Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2019: 16th Conference of IBPSA

Towards Development and Validation of a Simplified Infiltration Model for Commercial Buildings

Adam Douglas Wills, Justin Berquist, Iain A Macdonald
National Research Council Canada, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2019.210714
Abstract: As building envelopes continue to become more thermally insulated, the impact of exfiltration/infiltration on space heating demand will become increasingly significant. Heat transfer through opaque and transparent envelope components is well-understood and characterized in building performance simulation (BPS); however, simple constant flow assumptions are often used for modelling air infiltration which can result in substantial inaccuracies in estimated performance. A detailed building thermal and air flow network model was developed as a case study to examine the sensitivity of envelope leakage site distribution to annual space heating energy. Additionally the model was used to determine if this sensitivity diminishes as a building is pressurized. Results of the case study indicate that distribution of leakage area varies annual energy estimates and average infiltration by ±3% and ±10%, respectively, when unpressurized. Pressurization was found to significantly increase sensitivity of annual space heating demand to leakage distribution.
Keywords: air flow networks, infiltration, model validation, whole-building simulation
Pages: 704 - 711
Paper: