Air Barrier Library

NIST Study – Investigation of the Impact of Commercial Building Envelope Airtightness on HVAC Energy Use
This report presents the results of a cost effectiveness study conducted and show that the age old estimate by US Department of Energy was accurate. The study shows that it is cost effective to install a air barrier system in every building and that the saving in energy use for heating and cooling a building ranges from 30-40% in heating climates and 10-15% in cooling climates.

NIST Summary #1

NIST Summary #2

Commissioning the Air Barrier System
Reproduced with permission from the ASHRAE Journal (Vol. 47, No. 3, March 2005)

The Impact of Airtightness on System Design
© (2001), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (www.ashrae.org). Reprinted by permission from ASHRAE Journal, (December), (2001). This article may not be copied nor distributed in either paper or digital form without ASHRAE’s permission.