the application of rubber seals on window frames and the substitution of existing windows with new certified high performance windows. The effectiveness of such retrofits was estimated also in terms of energy saving. Test results demonstrated a high variability of the building air tightness after window retrofits, despite the fact that air tight–certified windows were used.

Keywords: air-tightness; building envelope; Indoor Air Quality; IAQ; energy saving; ventilation; building retrofit; fan pressurization test; window (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:10:p:991-:d:79649

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