Field measurements of infiltration rate in high rise residential buildings using the constant concentration method

It is very important to identify and measure the amount of infiltration in a building because the infiltration affects indoor air quality and heating and cooling load in buildings. However, no information is available on infiltration in high rise residential buildings in Korea. Therefore, the infiltration rates of 45 units of Korean residential buildings were measured using the constant concentration method with tracer gas. The purpose of this study is to examine the infiltration rate of residential buildings according to the area of the unit, level of the unit, the seasonal conditions, and presence of exterior windows to balconies. The measurements were simultaneously conducted at the low, middle, and high level unit in the same building over 24 h. The infiltration rate was measured by season and the average infiltration rate was about 0.2 ACH during the summer and autumn and 0.6 ACH during the winter. The infiltration rate according to the level shows that the infiltration rate tends to be higher in low level units during autumn and winter. Infiltration rates increase as the difference in indoor and outdoor temperatures increases. During winter in Korea, the difference in indoor and outdoor temperatures is approximately 20-30 °C and the infiltration rate varies from 0.3 to 1.2 h−1, which is much higher than in other seasons.