Guarded Air Leakage Testing of Large Multi-Family Buildings

Many multi-family development projects that are tied to tax credits must meet strict energy efficiency standards.   We have worked on several projects that had to score below HERS 50 and we are currently working on one that will be HERS 0.

EVERY UNIT within the building must meet the required HERS score so a major challenge has been air leakage testing.   In most units there is quite a bit of air leakage from unit-to-unit or from the unit to a conditioned hallway.   Since this air leakage is from conditioned space TO conditioned space, it doesn't have the energy penalty associated with air leakage to the outside-------------there may be other reasons to seal these leaks like odor control, sound transmission, stack effect, etc., but for these projects we are focusing on the HERS score.

Reduced air leakage, combined with ventilation per ASHRAE 62, is necessary to achieve a low HERS score.    Most apartment units we test are in the 5-12 ACH50 range and we are now trying to reduce that to 2-4 ACH50.   We suspect that most of the leakage is coming from conditioned space so we have been experimenting with different testing techniques.

Our first attempt took place in a 4-story new construction apartment  building.   We performed semi-guarded testing where we set up blower doors in 3 adjacent units, testing the middle unit while depressurizing the 2 adjacent units to -50 pascals.    This testing resulted in ONLY a 3-5% reduction in air leakage compared to normal, unguarded testing.

In our latest attempt, we performed a Whole Building Air Leakage on a 3-story 44 unit multi-family new construction project.    We first tested 7 units, unguarded, and the air leakage ranged from 9.3 to 14.2 ACH50.   We then depressurized the entire building to -50 pascals using commercial blower door fans. While the building was at -50 pascals, we used 4 technicians with individual blower doors to test each of the 44 units.   This Whole Building Guarded Test resulted in air leakage rates of 1.9 to 4.5 ACH50.    

9 commercial fans were set up to depressurize the entire building

The Whole Building Air Leakage Test allows us to demonstrate the air leakage from each apartment unit to the outside, while neutralizing air leakage from conditioned space to conditioned space.  The reduced air leakage rates we demonstrate significantly impact HERS scores.

In April of 2015 we performed a chamber test of a building, during construction, following ASTM E1186 Sections 4.1.6 (using smoke) and 4.1.7 (using liquids).

The contractor applied a spray air barrier on the face of the masonry block walls and the building owner was concerned that the material wasn't applied thickly enough.    We built our testing chamber on the exterior of the wall to examine a small portion of the completed wall:

Small pin holes were visible throughout the tested assembly:

Utilizing theatrical smoke, there didn't appear to be much air movement around these small pin holes. However, when a liquid solution was applied to the tested surface, air movement became very evident.

The chamber was very helpful in demonstrating that the air barrier had not been applied thickly enough to totally eliminate all potential leakage sites.    Please visit www.tsienergysolutions.com for more information on our testing services.

Air Barrier Testing Video

We recently created a video that shows our entire process of testing a building for air leakage per ASTM E779 and ASTM E1827 and thermography using ASTM C1060.

Visit this link to view our new video on YouTube:  http://youtu.be/eh8MZeNiyA8

or watch it from our web site:

http://www.tsienergysolutions.com/Air_Leak_Test_ASTM_E1827.html

Last week we performed air leakage and water leakage testing at a new construction office building in Indianapolis.   The project involved chamber testing per ASTM E1186, utilizing a liquid solution and smoke to identify air leaks in a wall assembly.

A 10' x 10' air-tight chamber was constructed and sealed tightly to the exterior wall assembly.   A small fan was used to pressurize and de-pressurize the chamber while a technician used a smoke puffer and liquid solution inside the chamber to identify air leakage sites.

Using a hi-lift, we performed a water leakage test following AAMA 501.2 testing guidelines.   Horizontal and vertical seams were checked utilizing a calibrated sprayer unit.

While spraying the exterior, technicians inside the building searched for water infiltration.

For more information on water leak and air leak testing, visit http://www.tsienergysolutions.com.

Indianapolis ACOE Testing

In April of 2014 we performed air barrier testing on 4 military buildings in Indianapolis, IN.   The largest building had a building envelope area well over 100,000 s.f.    The buildings were amazingly tight as we are seeing a vast improvement in air barrier details and construction monitoring.

On-site ingenuity----center stabilization piece created for double doors

 

 



 

 

 

Based on the square footage of the building, 12 fans should have been required to hit the passing rate.  However this building was so tight that we only ended up using 2 of our 3-fan systems.

 

For more information on air barrier testing, please e-mail tdunn@thermo-scan.com



Retro-Commissioning Air Barrier Testing

As part of a retro-commissioning project at a military base in Florida, TSI performed Air Barrier Testing, Building Envelope Scans and Pressure Diagnostics for 31 existing buildings.   The goal of the project was to develop a baseline that could be used to determine priorities for energy improvements in these buildings.

Software has recently been developed that allows us to control many fans from one centralized laptop.    The software allows better control of the fans and facilitates quicker testing results.  Visit  http://www.thermo-scan.com for more information on our testing capabilities.

Air Barrier Test of

TSI just performed an air barrier test of a 37,000 sf building for the Army Corps.   This building has 2 sections:   an office area and a warehouse area.

There were a couple concerns with this building.   First, the building has a warehouse and an office section and there were concerns that the warehouse area would not be sealed tightly due to the construction type.   Second, the building has a standing seam metal roof and the client wasn't convinced they could get it sealed tightly.

Six fans were used to test this building and the building did not pass on the first run, but it was close.   With some "tweaking", the air leakage was easily reduced to bring the building into compliance.

Please visit http://www.thermo-scan.com if you have any questions regarding Air Barrier Testing.