Phone: 07979 403114
Email:
ijones@eb-services.co.uk
Standard domestic air test price starts from £230.00 plus VAT. However, please call us on: 07979 403114 to confirm.
Air tightness testing is undertaken to measure a building's air permeability (air leakage) rating. This rating is very often used to demonstrate Part L compliance in the building regulations. Air leakage can be a major contributor to building heat loss (through the leaked air) and so therefore reperesents a large factor in the energy efficiency of a building. Because of the significance of air leakage it was incorporated into the UK building regulations in 2004 and has been a part of the US building regulations for decades. When a professional air test is carried out and all the air leakages are appropriately dealt with, the heating bill of a building can be reduced by as much as 20%.
The test involves installing a fan, or a number of fans, to a suitable opening in the building- usually a door. This proceedure using our bespoke fan framing systems require that no doors have to be removed. It is simple and efficient with no trace being left that we have undertaken an air test in your home. We install the fan so that it either blows air into your building to pressurize it, or sucks air air out from it, to depressurize it. This is simply achieved by turning the fan around inside the fan framing system and requires little to know effort. Often we will test a building by both pressurising and depressurising and then use the average of these two tests to calculate the final air leakage rate of your building, this method provides a more accurate final result. The measured volume of air that the fan delivers into or out from your building will induce either a possitive or negative pressure and both of these parameters are used to calculate the air leakage rate of your building. The calculation for the air leakage is then refined using the temperature and barometric pressure at the time of the test. Air leakage paths in the building structure will be discovered via the air test and can be remedided via the use of cheap materials typically mastic and foam to ensure the best result. Only on the rare occasion will more sophisticated materials be needed to remedy any air leakage paths discovered. Once these air leakage paths have been remedied the test will then be conducted again to see the improvement in the total air leakage rate. A Promise: EBS will always endevour to help out the site team as much as possible to maximise chances of aquirring a suitable result on the same day as the test. If the test is for Building Regulation compliance then although a pass cannot be guranteed - you can be assured that EBS will help as much as possible to achieve the required result. We usually aim to be on site be 8AM and with the test sometimes only taking a couple of hours to complete. If this is not the case then your designated air tester could be with you for the rest of the day to help you out if this is what is needed and all for the same price. We operate a no hidden cost policy, the price we quote is the price that you pay and no more.
Access in and out of the building is not encouraged during the test- this is to ensure the pressure of the building is kept consistent. Large flucuations in pressure via opening a door or window whilst the test is ongoing can create an invalid test and so in this case the test needs to be restarted. An air test can take as little as 1hour to complete, this time though will include the time used to set up the equipment and measure the building under test. The actual air testing element of the air test can take as little as 10 minutes and this would be the only period of time during the test that people would be asked to remain in/outisde the building. There are no health risks arrising from being inside a building whilst it is being tested as the pressures being created are extremely small when compared to general atmospheric pressure. Various measuring hoses will also be placed inside and outside of the building and although every effort will be made to place these hoses out of the way it is important that these are not tampered with (or stepped on!). EBS will most likely be able to conduct an air test within 1 weeks of being contacted and do offer a same day service on request.
