The effect of an enclosure retrofit on air leakage rates for a multi-unit residential case-study building

Abstract

This paper presents a relatively new, simple and robust, method for air leakage testing. A thirteen-story multi-unit residential building was tested for air leakage before and after an enclosure retrofit. The building suites had a pre-retrofit NLA50 average of 6.77cm2/m2 and an average post-retrofit NLA50 of 2.82cm2/m2—a 58% betterment. The effect of the retrofit on air leakage rates was assessed and compared to other multi-unit residential buildings across Canada and USA. The case study building was significantly tighter than other multi-unit residential buildings included in published studies. Recommendations were made for field-testing procedures in order to maximize the potential for accurate measured flow characteristics. Field-testing for air-tightness needs to be standardized in order for useful comparative results to be generated in order to inform future research and operational considerations for the multi-unit residential building stock across North America.