The ventilation in Norwegian residences was studied with respect to th
e effect of new standards, construction techniques adopted, and energy
conservation measures implemented. This was compared to residential v
entilation performance in other countries with a similar climate. The
effective total air change rate (h(-1)) in 344 residences was measured
with a passive tracer gas method known as the perfluorocarbon tracer
gas method (PFT-method). The measurements were performed over a 14-day
integrated sampling period. Overall, 36% of all residences had lower
air change rates than the national building code requirement of 0.5 h(
-1). In spite of similar construction techniques and building codes in
the Nordic countries, Norwegian residences seem to be better ventilat
ed in general than residences in other Nordic countries. However, the
common belief of a gradual reduction of ventilation rates in Norwegian
buildings as the date of construction becomes more recent is supporte
d by our findings which show a linear reduction (slope beta=-0.002, P<
0.05) of ventilation until the revision of the national building codes
in 1987. Consequently, our results provide evidence supporting the hy
pothesis that the introduction of new building standards and construct
ion techniques, and the implementation of energy conservation measures
, have decreased the effective total air change rates in Norwegian res
idences until 1987.