[Bldg-sim] Building Infiltration

[Karen Walkerman]

There aren't any.  There are a few standards that have infiltration
baselines.  I believe the HERS (Home Energy Rating System) uses an
infiltration baseline of about 0.35-0.4 ACH, and there are some other
standards out there.  Of course, some people will argue that the building
should be positively pressurized so that there will be no infiltration.  I
don't know of anyone that has gotten credit for LEED EA C1 for infiltration,
but in my opinion, this is a huge Appendix G oversight.  My suggestion is to
apply for a CIR and suggest an infiltration baseline.  If the building is
100% renovation, the baseline could be established using a blower door test
on the original building, or you could come up with another reasonable,
established baseline.

--
Karen

On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 10:16 AM, Mark Prince <mprince at aeieng.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm involved with a project that is considering pursuing LEED
> certification.  It is a remodel/renovation of an existing office building.
>
> The existing office building has quite a bit of infiltration.  As part of
> the renovation process, the exterior walls are being sprayed with a foam
> insulation that will significantly reduce this infiltration.  Someone has
> asked the question, if we can take credit for this reduction in
> infiltration.  In other words, they want to model the Appendix G baseline
> building with the old infiltration rate and model the proposed building with
> the new infiltration rate.  This will show a good amount of energy cost
> savings.
>
> Is this acceptable?  I'm having a difficult time finding any reference to
> infiltration rates within Appendix G.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mark Prince
> Affiliated Engineers
> 5802 Research Park Blvd.
> Madison, WI 53719
> (608) 441-6668
> mprince at aeieng.com
>
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