Airtightness Testing
Measured air permeability is a key performance metric of several building standards including Passivhaus, because uncontrolled air flows directly affect occupant thermal comfort, building energy efficiency and Indoor Air Quality (amongst others).
Airtightness Testing (a.k.a Blower Door Testing) is the process of measuring & quantifying the air permeability of a building; that is, measuring the amount of uncontrolled airflow passing through the building fabric (all external faces of the building) at a given pressure differential. It is a measure of how ‘leaky’ or ‘drafty’ the building is to airflow.
The test procedure is easy, straightforward and repeatable, and a critical step in improving performance outcomes. Results are presented as air permeability (measured in air volume leaked per building surface area, m3/m2/hr), and also air volume leaked per building volume (m3/m3/hr or Air Changes per Hour or ACH).
Our process is to undertake an initial airtightness test of the building (according to ATTMA Standards), then undertake a comprehensive airtightness inspection and advise the site team of where any leaks are observed. Once remediation of identified leaks is sufficiently complete, we undertake a final airtightness test for reporting & certification purposes.