Introduction to Air Tightness Testing

Air permeability/air leakage/air tightness is the uncontrolled flow of air in and out of the building through the gaps, cracks and envelopes. The process of measuring air permeability/air leakage/air tightness in a building is called as air testing. Air testing is important as it helps in reducing the large portion of the energy getting wasted due to the uncontrolled flow of air in buildings.

According to the Building Regulations in UK, It is essential to keep up to the standards in order to reduce the carbon emission or carbon foot print in newly constructed building or existing buildings. It improves the atmosphere of the building area and protects the overall health conditions of residents in buildings. Through Air tightness testing the leakage of the air in the fabric of buildings is quantified. It is like medium to check the wastage of energy resulting in increasing the loads for space heating / cooling due to the uncontrolled flow of air in gaps, cracks and envelopes in the building.