Airtightness Testing in Northern Ireland
Domestic Dwellings - DFPI Technical Booklet F1
The DFPNI Technical Booklet F1 (Conservation of fuel and power in dwellings) refers to new dwellings, but excludes nursing homes and student accommodation. It requires samples of all types of dwellings on a development to be airtightness tested. There is no requirement for testing of extensions to dwellings.
Figure 3.1A Paragraph 2.28
Table 3.1D: The number of pressure tests for dwellings that have not adopted accredited construction details (from table 2.4, paragraph 2.49, of DFPNI Technical Booklet F1).
No. of instances of the dwelling type | Number of tests to be carried out on the dwelling type |
---|---|
4 or less | One test of each dwelling type |
Greater than 4, but equal to or less than 40 | Two tests of each dwelling type |
More than 40 | At least 5% of the dwelling type, unless the first 5 units of the type that are tested achieve the design air permeability, when the sampling frequency can be subsequently reduced to 2% |
More Information & Downloads
- Techanical Booklet for Part F1 (Dwellings) produced by the Dept. of Finance & Personnel - Click here to download.
- More information can also be found on the BSRIA web site.
Buildings other than Dwellings - DFPI Technical Booklet F2
DFPNI Technical Booklet F2 (Conservation of fuel and power in buildings other than dwellings) refers to all new buildings except dwellings. All new buildings with a usable floor area of 500 m2 and over must be tested.
Figure 3.2A Paragraph 2.27
In many cases, building designers choose to achieve the required energy efficiency by reducing the air permeability. As a rule of thumb, reducing air permeability from 15 m3/(h.m2) to 5 m3/(h.m2) will reduce the BER by 30% in a naturally ventilated building.
More Information & Downloads
- Techanical Booklet for Part F1 (Buildings other than Dwellings) produced by the Dept. of Finance & Personnel - Click here to download.
- More information can also be found on the BSRIA web site.
Get in contact
Find out more information? Get a quote for a test?
Tel: 028 38 891 320
Email: airtightness@andersonmechanical.net