Residential buildings airtightness frameworks: A review on the main databases and setups in Europe and North America

• Published in: Building and environment 2020-10, Vol.183, p.107221, Article 107221
• Main Authors: Poza-Casado, Irene, Cardoso, Vitor E.M., Almeida, Ricardo M.S.F., Meiss, Alberto, Ramos, Nuno M.M., Padilla-Marcos, Miguel Ángel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Airtightness; Buildings; Data acquisition; Data analysis; Data processing; Quality control; Regulation policy; Residential areas; Residential buildings; Review paper
• ISSN: 0360-1323; 1873-684X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107221

The airtightness of buildings has gained relevance in the last decade. The spread of the regulatory frameworks, the demand of stricter requirements, schemes for testing and quality control, the creation of airtightness databases and its analysis, is proof of this reality. The present review encompasses schemes developed in Europe and North America with regard to these aspects for national residential sectors. A normative framework on requirements and recommendations at the national level is compiled. Whole building airtightness databases are compared based on their structures and measurement data acquisition protocols. Gathered complementary information not directly related to testing is analysed and airtightness influencing factors importance and relationships are discussed. Weaknesses and strengths in the different aspects of the existing database setups are identified. Also, neglected or not entirely undertaken topics are pinpointed together with the suggestion of possible opportunities for future works and changes. Amongst other relevant remarks and discussions, it is concluded that the lack of uniformization in method between countries, the need for a minimum data setup, the lack of data analysis on relating the energy impact with the advancement in requirements of airtightness performance and the implemented setups are some of the main issues to address in the near future. •A thorough review of the regulatory context and the main database schemes on whole building airtightness.•National initiatives differ significantly although international standards are in place.•The absence of regulation on most of southern and eastern European countries hinders the implementation of nZEB .