Building Airtightness: Are Results Repeatable?

Abstract

Airtightness testing of buildings is a new practice in building commissioning. The goal of this testing is to help regulate and promote airtight buildings. An airtight building has many advantages including low energy usage, increased user comfort and a decrease in pollutants entering the building. When buildings are commissioned, they are only airtightness tested once. Little testing has conducted to evaluate variance in the airtightness of buildings, throughout seasonal and daily changes in weather. This research tests if the airtightness of a building changes throughout seasonal and daily changes in weather. As weather properties, such as temperature and relative humidity change, it is possible that the characteristics of the airtight assembly, such as the air barrier membrane, joints and sealants, will change. If there are notable changes in the airtightness of a building throughout repeat tests, the validity of a single airtightness test comes into question.