TightVent Europe hosted a webinar on 25th April to talk about onsite ductwork airtightness measurements in standardization
Ductwork leakage (ie. Airtightness) was introduced into the standard EN12599 in 2012. This standard is currently under revision and airtightness is the main subject being worked on. This is to get “clarification between the airtightness classes of system and duct components”, “a measurement method should be applicable also for inspections and also” to “take into account requirements of national guidelines”.
In the seminar, Peter Rogers was the UK representative from BESA (Building Engineering Services Association). He was present to discuss air leakage testing in ductwork. He went through what the expectations from the ductwork contractor, production contractor and the on-site installation team and that co-operation was required from all of them for a successful ductwork airtightness test.
It was stated that air leakage testing of low and medium pressure ductwork is not mandatory under BESA DW/144 specification for Sheet Metal Ductwork, where as high pressure ductwork is mandatory.
Building regulations ADL2A (new buildings) and ADL2B (existing buildings) state that “ductwork leakage testing should be carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in BESA DW/144” which also refers to DW/143.
For more information visit https://tightvent.eu/archives/3357
