Hospice Halifax | Halifax, NS
Image Source: CBC
MARKET:
Institutional
CLIENT:
Hospice Halifax
PROJECT TEAM:
Hospice Halifax
PROJECT SERVICES:
Whole Building Air Leakage Test
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In 2019, ThermalWise conducted a whole building air leakage test on the Hospice Halifax. The purpose of the test was to verify the whole building air leakage rate for comparison to the project specified air leakage rate.
Air leakage is the unintended movement or flow of air through a building envelope. It is driven by either or both positive (infiltration) and negative (exfiltration) pressure differences across the envelope (ASTM E779). This unintended flow of air contributes to the building’s heat and cooling loads and can affect occupant comfort, indoor environmental quality, and durability.
Building air leakage is generally specified and reported as an air leakage rate. An air leakage rate is defined as “…the volume of air movement/unit time across the building envelope including airflow through joints, cracks, and porous surfaces, or a combination thereof driven by mechanical pressurization and de-pressurization, natural wind pressures, or air temperature differentials between the building interior and the outdoors, or a combination thereof.” (ASTM E779).
A building’s air leakage rate can be measured through air leakage testing. Air leakage testing is the process of inducing and measuring pressure differentials across the building envelope using a mechanical system or fans and measuring the air flow required to reach and maintain the pressure differences. Using this data, a mathematical relationship is established between the pressure differential and air flow across the building envelope (i.e. air leakage).
For the Halifax Hospice, ThermalWise conducted air leakage testing in general accordance with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) testing standard Air Leakage Protocol for Building Envelopes. This testing standard is widely used to test new construction and major retrofit building projects for air leakage.
