Saving Energy and Saving Money with Whole Building Airtightness Testing

Congratulations to Kenbridge Construction for passing their first Whole Building Airtightness Test for the new Student Services and Learning Resource Center at Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) in Alberta, Virginia.

Stevenson Consulting was there from the beginning of the building envelope construction performing mockup inspections and testing, and later Quality Assurance inspections during construction to verify compliance. We also conducted Infrared Thermographic Imaging (IR) of the completed roof installation.

The Whole Building Airtightness Testing specification was based on the requirements of ASTM E779 and included a maximum allowable air leakage rate of 0.25 cfm/sq ft at 75 Pa. The building was tested in both pressurization and depressurization, and the combined air leakage rate was .202 and well below the maximum allowable! As always, IR was performed to identify locations of air leakage pathways in accordance with ASTM E1186 and the theatrical fog was on-hand but not needed for this one.

The happy outcome of having us involved from front to back on the project was a passing test at the end. The result of the team's successful efforts on this project is significantly improved air and water performance across the building envelope, and lower energy costs over the life of the building for the Owner and taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Our team of Building Envelope and Nondestructive Testing Professionals are proud to have been a part of this team with Kenbridge Construction, AECOM, and SVCC!