Air Testing - Domestic & Commercial Testing

Air Tightness testing also known as Pressure Testing is a mandatory requirement for newly built homes and Commercial buildings under Part L1 of the Building Regulations. The test measures the air leakage which is the uncontrolled flow of air through gaps and cracks in the fabric of the building.  This is not to be confused with ventilation which is the controlled flow of air through purpose built ventilators which are required for the comfort and the safety of the occupants.

It is necessary for any kind of newly building structures to comply with the stringent features under Part L1 of the Building Regulations for performance evaluation. One of the mandatory requirements of building regulations is to reach the apt and sustainable air tightness in building and also essential to have good ventilation for the comfort of the occupants. We perform air testing in all parts of the UK, among the major cities are Air Testing sussex , Air Testing London , Air Testing Dorset , Air Testing East sussex .

Our Air Tightness Testing Services

• Experienced Accredited Engineers
• Pre-test check list sent upon booking covering typical areas of leakage and what preparation is required before the test in order to pass
• In the event of a failure- The engineer will locate the air leakage free of charge, as long as the areas can be rectified whilst on site by the client’s work force a FREE RE-TEST will be carried out.
• Results provided whilst on site.
• Professional; and reliable service
• We will beat any like for like quotation

What is the impact of Air Leakage Test?

Checking substantial amount of air tightness in newly constructed building is critical for evaluating the performance of a building structure under Part L1 of the Building Regulations. Air leakage is an uncontrolled flow of air in the cracks and some parts of the building that can accumulate large amount of moisture in the fabric of the buildings and harm the occupant’s health in the long run. It also has an impact on energy efficiency, sound control and fire control.

The air testing is the most considered concept in the building structures as it can be controlled or filtered unlike ventilation.

The real impact of air leakage in building structures cause:

• It finds ways to reduce heat loss with significant infiltration as ventilation in building structure for its basic quality of uncontrolled flow.
• Air leakage of few building can be sometimes better than ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems during extreme conditions.
• Excessive Air leakage leads to difficult situations while controlling ventilation systems.
• To reduce noise transfer through leakage paths.

Why should we do air leakage testing?

Air Leakage Testing is necessary for all buildings to reach the targets under Part L of the Building Regulations. We find gaps and cracks often in building fabrics, but not all can be detected by simple visual inspection that can cause air leakage in the fabric of building as a whole.  In order to maintain air tightness, Air Leakage testing is compulsory. Air tightness can be measured to quantify Air permeability. Air leakage can cause storage of excess moisture which can cause harm to the occupants of buildings.

How we do Air Testing

*Pressurize or De-pressurize the building*
 (See how much air leaks in or out)

The Leakage of air is measured with a door blower fan system which is placed at outermost entrance of the dwelling. When the Equipment is fixed and ready to test, then all of the ventilations in the building have been completely closed as per the Pre-Test checklist conditions. Once all is done properly the fan will De-pressurize the whole building to supply the Air Permeability

The test measurement is determined by the leakage of air (m3/hour) in or out of the building per square meter of the buildings inner envelope with a considerable pressure of 50 Pascal’s with a difference of inside and outside of the building. To get the Successful Air tightness / Pressure test results, the result must be less than or equivalent to the Design Air Permeability as per the SAP Calculations.