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Title: Technology Solutions Case Study: Air Leakage and Air Transfer Between Garage and Living Space, Waldorf, Maryland

Abstract

In this project, Building Science Corporation worked with production homebuilder K. Hovnanian to evaluate air transfer between the garage and living space in a single-family detached home constructed by a production homebuilder in compliance with the 2009 International Residential Code and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. The project gathered important information about the performance of whole-building ventilation systems and garage ventilation systems as they relate to minimizing flow of contaminated air from garage to living space. A series of 25 multipoint fan pressurization tests and additional zone pressure diagnostic testing measured the garage and house air leakage, the garage-to-house air leakage, and garage and house pressure relationships to each other and to outdoors using automated fan pressurization and pressure monitoring techniques. While the relative characteristics of this house may not represent the entire population of new construction configurations and air tightness levels (house and garage) throughout the country, the technical approach was conservative and should reasonably extend the usefulness of the results to a large spectrum of house configurations from this set of parametric tests in this one house. Based on the results of this testing, the two-step garage-to-house air leakage test protocol described above is recommended where whole-housemore » exhaust ventilation is employed. For houses employing whole-house supply ventilation (positive pressure) or balanced ventilation (same pressure effect as the baseline condition), adherence to the EPA Indoor airPLUS house-to-garage air sealing requirements should be sufficient to expect little to no garage-to-house air transfer.« less

Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Buildng Science Corporation (BSC)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B) (Building America)
OSTI Identifier:
1220382
Report Number(s):
DOE/GO-102014-4490
6980
Resource Type:
Program Document
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
residential; residential buildings; BSC; Building America; indoor air quality; IAQ; air leakage; garage; garage-to-house air leakage; garage testing; blower door testing; attached garage ventilation; whole-house ventilation

Citation Formats

. Technology Solutions Case Study: Air Leakage and Air Transfer Between Garage and Living Space, Waldorf, Maryland. United States: N. p., 2014. Web.
. Technology Solutions Case Study: Air Leakage and Air Transfer Between Garage and Living Space, Waldorf, Maryland. United States.
. 2014. "Technology Solutions Case Study: Air Leakage and Air Transfer Between Garage and Living Space, Waldorf, Maryland". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1220382.
@article{osti_1220382,
title = {Technology Solutions Case Study: Air Leakage and Air Transfer Between Garage and Living Space, Waldorf, Maryland},
author = {},
abstractNote = {In this project, Building Science Corporation worked with production homebuilder K. Hovnanian to evaluate air transfer between the garage and living space in a single-family detached home constructed by a production homebuilder in compliance with the 2009 International Residential Code and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. The project gathered important information about the performance of whole-building ventilation systems and garage ventilation systems as they relate to minimizing flow of contaminated air from garage to living space. A series of 25 multipoint fan pressurization tests and additional zone pressure diagnostic testing measured the garage and house air leakage, the garage-to-house air leakage, and garage and house pressure relationships to each other and to outdoors using automated fan pressurization and pressure monitoring techniques. While the relative characteristics of this house may not represent the entire population of new construction configurations and air tightness levels (house and garage) throughout the country, the technical approach was conservative and should reasonably extend the usefulness of the results to a large spectrum of house configurations from this set of parametric tests in this one house. Based on the results of this testing, the two-step garage-to-house air leakage test protocol described above is recommended where whole-house exhaust ventilation is employed. For houses employing whole-house supply ventilation (positive pressure) or balanced ventilation (same pressure effect as the baseline condition), adherence to the EPA Indoor airPLUS house-to-garage air sealing requirements should be sufficient to expect little to no garage-to-house air transfer.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1220382}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}

Program Document:
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