Conference & Magazine Article
Goubran, Sherif, Qi, Dahai, Wang, Liangzhu (Leon), (2015), The current energy code requires vestibules in climate zones 3 – 8 to reduce energy loss from air infiltration through entrances. Previous research showed that air curtains could be an effec- tive alternative. The infiltration characteristics of air curtains, obtained from computational fluid dynamics, are used to simulate the annual whole building energy consumption of two US DOE commercial prototype-building models in 16 locations. The energy performance of the buildings with air curtain, vestibules and single doors at the entrances are compared. The data confirms that fitting the entrance doors with air curtains can result in energy savings when compared to single doors in climate zones 1-2 and to vestibules in zones 3-8. Air cur- tains decrease or maintain similar energy loads caused by air infiltration through vestibules building entrances, making them a valid alternative for the current code requirements.