airtightness - passivehouseplus.co.uk

Ecological Building Systems technical specification advisor Dave Judd looks at airtightness, active moisture control and effective ventilation in passive house properties.

The proof in the pudding with a notionally low energy building is in the eating. Since moving into their new passive house a little under two years ago, the Murray family’s heating costs have been scarcely believable – in a home that also blitzes the embodied carbon targets in the RIAI 2030 Climate Challenge.

Two Partel airtight systems, Exoperm Mono SA 250 and Vara Fluid Spray, have been evaluated and certified as Passive House Components by the Passive House Institute in Darmstadt, Germany. Both systems achieved advanced component status, Class phA.

This home on the edge of the Cotswolds, built with cross-laminated timber, now holds the distinction of being the UK’s most airtight home, with the client even doing a significant chunk of the airtightness taping himself. What’s more, it demonstrates how passive homes that generate their own renewable power may escape the worst of the energy price crisis.

Partel has become the first manufacturer of building envelope systems in Ireland to publish Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for airtight and windtight membranes.

A new modular apartment building in New York has been fitted out with Wraptite airtight membrane. East Broadway Residences is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Partel’s Izoperm Plus airtightness system has achieved phA certification from the Passive House Institute, the highest level of component certification, following recent testing.

A new passive house in Manchester, built by Passive Building Structures, has achieved an airtightness test result of 0.31 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals on its final blower door test, easily beating the passive house airtightness standard of 0.6.

Liquid airtight membranes are revolutionising airtightness works in public and commercial buildings, according to leading supplier Blowerproof UK, because of their ease and speed of application especially direct to block, brick and concrete, and inherent ability to deliver airtightness around difficult junctions.

The Association for Environment Conscious Building has announced the launch of the new AECB Retrofit Standard, which like its AECB Building Standard, is based on the passive house standard and designed to promote a whole-house, fabric first approach.

Pro clima have launched Aerofixx, an innovative handheld spray applicator for the Aerosana Visconn range of airtightness liquid paints.

We all know the value of good insulation in improving the energy performance of a building, so why then are attics often an afterthought?

Ecological Building Systems have added FINSA superPan VapourStop passive house certified boards to their range of products.

Ecological Building Systems has announced that another component from the pro clima range of intelligent airtightness products has attained passive house approval.

The innovative Passive Purple airtightness paint from Intelligent Membranes has been used to form an external airtight layer on an Enerphit project in Norfolk. The BEIS-funded deep retrofit to a block of six flats for Great Yarmouth Borough Council is being delivered by passive house specialists Beattie Passive.

Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane has achieved Class A passive house component certification for both its liquid and fibre-reinforced brush applications.

A deep retrofit project in Lancaster has achieved possibly the best ever airtightness result in the UK for a retrofit project. Designed by leading passive house architect Mark Siddall, Shepherd’s Barn is a super insulated, low energy barn conversion which incorporates high standards of airtightness and an MVHR system.

NBT, the UK supplier of Pavatex insulation and airtightness products, has completed the first phase of a merger with building products giant, Soprema UK.

A new Dublin passive house is aiming to achieve the required standard of airtightness using using an innovative new application of Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane. Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane is a BBA certified product with Class C fire rating, which has been used widely on passive house projects across Europe for the last 10 years.

Hiding in woodland in an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Fishleys passive house manages to be both strikingly contemporary yet deeply sensitive to its rural setting. It also boasts a masterfully crafted timber frame structure with one of the best airtightness results this magazine has ever published.

Tyvek has launched a brand-new suite of airtightness and building envelope accessories to complement its breather membranes and AirGuard range of air and vapour control membranes.

The application of Passive Purple Liquid airtight membrane to a dilapidated test building has demonstrated the product’s remarkable ability to air seal even the leakiest structures.

Leading Irish energy & airtightness consultancy Greenbuild has advised the building industry to be prepared for the new requirement, as of January of this year, to test new non-domestic buildings for airtightness on completion.

Airtightness membrane specialists Passive Purple are putting their money where their mouth is – by guaranteeing passive house levels of airtightness.

A state-of-the-art archive building in Cambridgeshire, which has been built to house Imperial War Museums’ (IWM) rich paper collection, has registered the best airtightness test result ever recorded in the UK – and perhaps, the world.

Leading insulation and airtightness contractor Usher Insulations has emphasised the importance of using reliable, quality airtightness products on site — to ensure that buildings remain air-sealed over their full lifetime, and not just for the day of their blower door test.

Once poorly understood by the mainstream building industry, airtightness is now increasingly seen as one of the most crucial objectives on any building project. Not only is it vital for energy efficiency, it’s also key for thermal comfort and for protecting a building’s structure from dampness and mould. In this comprehensive guide to airtightness, we look at why it’s so important, how exactly it’s measured, and most importantly, how to achieve it on site.

Professionals from across the passive house and building physics communities gathered in London and Swindon during October thanks to an airtightness events programme hosted by Ecological Building Systems, in partnership with the BBA and pro clima.

Charlie Luxton will speak at the first event in Ecological’s Perfect Airtight Seal on 16 October at the National Self Build and Renovation Centre, Swindon, while the London event on 18 October will take place in the Building Centre.

Leading low energy timber frame manufacturer MBC Timber Frame Ltd has completed work on another project aiming for the passive house standard.