Research Highlight 98-123 Establishing the Protocol for Measuring Air Le...

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Technical Series 98-123

Establishing the Protocol for Measuring Air Leakage and Air Flow Patterns
in High-Rise Apartment Buildings
Introduction
Uncontrolled air leakage through a building envelope can result in excessive energy costs and condensationrelated deterioration of building materials. Control of air leakage has been recognized as an important
consideration in building design and repair. The objective of this research, undertaken jointly by Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Institute for Research in Construction, was to establish
protocols for measuring air leakage and air flow patterns in high-rise residential buildings. Atest protocol for
evaluating the airtightness of buildings will allow the effectiveness of air leakage control measures to be
determined. It will also allow commissioning of new buildings to ensure that desired levels of airtightness are
met.

Research Program
A proposed test protocol, based on previously developed test methods for measuring air leakage characteristics
and air flow patterns for apartment buildings, was tested on a five-storey apartment building built in 1981 in
Ottawa. The test building had a central heating and ventilating system that supplied air to the corridor of each
storey through two supply air registers. Ventilation air was drawn into the apartment units from the corridor by
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natural ventilation or by kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans. Return air was supplied to the ventilation system
through a dampered opening in the outdoor air supply duct. There were no return air ducts.
The protocol included tests at several pressure differentials to determine the airtightness of:
(i) the whole building;
(ii) the exterior walls of individual apartment units;
(iii) individual apartment unit interior partitions;
(iv) stair shafts; and
(v) exterior walls and floor/ceiling separations of individual storeys.
The testing also included an examination of air flow patterns, air infiltration rates and outdoor air distribution by
the ventilation system using a tracer gas decay method.

Airtightness Test of the Whole Building

In this test, a large vane-axial fan was used to depressurize the test building. All interior doors to the stair shafts
were kept open to provide an air flow path from the floor spaces to the fan. The building's ventilation system and
the garbage room exhaust fan were shut down for the test. Dampers in all window air conditioners were closed.
Weather effects were minimized by subtracting base readings from the measured values.
As an alternative to using the vane-axial fan, a test was conducted using the supply fan of the building's heating
and ventilating system to pressurize the building. However, the maximum pressure differential that could be
generated was only about 3 Pa, which was inadequate to produce meaningful results.

Airtightness of the Exterior Walls of Individual Apartment Units

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A portable fan was used to depressurize the test apartment. Additional fans, as shown in Figure 1, were used to
keep the pressure differential between the test unit and each of its adjacent units at approximately zero, the
purpose being to minimize the air flow between the test unit and the adjacent units. Unfortunately, the corridor
partition could not be isolated as the procedure would have required a temporary partition in the corridor outside
the test apartment. The partition would have blocked the corridor for up to six hours and created unnecessary
hardship for the occupants. Thus, the measured air flow incorporates air leakage through both the exterior wall [being tested]
and the corridor wall. To examine the leakage through the exterior walls only, the average of the right and left
partition walls was subtracted from the measured value to obtain a corrected value. The corrected values
were analyzed.

Airtightness of Interior Partition Walls

Using the same test set-up as described above, four additional tests were conducted to determine the leakage of
the interior partition walls, including the floor, ceiling and left and right party walls. During each procedure, one
balancing fan was shut down so that the pressure differential across the partition was measured simultaneously
with the pressure across the exterior wall. The leakage rate for the partition could then be determined by
subtracting the leakage rate for the exterior wall that was determined in the first test.

Airtightness of Stair Shafts

To determine the airtightness of the stair shaft, a fan was ducted to a plywood panel temporarily replacing a stair
door. All other stair doors were kept closed, and the pressure differential across the stair shaft was measured at
least every second floor by inserting a probe into the stair shaft through the crack around the shaft door.
The test protocol that was originally proposed for the research project included an evaluation of the airtightness
of the elevator shaft. However, as the test would have posed undue restrictions on the use of the elevator for the
duration of the test, this test was not conducted.

Airtightness of Individual Storeys

To measure the airtightness of the exterior walls and floor and ceiling partitions on an individual storey, a
portable fan was sealed into a stair door, and the test storey was depressurized. To measure the air leakage
through the exterior walls, additional fans were used on the floor above and the floor below to minimize leakage
through the floor and ceiling separations. To measure the air leakage through the floor or ceiling separation, the
appropriate fan was turned off and, by subtracting the exterior wall leakage, the leakage of the separation was
calculated.

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Tracer Gas Decay Tests
To determine qualitatively the air flow patterns in the building, a small amount of tracer gas was injected into a
selected location. At approximately 15-minute intervals, concentrations of the gas were measured throughout the
building. The measured tracer gas concentrations at each sampling location were then plotted against time so
that the air flow directions within the building could be determined.
The feasibility of using the tracer gas decay test method for measuring the air infiltration rate of the whole
building was also studied. This test was the same as the previous test, except that the tracer gas was injected
into the supply air duct. It was found, however, that this approach was not successful for measuring air infiltration
rates for this building. Adequate mixing between the tracer gas and the interior air could not be achieved
because there were no supply air registers or return air grilles in individual apartment units. This approach was
useful, however, for examining outdoor air distribution within the building.
An alternative way of estimating the air infiltration rate for an individual apartment unit is to measure the pressure
differential across the exterior wall under various weather conditions then to calculate the air infiltration rate
using the previously measured airtightness value of the exterior wall. Unfortunately, a suitable apartment with
pressure below the neutral plane was not available to allow for this testing.

Results
Airtightness of the Whole Building
The air leakage of the building was found to be approximately 4.6 l/sm 2 at a pressure differential of 50 Pa.
While this value greatly exceeds the recommended value of 0.1 l/sm 2 at 75 Pa in the National Building Code, it
is similar to results of other buildings.
Airtightness of apartment units on the third floor were fully tested. Typically, the sum of the individual component
air leakage rates (e.g., floor, ceiling and party walls) was found to be approximately equal to the independently
measured overall value. This result verifies the test procedure.
At a pressure differential of 50 Pa, exterior walls were found to be the main source of leakage, and they may
account for as much as 60 per cent of the overall air leakage value. Next are partition walls accounting for 21 to
25 per cent, and floors and ceilings accounting for 10 to 19 per cent of the overall value. Exterior wall leakage
varied by as much as 100 per cent between suites.

Airtightness of Individual Storeys

The airtightness for the floor separations showed a great deal of variability compared to the results for exterior
walls. These values were obtained by subtracting the exterior wall tightness values from the overall values.
Since the exterior wall was approximately nine times leakier than the floor/ ceiling separations, a small error in
the exterior wall airtightness value, or in the overall value, would result in a large error in the airtightness value of
the floor/ceiling separations. This fact should be kept in mind when the test procedure is being used.

Airtightness of Stair Shafts

The stair shaft containing the roof access hatch was found to be approximately 40 per cent leakier than the stair
shaft with no roof access hatch.

Air Flow Patterns

When the tracer gas was injected into the garbage room, tracer gas concentrations in the corridor of every floor
increased rapidly due to stack effect in the garbage chute, stair and elevator shafts. The concentrations in
individual apartment units also increased but at a slower rate. There was one exception, where the exhaust fan
in a unit was probably in use at the beginning of the test. Due to the influence of the south wind, the
concentration of tracer gas was found to be higher in the apartment units on the northeast side of the building

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than on the southwest side. The tracer gas decay test was repeated three times in winter, each time with the
tracer gas released in a different location. The results were similar for each test.
When the tracer gas was injected into the supply air system, the concentrations in almost all the sampling
locations reached their peak value about 20 minutes after injection. This was about twice as fast as in the other
tests. The tracer gas migrated rapidly, first into the corridors and then into individual apartment units. Results
showed that there was a large difference in tracer gas concentrations between some apartments, largely due to
a combination of stack and wind pressures. This result suggests that the buildings heating and ventilating
system is effective in distributing the outdoor air into the corridor of every floor, but the capacity may not be
adequate to force corridor air into all apartment units.

Implication for the Housing Industry

A set of test procedures was developed and verified for conducting a systematic study of air leakage and air flow
patterns in high-rise residential buildings. The test procedure allows determination of the airtightness of the
building envelope, of the exterior walls of individual storeys and of the interior partitions. The procedure can be
used for the commissioning of the building envelope and for verification with Code requirements. However, in
occupied buildings, the success of the test depends heavily on occupant cooperation.
The procedure was used in a number of CMHC studies of airtightness and air flow in high-rise residential
buildings.
Field Investigation Survey of Airtightness, Air Movement and Indoor Air Quality in High-Rise Apartment
Buildings Prairie Region
Air Tightness, Air Movement and Indoor Air Quality in British Columbia High-Rise Apartment Buildings
Air Tightness, Air Movement and Indoor Air Quality in Atlantic Region High-Rise Apartment Buildings
Air Tightness, Air Movement and Indoor Air Quality in Quebec High-Rise Apartment Buildings

In the test building, ventilation air is supplied to the corridors and then drawn into the apartment units from the
corridor by natural ventilation or by the operation of kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans. The tracer gas test
revealed that the extent and rate of migration of a contaminant in the building, and likely in any building with a
similar heating and ventilating system, will depend on wind speed and direction, stack effect and the use of
exhaust fans in the apartment units. The test also showed that this type of ventilation strategy will not ensure
that all individual apartment units receive fresh air.
The study also determined that for the building tested, the tracer gas decay method was not suitable for
determining the air infiltration rate of a whole building. Further, the heating and ventilating system of the test
building could not be used for measuring the airtightness value of the building envelope. These findings would
likely be true for other apartment buildings with similar heating and ventilating systems.
Project Manager: Jacques Rousseau
Research Consultant: Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council Canada
Research Report: Establishing the Protocol for Measuring Air Leakage and Air Flow Patterns in
High-Rise Apartment Buildings, 1990
A full report on this research project is available from the Canadian Housing Information Centre at the address
below.
A full report on this research project is available
from the Canadian Housing Information Centre.
The information in this publication represents the latest knowledge available to CMHC at the time of publication, and has been thoroughly reviewed
by experts in the housing field. CMHC, however, assumes no liability for any damage, injury, expense or loss that may result from use of this
information.

1999 CMHC-SCHL. All rights reserved.

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