The airtightness of buildings is an essential topic regarding energy preservation. The development of new and more sophisticated materials and technology approaches is inevitable. Uncontrolled infiltration is undesirable in buildings with lower energy demands with regulated ventilation. Envelope structure, building method, quality, and others are the main factors influencing the airtightness of the building. However, the correlation between airtightness and climatic factors is less known and researched. This paper comprises measurements of a critical timber-house corner in climatic chambers. It captures the correlation between airtightness and gradual temperature and relative humidity adjustments, simulated from the exterior side. The initial timber moisture content was 12%, and during the experiment it increased with the exterior conditions to 18%. Afterward, we simulated conditions causing a humidity decrease while measuring airtightness. The drying process caused a decrement in airtightness by 18%. In addition to this experiment, this paper also analyses two methods of an airtight membrane connection—constricting or taping the contact. The discrepancy between those two methods was more than 21% in favor of tape.

The monitoring of climate data is proving to be an essential part of research on building structures, such as building envelopes, roof envelopes or filling of openings. For a detailed view of the temperature distribution, these conditions are often also measured close to the constructions. Temperature sensors for measuring outdoor temperature must be protected from glare and, especially, from overheating due to solar radiation. For this purpose, they are protected by a radiation shield. The shield, in terms of availability, is not always suitable for the required purpose due to its shape, size or mounting method. Its resistance to overheating during extremely hot summer days, which are increasingly common in the current climate, may also be questionable. Based on these requirements and previous research, an effort has been made to create custom radiation shields using FDM 3D printing. In this paper, the evaluation of the impact of the shape and material of the radiation shield on its resistance to overheating during hot summer days is discussed. A comparison of their effectiveness was performed based on measurements of the produced shields placed on a temporary structure in the meteorological garden of the Research Centre during the summer of 2024. The measured values were compared with data from meteorological stations equipped with commercial radiation shields placed in the meteorological garden and on the roof of an adjacent building.

Measuring climate data is a lengthy and technically challenging task. To record temperature data, small meteorological stations are located on the facade of the Research Centre building. Due to the position of the meteorological stations, which are mounted directly on the facade of the building, the temperature measurement sensor is not only affected by the solar radiation falling on the sensor housing, but also by the solar radiation falling on the facade of the building. The illuminated surface of the facade gradually heats up during the day and warms the air flowing near the facade. The temperature readings during the day may therefore be significantly distorted. To avoid this phenomenon, better-quality radiation shields have been purchased. The new radiation shield is characterized by a design that resembles eddy currents. The relationship between the shape of the outer and inner spiral is optimized, allowing vortices to form even in virtually windless conditions. In this paper, we would like to point out the differences in the measured air temperature data, according to the radiation shield used and the distance of the temperature sensor from the building facade.