Airtight test About Testing Consultancy Survey Reports Airtightness L2 Building Regulations Structural Envelope Airsealing Insulation Firas Ukas Contact
We have ten years experience in building airtightness. The first airsealing contract we undertook was the Tesco store at Heswall. Since then we have airsealed stores for all the major supermarkets. We provide a consultation programme to major builders and interact with architects in order to ensure that their airtightness buildings meet the new criteria in the Building L2 Building Regulations Document for specific areas involving airseal / insulation properties. Q - Carbon performance rating method - How are fan-coil systems handled in the CPR procedure? A - The cooling capacity of the fan coils is not part of the calculation - the input power of the refrigeration plant (including the power needed to reject heat to atmosphere, such as pumps and fans associated with cooling towers) is the relevant parameter. When using the whole office building version of the CPR procedure, the heating capacity of the fan coils does not come into the calculation either - the boiler input power (again including all the auxiliaries) is the parameter used. Fans and pumps associated with moving the "coolth" and heat around the building are part of the distribution system. So the fan-coil units' fan input powers should be included airtightness, airtight test, as part of the cooling and heating distribution systems, together with the input powers of the pumps that circulate the heated or cooled water to them. Q - Is "green electricity" - i.e. electricity generated by sources such as wind farms, tidal barrages, or by burning biomass/waste - treated more favourably in Part L's calculations than electricity generated from airsealing, insulation, firas, conventional sources? Are such green sources treated differently in the Carbon Index Calculation and would the use of this form of electricity remove the restrictions placed on electricity within the elemental and the target u-value procedures? We have vast experience conducting building airtightness tests and work alongside the nominated testing bodies to complete the airtest. A - "Green electricity" imported from the national grid is not admissible in Part L annual carbon accounting. It is taken into account in the "national mix" calculations that support the value in Table 6 on Page 18 in ADL2. See Note 2 to that table concerning on-site generation. Q - Why can't "portable buildings" made from sub-assemblies be erected using components made after We have vast experience conducting building airtightness tests and work alongside the nominated testing bodies to complete the airtest. 31 December but before 1 April 2002 (see Paragraph 0.26b of ADL2)? A - The 31 December date was an editorial error which as been rectified in a Circular letter dated 12 February 2002 to local authority and Approved Inspector Chief Executives. The circular letter provides substitute text for Paragraph 0.26b containing the correct cut-off date - 1 April 2002. The detailed text is contained in Annex B to the letter. Q - What is meant by "centre-pane U-value", which is mentioned in ADs L1 and L2 in connection with replacement windows in existing buildings, and how is it calculated? A - . The centre-pane U-value is the U-value determined at the centre airtightness, airtight test, L2 building regulationsof the glazing, ie without consideration of the frame or of the spacer bar at the edge of the glazing. The centre-pane U-value is calculated according to BS EN 673, 'Glass in building - Determination of thermal transmittance (U value) - Calculation method'. Q - Can Table A2 in Approved Document L1 or L2 be used for glazed doors? A - The data in Table A2, in conjunction with Table A3, can be used for patio doors and similar, where the relative area proportions of glazing and frame are similar structural envelope, to those of an aluminium window. For other cases, Tables A2 and A3 can be used to obtain the U-value of the glazed part. The U-value of the whole door is then the area-weighted average of the glazed part and the non-glazed part. Q - I'm designing the lighting for a restaurant. Can I count some of the lighting as display lighting? Does the 500W exemption in Paragraph 1.46 in AD L2 apply? A - The 500W exemption only applies to office, storage and industrial buildings. However lighting of serveries in restaurants, and bar counters, counts as display lighting for airsealing, insulation the purposes of Part L. Lighting provided to highlight dining tables could also be considered as display lighting. This would allow the use of tungsten halogen lamps, for example, for this type of lighting (see Section 1.52 of the AD). General lighting in kitchens, circulation areas and toilets ought to comply with the general lighting recommendations in Paragraph 1.48.