Multifamily Ventilation Duct Leakage: Targets, Strategies, and Lessons Learned

Ventilation airflows are an essential component of Passive House building performance, delivering the fresh, hygienic indoor air at the heart of Passive House goals. As buildings grow in size, ventilation duct leakage grows in importance, and successfully commissioning a system with airtight ducts with minimal leakage becomes essential to obtaining Passive House Certification.

Complicating things, larger buildings are often built sequentially, where some parts are completed and closed-in while others are not yet installed. Understanding the targets, the interplay of components and processes, and strategies to successfully commission the ventilation system is a basic service of Passive House delivery.

Focusing on multifamily buildings, this presentation uncovers the difficulties, defines the targets, and provides strategies for success from two of North America’s leading Passive House firms.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe the Passive House certification criteria and the actual performance necessary for ventilation systems to be within compliance.
  2. Analyze standard passive house ventilation system designs, layouts, and components about the performance and field installations.
  3. Demonstrate through examples common problem areas related to the implementation and operation of high-performance Passive House ventilation systems.
  4. Recommend ways to design for best ventilation performance based on lessons learned.

Thank you PHN Partners, Champions & Sustainers for helping make this event possible.

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