FAQS

What is Airtightness Testing

What is Air Tightness / Permeability Testing ?
Air tightness testing is one of the methods used in determining how energy efficient a dwelling is. Air tightness testing is conducted to make an air permeability assessment. ‘Air Pressure Test’ and ‘Air Permeability Test’ are two other names for ‘Air Tightness Test’. It must be noted that leakage of air causes loss of heat and renders a building inefficient. According to the Part L of the Building Regulations, fresh buildings must pass the air permeability test to ensure that they are energy efficient. It is a requirement of Part L1A of the building regulations. A draughty building requires more energy to heat and causes discomfort for the occupants. An air permeability test is used to establish the rate of air leakage from a building which must meet the standard defined in the building regulations. The test also shows the leakage points in the building which helps to take remedial action.

Air Tightness & Permeability Testing

The test is performed by connecting a fan to an exterior doorway to de-pressurise or pressurise the building structure. During the testing procedure, all the doors & windows of the exterior must be kept locked and all doors in the interior of the building must be kept open. The engineer during the process will also lock all the internal vents. Substantially, testing is done in the building envelope to see how air tight it is. When turning the fan on, air is pulled or pushed through all the gaps in the building fabric, the more gaps the worse the result. The final result is measured by comparing both, the internal & external air pressures at different speed of the fans. If the internal & external air pressures are equal at a high fan speed, then probably there are gaps within the building fabric.At Airtight Building Solutions, we provide high-quality and efficient air permeability testing services to a wide base of customers in London, including commercial buildings, dwellings, educational institutions, superstores, warehouses, factories and hospitals.
Why Airtightness Testing is Required?
Air Tight Testing is carried out on New Build Residential dwellings to satisfy the requirements of Building Regulations Document L1A.All newly constructed dwellings are required to comply with the Air Test requirements as laid out in Approved Document L1A of the current Building Regulations.

Why Us?

  • Our design team conducts site assessment and meetings to identify air tightness within the building
  • The air tightness testing team reviews and inspects to areas with identify leakages.
  • Our consultants also conduct pre air tightness testing. With our professional air tightness and air permeability testing services, you can never go wrong! Hire us today!