SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AEROSPACE AND

CIVIL ENGINEERING

ReaCT MSc

Tutorial 4 Answers: Air leakage heat losses

The methodology for this type of calculation is straightforward:

- calculate the areas of the external building surfaces ( don’t forget to include the
floor)
- work out the air leakage at 50 Pascals applied pressure difference for each surface
- Add these together to get the total air leakage at 50 Pascals
- If an estimate of the air infiltration rate under “normal” conditions is needed,
divide by 20 ( empirical “rule of thumb”)
- If ventilation heat loss is needed, use the formula

Heat loss = Qinf..( Ti – To) /3

(See notes for explanation of terms)

Here are the first three stages of calculation in tabulated form:

Specific leakage @50 Elemental

Pascals leakage
Area m3/hr.m2 at 50Pa ( m3/hr)
Wall 1 960 4.5 4320
Wall 2 480 4.5 2160
Wall 3 960 4.5 4320
Wall 4 480 4.5 2160
Roof 3200 3.5 11200
Floor 3200 3 9600
TOTAL 33760 m3/hr

The air flow rate under “normal” conditions is given by

Qinf = 33760 / 20 = 1688m3/hr .

The infiltration heat loss = 1688.20/ 3 = 11253W

To calculate the effect of the reduction in wall specific air leakage to 3.0 m 3/hr.m2 at 50
Pascals applied pressure difference, it is necessary to recalculate the total air leakage at
50 Pascals, the air flow rate under “normal” conditions and the infiltration heat loss.
The heat loss saving is the difference between the two calculated values.

Specific leakage @50 Elemental

Pascals leakage
Area m3/hr.m2 at 50Pa ( m3/hr)
Wall 1 960 3 2880
Wall 2 480 3 1440
Wall 3 960 3 2880
Wall 4 480 3 1440
Roof 3200 3.5 11200
Floor 3200 3 9600
TOTAL 29440 m3/hr

The air flow rate under “normal” conditions is given by

Qinf = 29440 / 20 = 1472 m3/hr .

The infiltration heat loss = 1472 . 20/ 3 = 9813W

The heat loss saving is therefore 11253 – 9813 = 1441W