Air tightness testing provides quality assurance of a new building’s air barrier system and benchmarking of an existing building’s air barrier system versus industry standards. High performance air barriers and low infiltration rates are foundational to ensuring healthy, comfortable, durable and efficient buildings.

Air tightness testing of large commercial and residential buildings is a common practice required for low carbon, near-zero energy building codes and volunteer efficiency building programs like LEED and ENERGY STAR. Across Canada, many provincial building codes will soon require air tightness testing of large buildings prior to occupancy.

Air tightness testing informs building designers on how much air is escaping in and out of a building through unseen holes. Through testing, a building air leakage curve can be created to determine how a building reacts to natural and mechanical pressure differentials. Induced pressures are generally caused by:

• Wind
• Stack effect
• Ventilation fan systems
• Heating and cooling fan systems