Air Tightness Performance of Residential Timber Frame Buildings

Energy consumption statistics in 2005 from the Korea Energy Management Corporation show that building energy usage was about 24.2% of total domestic energy consumption, and 64% of total building energy usage was consumed by residential buildings. Thus, about 10% of total domestic energy consumption is due to the heating of residential buildings. Building energy can be calculated by the configuration of the building envelope and the rate of infiltration (the volume of the infiltration of outdoor air and the leakage of indoor air), and by doing so, the annual energy usage for heating and cooling. Therefore, air-tightness is an important factor in building energy conservation. This investigate air infiltration and various factors that decrease it in timber frame buildings and suggest ways to improve air-tightness for several structural types. Timber frame buildings can be classified into light frame, post and beam, and log house. Post and beam includes Han-ok (a Korean traditional building). Six light frame buildings, three post and beam buildings, one Korean traditional Han-ok and a log house were selected as specimens. Blower door tests were performed following ASTM E779-03. The light frame buildings showed the highest air-tightness, followed by post and beam structures, and last, log houses.