Ageing and airtightness: how dwelling air permeability changes over time

Testing how air permeability changes

In response to suggestions that new homes become leakier as they age because of shrinkage and settlement and that this provides additional adventitious ventilation, this research subjected a small number of dwellings to re-testing one to three years after completion to establish how their air permeability had changed.

As the sample size was limited, this research was intended only to provide an indication of the performance.