Ventilation and Infiltration 16.

15

• Vertical distance between openings is required to take advantage
of stack effect; the greater the vertical distance, the greater the
ventilation rate.
• Openings near the NPL are least effective for thermally induced
natural ventilation. If the building has only one large opening, the
NPL tends to move to that level, which reduces pressure across
the opening.
Opening characteristics
• Greatest airflow per unit area of total opening is obtained by hav-
ing openings of nearly equal areas. An inlet window smaller than
the outlet creates higher inlet velocities. An outlet smaller than
the inlet creates lower but more uniform airspeeds through the
room.
• Openings with areas much larger than calculated are sometimes
desirable when anticipating increased occupancy or very hot
weather.
• In one room, horizontally separated windows are generally better
than vertically separated windows. They produce more airflow
over a wider range of wind directions and are most beneficial in
locations where prevailing wind patterns shift.
• Window openings should be accessible to and operable by occu-
pants, unless fully automated. For secondary fire egress, operable
windows may be required.
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pressurization test is relatively quick and inexpensive, and it char-
acterizes building envelope airtightness independent of weather
conditions; some jurisdictions now mandate that buildings be
tested and rated. In this procedure, a large, variable-flow fan or
blower is mounted in a door or window and induces a large,
roughly uniform pressure difference across the building shell
[ASTM Standards E779 and E1827; Canadian General Standards
Board (CGSB) Standard 149.10; ISO Standard 9972]. The airflow
required to maintain this pressure difference is then measured. The
leakier the building is, the more airflow is necessary to induce a
specific indoor/outdoor pressure difference. The airflow rate is
generally measured at a series of pressure differences ranging from
about 10 Pa to 75 Pa. Depressurization tests are also used.
The results of a pressurization test, therefore, consist of several
combinations of pressure difference and airflow rate data. An
example of typical data is shown in Figure 9. These data points
characterize the air leakage of a building and are generally con-
verted to a single value that is reported as the building’s airtight-
ness. There are several different measures of airtightness, most of
which involve fitting the data to a curve describing the relationship
between the airflow Q through an opening in the building envelope
and the pressure difference p across it. This relationship is called
the leakage function of the opening. The form of the leakage func-
tion depends on the geometry of the opening. Background theoret-

• Intake and exhaust openings should not be obstructed by draper- ical material relevant to leakage functions may be found in
ies, furniture, or nearby indoor partitions, for example. Partitions Chastain et al. (1987), Etheridge (1977), Hopkins and Hansford
can be placed to split and redirect airflow but should not restrict (1974), Kronvall (1980), and Walker et al. (1997).
flow between the building’s inlets and outlets. Vertical airshafts or Openings in a building envelope are usually not uniform in
open staircases, where allowable by fire code, can be used to geometry, and wind varies, so generally flow never becomes fully
increase and take advantage of stack effects. Enclosed staircases developed. Each opening in the building envelope, however, is often
intended for evacuation or safe haven during a fire must not be described by Equation (40), commonly called the power law equa-
used for ventilation. tion:
Methods and tools have been developed in recent years to move
the art of designing natural ventilation systems beyond the applica- Q = c(p) n (40)
tion of simple rules of thumb to engineered design (Axley et al. where
2002; CIBSE 2005; Emmerich et al. 2012). Q = airflow through opening, m3/s
Hybrid Ventilation c = flow coefficient, m3/(s·Pan)
n = pressure exponent, dimensionless
Successful application of purely natural ventilation systems for
cooling may be very limited in hot or humid climates, such as in
much of the United States, by thermal comfort issues and the need
for reliability. However, hybrid (or mixed-mode) ventilation sys-
tems or operational strategies offer the possibility of saving energy
in a greater number of buildings and climates by combining natural
ventilation systems with mechanical equipment (Emmerich 2006).
The air-side economizer is one form of hybrid ventilation control
scheme, and enjoys wide use in commercial, industrial, and institu-
tional buildings in appropriate climates. The report of the Interna-
tional Energy Agency’s (IEA) Annex 35 describes the principles of
hybrid ventilation technologies, control strategies, design and anal-
ysis methods, and case studies (Heiselberg 2002). Integrated mul-
tizone airflow and thermal modeling is recommended when
designing natural and hybrid ventilation systems (Axley 2001a;
Dols et al. 2014; Li and Heiselberg 2003).

7. RESIDENTIAL AIR LEAKAGE

Most infiltration in U.S. low-rise residential buildings is domi-
nated by unintentional envelope leakage. However, new construc-
tion tends toward tighter building envelopes; where mechanical or
natural ventilation is not provided, it is possible for a residence to be
too “tight,” especially if indoor sources of pollutants are not ade-
quately controlled.
Envelope Leakage Measurement
A building’s envelope leakage can be measured with pres- Fig. 9 Airflow Rate Versus Pressure Difference Data from
surization testing, commonly called a blower-door test. A fan Whole-House Pressurization Test