Building Envelope Testing

National Environmental Balancing Bureau
Building Envelope Pressure Testing

“The State of the Union”
A Testing Agencies Perspective
NEBB Convention
Montreal Illinois
May 2013
Philip Emory
ABAA BET Committee Member
NEBB BET Committee Member
ASNT Level II Thermographer
BS Mechanical Engineering
Neudorfer Engineers Inc / Building Envelope Testing / Phil Emory / [email protected] / www.neudorferengineers.com
United States 2005 Energy Policy Act
The 2005 Energy Policy Act requires that Federal facilities be built to
achieve at least 30% energy savings over the 2004 ASHARE Standard
90.1-2004
United States Army Corp of Engineers
On October 30, 2009 the United States Army Corp of Engineers
(USACE) issued a directive in ECB 2009-29 which required that all new
building and those undergoing major renovations shall have an air
leakage rate that does not exceed set values when tested in accordance
with the US Army Corps of Engineers Air Leakage Test Protocol for
Building Envelopes.
United States Army Corp of Engineers
On October 30, 2009 the United States Army Corp of Engineers
(USACE) issued a directive in ECB 2009-29 which required that all new
building and those undergoing major renovations shall have an air
leakage rate that does not exceed set values when tested in accordance
with the US Army Corps of Engineers Air Leakage Test Protocol for
Building Envelopes.
ASTM E779 Standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage Rate by
Fan Pressurization
Codes and Standards
ASHRAE 90.1
ASHRAE 189.1 2011 Appendix B
ASTM (E779 & E1827)
United States Corp of Engineers (USACE)
National Environmental Balancing Bureau (NEBB)
Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA)
State Energy Codes
Florida
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New York
Rhode Island
Washington & Seattle
(Utah)
Means & Methods
ASTM E779
10 points – one reading per point
ASTM E1827 Two-Point-Method
2 points – five readings per point
ASTM E1827 Repeated Single-Point-Method
1 point – repeated
Means & Methods
HVAC System Testing
Limited by system capacity
Limited by system layout
Limited when the test may be performed
May not be able to test in both directions
Blower Door Testing

Flexibility in Testing
Test Prior to HVAC Start-up
Shorter Testing Time
Means & Methods
Equipment
Multiple fans, properly located, properly controlled
(Not seeing single mega fan testing)
New Technologies
Reduced Caballing – single control cable to software
Wi fi (still experimenting, but successful)
Means & Methods
Testing Method Consensus
Perform the building pressurization/depressurization test under the
most stable and consistent environment possible.
Perform the test with limited interruptions to ensure the test is
being conducted as quickly as possible.
Mockup & Preliminary Whole Building Testing
The Goal of Mockup & Preliminary Whole Building Testing:
 To assist the Design/Construction team in verifying the means and
methods of the air barrier installation.
 Enable corrections early.
Mockup & Preliminary Whole Building Testing
The Advantage of Preliminary Whole Building Testing:
 Identify the actual leak locations and correct the actual air barrier
failures.
 Provide a rough estimate of the whole building leak performance.
Preliminary Whole Building Testing with Thermal Imaging
Preliminary Testing affords the General Contractor the ability to correct air
barrier failures before it’s too late.
Preliminary Whole Building Testing with Thermal Imaging
Building under a negative pressure

Two exterior walls
Two different transition air barrier performance
Education
BET Contractors need to Lead the Industry
Educating Techs
Inspectors
Architects / Consultants
General Contractor / Subcontractors
Building Envelope Testing
Code Requirement Comparison
cfm/ft2 @ 75 Pa
Washington State / Seattle 0.40
LEED 0.30
ASHRAE 90.1 Average 0.30
US Army 0.25
ASHRAE 90.1 Tight 0.10
Sample Project
Highest pressure obtained during a negative pressure
test: 39 Pa (fails to meet minimum of 50 Pa)
Actual Leakage @ 75 Pa was 0.57 cfm/ft2
Flow exponent n = 0.685
Don’t take this lightly
Air Barrier Plan & Sectional
Air Barrier Plan & Sectional
TYPES OF AIR LEAKS
• Orifice: Direct Open Path
• Diffuse: Permeates directly

through the material
• Channel: Migrates following the

path of least resistance
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
Philip Emory
Neudorfer Engineers Inc
Seattle, Washington
• [email protected]
• Seattle Office: (206) 621-1810

Building Envelope Testing

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What are some of the codes and standards discussed for building envelope pressure testing?

What are the different methods described for performing building envelope pressure testing?

National Environmental Balancing Bureau

Building Envelope Pressure Testing

Blower Door Testing

Building under a negative pressure

Don’t take this lightly

• Orifice: Direct Open Path

• Diffuse: Permeates directly

• Channel: Migrates following the

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