Infiltration rate in ACH

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Bfdc
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Infiltration rate in ACH

Post by Bfdc »

Hello All,

I've been advised to input a 5m3/hm2 air infiltration rate. Considering that the pressure in IES is set @50 P, what's the best way to convert this to ach? CIBSE TM23 recommends to multiply times the surface-volume ratio, but result seems to high.

Could anybody give me an advise on this?

THANKS!
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VirtualEngineer
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Re: Infiltration rate in ACH

Post by VirtualEngineer »

Hi

I realise this was posted a while ago, but thought I'd add to it as I'd be interested to see what method everyone uses.

I usually use the tables given in CIBSE Guide A Section 4.6 which are based on empirical values for air infiltration rate. These give a relatively good idea of the infiltration rate for different types of building with various height/area combinations.

For converting from air pressure test values at 50 Pa to ACH, Figure 4.15 (CIBSE Guide A Section 4.6) gives a conversion factor relative to volume of enclosed space.

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Complex Potential
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Re: Infiltration rate in ACH

Post by Complex Potential »

I'm assuming that this is for the purposes of carrying out a heating load calculation?

I'll tell you what I tell the mechanical engineers where I work. It's not the modellers job to decide on what infiltration rate should be. The person responsible for the mechanical design should be making that call.

Pointing at a pressure test target and telling you to use that frankly shows a lack of understanding.

Think about it this way, you could have two identical buildings, one in a city centre completely sheltered from the wind and the other near a cliff edge by the sea, totally exposed to the elements. If they both achieve 5 m3/m2.h @ 50pa in test conditions, does that mean they are going to have the same heating requirement?

Just food for thought.
Wasted Energy
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Re: Infiltration rate in ACH

Post by Wasted Energy »

All

The BSRIA guide for calculating heating loads refers to the use of the TM 23 value. It is usually a small value when expressed as ach, less than 0.1.

You can actually find this value calculated for you as ach in the Building Details tab of the Set Building & System Data in the SBEM/DSM module, because this is the default option for Part L compliance.

The reality is that new buildings are pretty air tight, even at the seaside, and mechanical fresh air loads are far more significant than infiltration losses

W
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