Modeled and measured infiltration: Phase II. A detailed case study of three homes; Final report
- Ecotope, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
The primary purpose of this work was to investigate the impacts of wind, temperature and mechanical systems on infiltration in real homes, with a view toward resolving infiltration modeling problems raised in recent studies. This report contains results from the second phase of an ongoing project. In Phase I, detailed infiltration and pressure measurements were made by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on four homes in the Pacific Northwest. In this phase, similar measurements were made on an additional three homes, chosen for maximal wind exposure. For the reader`s convenience the summary tables in this report contain data from all seven homes in a uniform format. The predictions of two natural infiltration models (LBL and AIM-2) were compared in detail with one another and the measured data. An improved method of calculating the height parameter for both models is proposed. A modification of the LBL wind model is also proposed. A simple model is presented to incorporate the infiltration effects of exhaust and supply ventilation systems and unbalanced flows due to duct leakage. An unbalanced flow to the conditioned space induces approximately one-half of its magnitude in additional infiltration when it is small relative to natural infiltration. Forced-air distribution systems were investigated in detail. Air handlers and associated duct leakage can have large effects on living-zone infiltration rates; for these homes the median increase in overall infiltration was 21%, based on a runtime of six hours per day. Closing even a single bedroom door can cause a major increase in infiltration when the air handler runs. The bias due to use of a time-averaged concentration tracer technique (i.e., the perfluorocarbon (PFT) method) was assessed and found to be small for the living zones, and large for the wind-dominated, ventilated crawl space and attic zones.
- Research Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Ecotope, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 10125865
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TR-102511; ON: UN94007103; TRN: 94:003042
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jan 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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