Airtightness and ventilation in a mild climate country rehabilitated social housing buildings - What users want and what they get

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2015

Authors

Nuno Ramos (Author) FEUP; Almeida, RMSF (Author) Other; Curado, A (Author) Other; Pedro Pereira (Author) FEUP; Manuel, S (Author) Other; Maia, J (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Building and Environment

Vol. 92

Pages: 97-110

ISSN: 0360-1323

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 17 Citations

Scopus - 27 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00G-4FQ

DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.04.016

Abstract (EN): Dwellings should be designed for users' wellbeing but frequently their actions seem to contradict the logic adopted in the design. The impact of users' actions and habits on buildings energy efficiency is well established and documented. However, there is a lack of available information concerning the relationship between user behaviour, building airtightness and ventilation. This paper explores the results of a large experimental campaign, which included: airtightness measurements by fan pressurization of flats; continuous CO2 measurements, and a questionnaire regarding tenants' habits. Forty nine apartments from two different social housing neighbourhoods, one of them recently rehabilitated, were used as case study. Non-rehabilitated flats presented an average ACH(50) of 8.9 h(-1) while the rehabilitated flats presented an average of 6.8 h(-1). The impact of user behaviour in airtightness levels was investigated and, in the rehabilitated case study, the average ACH(50) was 4.3 h(-1) in modified flats and 7.7 h(-1) in non-modified. This can have important consequences on the indoor environment as the average ACH found in a modified flat, ranged from 035 h(-1), in December to 1.01 h(-1) in August, showing the importance of window opening in the actual ventilation rates. The standard methods for estimating average ventilation rates were applied to the sample and results compared with measurements, indicating a need to adapt currently used methodologies to adequately include user effect. The complexity of human behaviour is a challenge for designers and therefore increasing the knowledge of user actions and habits is decisive for building better homes.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14