Feijó-Muñoz, JesúsPoza-Casado, IreneGonzález-Lezcano, Roberto AlonsoPardal, CristinaEcharri, VíctorAssiego de Larriva, RafaelFernández-Agüera, JesicaDios-Viéitez, María JesúsDel Campo-Díaz, Víctor JoséMontesdeoca Calderín, ManuelPadilla-Marcos, Miguel ÁngelMeiss, Alberto2018-05-292018-05-292018-02-21Jesús, F.-M.; Irene, P.-C.; Roberto Alonso, G.-L.; Cristina, P.; Víctor, E.; Rafael, A.L.; Jesica, F.-A.; María Jesús, D.-V.; Víctor José, D.C.-D.; Manuel, M.C.; Miguel Ángel, P.-M.; Alberto, M. Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study. Energies 2018, 11, 704.1996-1073http://hdl.handle.net/2183/20763[Abstract] Air leakage and its impact on the energy performance of dwellings has been broadly studied in countries with cold climates in Europe, US, and Canada. However, there is a lack of knowledge in this field in Mediterranean countries. Current Spanish building regulations establish ventilation rates based on ideal airtight envelopes, causing problems of over-ventilation and substantial energy losses. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that allows the characterization of the envelope of the housing stock in Spain in order to adjust ventilation rates taking into consideration air leakage. A methodology that is easily applicable to other countries that consider studying the airtightness of the envelope and its energetic behaviour improvement is proposed. A statistical sampling method has been established to determine the dwellings to be tested, considering relevant variables concerning airtightness: climate zone, year of construction, and typology. The air leakage rate is determined using a standardized building pressurization technique according to European Standard EN 13829. A representative case study has been presented as an example of the implementation of the designed methodology and results are compared to preliminary values obtained from the database.engAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/InfiltrationAirtightness of the envelopeBlower door testResidential buildingsjournal articleopen access