Window air tightness and its influence on energy saving and minimum required ventilation

Abstract

The first part of the paper presents a method for establishing the conditions and an acceptance criterion for window air-tightness testing, in relation to average energy (heating) saving per winter. Wind velocity data of the Israeli meteorological station of Ashdod is used in order to demonstrate the difference between various methods for the evaluation of the ‘design wind velocity’. Forty-one different typical dwellings are used in order to determine a unique criterion for the acceptable air leakage under test conditions, which ensures an average of one air change per hour in most Israeli dwellings. The second part of the paper demonstrates the energy inefficiency arising from using flueless appliances, when minimum health standards are required and translated into minimum constant ventilation requirements.