Using non-invasive MEMS pressure sensors for measuring building envelope air leakage

Casillas, Armando; Modera, Mark; Pritoni, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110653

Using non-invasive MEMS pressure sensors for measuring building envelope air leakage

Journal Article · Sun Feb 14 23:00:00 EST 2021 · Energy and Buildings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110653· OSTI ID:1828560

Casillas, Armando ^[1]; Modera, Mark ^[2]; Pritoni, Marco ^[3]

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensors have seen significant improvements in accuracy and cost over the past several years, and due to the need for altitude sensing in unmanned aerial vehicles and wearable technologies, absolute pressure sensors have shown the most dramatic improvements. This paper investigates applications of MEMS sensors in commercial buildings, including pairing two absolute pressure sensors to determine differential pressures between different locations in and around buildings. Differential pressure measurements are commonly made in commercial buildings for a number of applications, including static pressure measurements for variable-speed supply fan control, air balancing in hospitals, and for envelope and duct air leakage testing. This paper focuses specifically on envelope air-leakage testing applications of these sensors. The use of continuous pressure measurements in addition to one-time non-intrusive outdoor airflow measurements of rooftop packaged units is investigated. A comparison with standardized leakage testing indicated that continuous measurements with MEMS pressure-sensors were able to estimate envelope leakage to within 3–16% of the standardized test result. In addition, the magnitude and stability of differential pressure differences that can be resolved with absolute pressure sensors are also investigated in the laboratory and the field. Results show that the sensors can be effectively used for pressures seen in low rise buildings with rooftop units.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1828560

Journal Information:: Energy and Buildings, Journal Name: Energy and Buildings Vol. 233; ISSN 0378-7788

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (15)

The energy impact of infiltration: a study on buildings located in north central Spain Meiss, Alberto; Feijó-Muñoz, Jesús Energy Efficiency, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9270-x	journal	July 2014
Building leakage, infiltration, and energy performance analyses for Finnish detached houses Jokisalo, Juha; Kurnitski, Jarek; Korpi, Minna Building and Environment, Vol. 44, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2008.03.014	journal	February 2009
Air leakage levels in timber frame building envelope joints Kalamees, Targo; Alev, Üllar; Pärnalaas, Mihkel Building and Environment, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.02.011	journal	May 2017
Effects of double glazed facade on energy consumption, thermal comfort and condensation for a typical office building in Singapore Hien, Wong Nyuk; Liping, Wang; Chandra, Aida Noplie Energy and Buildings, Vol. 37, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2004.08.004	journal	June 2005
A model for analysis of convection induced by stack effect in a shaft with warm airflow expelled from adjacent space Yang, Dong; Du, Tao; Peng, Shini Energy and Buildings, Vol. 62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.02.045	journal	July 2013
Feasibility of building envelope air leakage measurement using combination of air-handler and blower door Kim, Min-Hwi; Jo, Jae-Hun; Jeong, Jae-Weon Energy and Buildings, Vol. 62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.03.034	journal	July 2013
Energy impacts of envelope tightening and mechanical ventilation for the U.S. residential sector Logue, J. M.; Sherman, M. H.; Walker, I. S. Energy and Buildings, Vol. 65 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.06.008	journal	October 2013
Methods to Reduce Stack Effect and Improve Energy Efficiency in a Nordic High Rise Residential Building Kosonen, Risto; Jokisalo, Juha; Ranta-aho, Ilari Procedia Engineering, Vol. 205 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.10.118	journal	January 2017
Low‐frequency measurement of leakage in enclosures Sherman, Max; Modera, Mark Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 57, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1138615	journal	July 1986
Air infiltration in buildings Sherman, Max AIP Conference Proceedings Vol. 135 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.35480	conference	January 1985
Case studies of building envelope leakage measurement using an air-handler fan pressurisation approach Jeong, J-W; Firrantello, J.; Bahnfleth, Wp Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, Vol. 29, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624407088049	journal	May 2008
Interstitial Condensation Due to Air Leakage: A Sensitivity Analysis Janssens, A.; Hens, H. Journal of Thermal Envelope and Building Science, Vol. 27, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1177/1097196303027001002	journal	July 2003
Semantic Interoperability to Enable Smart, Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings Bergmann, Harry; Mosiman, Cory; Saha, Avijit ACEEE https://doi.org/10.20357/b7s304	dataset	January 2020
Pressure Sensors Positioning for Leakages Detection under Uncertain Demands Puleo, Valeria; Freni, Gabriele; La Loggia, Goffredo HIC 2018. 13th International Conference on Hydroinformatics, EPiC Series in Engineering https://doi.org/10.29007/4cg3	conference	September 2018
Control Strategies in Multi-Zone Air Conditioning Systems Rismanchi, Behzad; Zambrano, Juan; Saxby, Bryan Energies, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.3390/en12030347	journal	January 2019

Similar Records

Protocol for field testing of tall buildings to determine envelope air leakage rate

Conference · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999 · OSTI ID:20085600

Development of novel techniques for non-invasive air leakage and moisture detection in building envelopes

Conference · Thu May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · OSTI ID:2573520

Impact of Air Leakage on the Thermal and Moisture Performance of the Building Envelope

Conference · Wed Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2001 · OSTI ID:788642

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
Air-tightness
Cloud-based data acquisition system
Energy efficiency
Envelope leakage
Field test
IoT
Laboratory test
MEMS
Pressure sensor
Sensor

Using non-invasive MEMS pressure sensors for measuring building envelope air leakage

Citation Formats

References (15)

Similar Records

Related Subjects