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.

Air Barrier Testing Of Grocery Story (New Building)

In December 2012 we performed air barrier testing and a building envelope scan at a new grocery store in Texas. The goal of the project was to help the client identify areas where they could improve the energy efficiency of their buildings so they could implement better strategies in upcoming projects. 

Grocery stories and other similar buildings can be challenging due to unique penetrations, delivery doors,  mechanical equipment on the roof and other challenges.

Smoke was used to identify air leaks.

When trying to identify air leaks, it may be possible to use just 3 fans or 6 fans to create the necessary  pressure difference.   However, if testing to the Army Corps Of Engineer specs it would take 9-12 fans to properly pressurize or depressurize the building.

All of our inspections are performed by a Level 2 or Level 3 certified infrared thermographer and our air barrier testing technicians have years of experience testing commercial buildings.

If you need more information on air barrier testing or if you'd like to have a test performed, please visit our web site at http://thermo-scan.com/air_leak_testing.html



The week of May 7^th we were at an Air Force Base in Texas.  We performed an Air Barrier Test and Thermal Envelope Scan on a 42,200 square foot NATO jet pilot training facility.

This building had a lot of air volume in it.  The building not only had a three story tall entry, it also had a full sized auditorium.  The building required six Minneapolis fans in order to get the needed 30,000+ CFM.  The building was very well built and used triple layer windows, additional insulation, and thick weather stripping on the doors all to aid in sound deadening.  This building was located only a few hundred feet from the runway on base.

This was one of the first buildings we have seen pass ASTM E779 on the first try that didn’t use spray on insulation on the bottom of the roof deck.

The building was well built and easily passed the infrared scan the second morning.

For more information on air barrier testing, please visit our web site, www.thermo-scan.com.  You may contact Thermo-Scan Inspections directly for Air Barrier Testing and Infrared Scan Inspections at 800-481- 5748 or tdunn@thermo-scan.com

Air Barrier Testing For LEED

Air Barrier Testing can be used to gain points under the Innovation in Design Category.   We recently performed a building envelope thermal scan and air leakage test at a LEED Certified bank.

LEED Certified Bank

To meet the LEED required air exchange rate, 3 fans would have been required if the building was built to the maximum allowable air leakage rate.  This building was so tight, though,  it took just 1 fan to reach the required pressure differential.

If you have a LEED project that requires air barrier testing or infrared scanning, please contact Thermo-Scan Inspections at tdunn@thermo-scan.com or 1-800-481-5748.  Visit our web site, http://www.thermo-scan.com/ for more information.

Ohio River Air Barrier Test (Using ASTM E779 and ASTM E1827)

Last week we performed an Air Barrier Test and Thermal Envelope Scan of a federal building at a lock on the Ohio River.

Simple is better when it comes to building a tightly constructed building as we witnessed in this building.  The simple design eliminates many hidden chases, bypasses, etc. found in other buildings and the construction company did a great job of air sealing this building.

The required air leakage rate for this project was 0.25cfm@75pa/sf of conditioned building envelope.  Our air leakage test was performed to ASTM E1827 and ASTM E779 standards for air barrier testing.  This building passed the .25cfm requirement easily and the infrared scan of the building (per ASTM C1060) proved that the building was constructed exceptionally well from an energy efficiency perspective.

For more information on air barrier testing, please visit our web site, http://www.thermo-scan.com/.  You may contact Thermo-Scan Inspections directly for Air Barrier Testing and Infrared Scan Inspections at 800-481-5748 or tdunn@thermo-scan.com

Air Barrier / Air Leakage Testing (ASTM E1827 & ASTM E779)

We have been testing homes for air leakage for almost 30 years.  Utilizing a blower door, we can depressurize (or pull a vacuum) on the home to measure the total air leakage.   While the blower door is running, our technicians can walk around a home to identify the individual air leakage sites.

Over the years, we have been involved in several commercial projects where we utilize the same equipment to identify air leakage sites in much larger buildings.  Recently, though, the Army Corps of Engineers began requiring Air Barrier Testing and Building Envelope Scans of ALL new projects so we have seen a significant increase in demand for this service.

The Army Corps of Engineers spec usually requires that the inspection follow either ASTM E1827 or ASTM E779 for air leakage testing.    Larger buildings obviously require more fan capacity so a 3-fan blower door system may need to be used.

3-Fan Blower Door System

In some cases, multiple 3-fan systems may be needed.   The ACOE requirement usually sets the maximum allowable air leakage rate at 0.25cfm@75pa per sf of conditioned building envelope area so by calculating the envelope area, we can determine how many fans will be needed.

The ACOE spec sometimes requires a Building Envelope Scan, following ASTM C1060 for infrared testing. 

Infrared Image of Building

During an infrared scan, insulation, moisture and air leakage problems can be identified.  It's important to have a knowedgeable, certified infrared thermographer perform the inspection.....someone who can interpret the images properly.

We can perform an air barrier / air leakage test (following ASTM E1827 and ASTM E779) and a Building Envelope Scan (following ASTM 1060) for you if you ever run into these requirements.  Please e-mail tdunn@thermo-scan.com or call 1-800-481-5748 for a price quote. 
Additional information can be found at the Thermo-Scan Inspections web site:  http://thermo-scan.com/air_leak_testing.html