Airtightness of Energy Efficient Buildings

Abstract

The paper deals with the energy performance of buildings with regard to the requirements of Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings. One of the basic principles of energy efficient buildings is perfectly airtight envelope of buildings. Untightness leads to uncontrolled air exchange and increased heat loss. The objective of the paper is to characterize and analyze the airtightness of energy efficient buildings. The analysis is performed on a sample of measurements of energy efficient buildings in the Czech Republic. The sample consists of 50 new buildings built between 2007 and 2011. Each building of the sample fulfills requirements for reduced power consumption with regard to sustainable development.