Simultaneous measurements of infiltration and intake in an office building

Conference · Mon Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987 · ASHRAE Trans.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6424739

Persily, A K

Tracer gas decay measuring techniques exist to determine whole building air exchange rates. This paper presents two new measuring techniques to determine simultaneously both the amount of air exchange due to intentional outdoor air intake and the amount due to uncontrolled envelope infiltration. One of these techniques was applied to a new office building as a demonstration of the procedure, and to investigate the air exchange characteristics and mechanical ventilation system performance in this particular building. Using a tracer gas measuring technique in combination with multithermistor airflow-rate measuring systems, intake and infiltration rates were measured under a range of weather conditions and outdoor air intake rates. The results indicate that the outdoor air intake rates for this building are often well below their design values, a significant percentage of the net air exchange rate of the building is due to envelope leakage, and the amount of envelope leakage is dependent primarily on the outdoor air intake rate.

• Research Organization: Center for Building Technology, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD (US)
• OSTI ID: 6424739
• Report Number(s): CONF-870620-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: ASHRAE Trans.; (United States) Journal Volume: 93:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320107* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Building Systems-- (1987-)
AIR FLOW
AIR INFILTRATION
BUILDINGS
FLOW RATE
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
INTERACTIONS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
MEASURING METHODS
OFFICE BUILDINGS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
VENTILATION