由于室外冷空气和室内暖空气密度不同而产生的堆叠力或浮力是寒冷气候下高层建筑问题的根源。最著名的例子是高压差导致入口和楼梯间门需要过大的力才能打开或关闭。其他问题是由于烟囱力通过建筑围护结构和内部区域引起的气流。一个常见的例子是，冷空气通过较低楼层的建筑围护结构过度渗透，造成过多的热负荷和建筑居住者的不适。在炎热的气候条件下，室外空气密度低于室内冷空气密度，堆栈效应则相反。然而，在炎热的气候下，由于温差较小，压差通常要小得多； 因此，由此引发的问题并不那么明显。这项研究集中在寒冷的室外环境中，其产生的峰值叠加力是炎热室外环境的两倍。

Stack or buoyancy forces due to the difference in density between cold outdoor air and warm indoor air are known to be a source of problems in tall buildings in cold climates. The best known example is high pressure differences causing entrance and stairwell doors to require excessive force to open or close. Other problems are due to the airflow induced by stack forces through the building envelope and interior zones. A common example is excessive infiltration of cold air through the building envelope on lower floors, causing excessive heating load and discomfort to building occupants.Stack effect occurs in reverse in hot climates, where outdoor air is less dense than cool indoor air. However, the pressure difference is usually much smaller in hot climates because the temperature difference is smaller; thus the problems induced are not as noticeable. This study concentrates on the cold outdoor situation, which can produce peak stack forces twice as large as the hot outdoor situation.