Case Study of Multiple Regression as Evaluation Tool for the Study of Relationships between Energy Demand, Air Tightness, and Associated Factors

AbstractAddressing air leakage and its influencing factors in buildings is very important for further improvement of buildings’ energy efficiency. The evaluation of how energy use is influenced by the design parameters of buildings is also crucial for architects in early design stages when there is a need for rapid assessment of the effect of minor and major design changes in overall energy demand. This paper helps fill the information gap on predictive models for this field, which became evident during literature review. This work examines the relationship between energy demand, air-tightness, and their influencing factors including volume, treated floor area, building age, compactness, window-to-wall ratio, and frame-length factor of 18 dwellings constructed between 2005 and 2014 in Estonia. The buildings involved in the study are mostly energy-efficient buildings, e.g., there were two passive houses and one net-zero energy building that also qualifies as a plus-energy building. The paper employs the AN...