Detection and quantification of building air infiltration using remote acoustic methods

Air infiltration in residential and commercial buildings of the United States are estimated to cost approximately 23% of the total amount of heating energy used (for cooling, this estimate is approximately 14%). The aim of the current work is to apply non-intrusive acoustic techniques to detect and quantify specific envelope leaks in buildings. Noise sources associated with the leakage air flow can be localized using a compact microphone array with advanced beamforming algorithms. Also, an idea of using a synthetic acoustic source inside the building instead of pressurization of the building is discussed. Finally, attempts are made in a laboratory level to quantify leakages using the nearfield acoustic holography technique.