What Is Whole-Building Air Barrier Testing?
Whole-building airtightness testing (the blower door — the large; the ASTM E3158) measures the envelope's leakage (the CFM75/sq ft — the 0.25; the air changes) — the verification (the air barrier's — the continuous). The test: the pressurization (the fans' — the 75 Pa), the thermography (the leaks' — the infrared), and the remediation (the sealing — the retest's). The envelope's — the proven tight.
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How testing works
The fans (the calibrated — the large; the 75 Pa — the pressure), the metric (the CFM75/sq ft — the 0.25 target; the ACH50 — the residential's), the thermography (the infrared — the leaks' located; the depressurized), and the smoke (the pencils' — the pinpointing).
When required
The energy codes (the IECC's — the commercial's; the 90.1's — the verification), the programs (the Passive House — the 0.6 ACH50; the LEED's — the credit), the military (the UFC's — the 0.25; the required), and the commissioning (the envelope's — the BECx).
Design for tightness
The air barrier (the continuous — the drawings'; the details'), the transitions (the windows' — the roofs'; the leaks' usual), the mockup (the tested — the first), and the remediation (the sealing — the accessible; the retest's). The testing is the verification — the design's continuity proven.
The bottom line
Test whole-building airtightness per ASTM E3158 (target 0.25 CFM75/sq ft commercial) — design continuous air barriers with detailed transitions, locate leaks with thermography, remediate and retest.
Torch Engineering PLLC · (480) 490-0064 · info@torchengineering.com — PE stamping backed by Apex Grid Engineering.