Enhancing Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Through Automated Air Sealing

Air leakage impacts commercial buildings’ energy consumption significantly. Air leakage represents about 4 quadrillion Btu annually in the US. The other consequences of air leakages include moisture damage, lack of thermal comfort, degraded indoor air quality, and affecting the operation of mechanical ventilation systems. This study addresses the issue by demonstrating the advantages of an automated air sealing technology in a commercial building environment. The technology uses a modified blower door to pressurize and distribute the sealing aerosol to achieve the required building airtightness in an accurate, time-efficient, and cost-efficient manner. By measuring the airtightness levels post-application, we computed the building’s overall energy consumption under various parameters, thereby revealing the technology’s contribution to energy savings. The analysis based on energy simulation included the total energy use intensity (EUI) and separated the savings into natural gas and electricity consumption. Findings revealed that the greatest energy savings were observed in buildings in colder climates, particularly those with higher levels of air leakage and larger exposed surface areas. Energy savings of up to 41% in electricity and 81% in natural gas were found, underscoring the potential of automated air sealing in enhancing building energy efficiency.