Coltraco Ultrasonics’ Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520 was used to test the airtight construction of low energy housing in Slovenia. The Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520 is an portable ultrasonic airtight integrity tester that can locate and quantify even the smallest of leaks .
Airtightness integrity refers to the efficacy of a building at preventing unwanted air flow through unsealed and porous areas such as gaps and cracks within the buildings’ structure. These air leakages can lead to energy loss which has a negative environmental impact and can lead to increased energy costs for the occupants.
Consequently, integrity testing has become a critical step in modern construction. Built environment testing provides builders, architects, and property developers with the assurance that new buildings meet stringent environmental performance requirements and align with global sustainability goals.
Issue
SPES is the exclusive distributor for Coltraco Ultrasonics’ Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520 in Slovenia. SPES was invited to use our technology to test the airtightness of a low energy house still in construction.
Although the house was tested by the air exchange method a couple of days before, the homeowner wished to look for microscopic leaks in the construction. This was to allow them complete confidence that the houses construction met the low energy classifications.
Solution
The constructed house was tested for its airtightness using the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520. As the device is portable and handheld, SPES were quickly and easily able to test the building.
Outcome
The Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520 worked properly and efficiently. No major leaks were identified in the house which has provided the homeowner assurance that the construction has been completed correctly to low energy classifications, and proof of quality of construction.
The microscopic leak detector was able to identify small leaks 0-0.4% with the quick test function on the windows. As the window is on a sliding mechanism that enables it to open by sliding to the left, it cannot be completely airtight. However, the quantification of the airflow is important information and enables the owners to ensure the airflow is minimised.
Using the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520, has provided the home owner with confidence in the build.
The Portascanner® AIRTIGHT 520
Traditional airtight integrity testing methods include visual inspection, smoke testing, pressure testing, and dye testing. These are often unreliable, time-consuming, complex, and do not provide quantitative data.
As environmental and health concerns are gaining increasing importance in the social imaginary and within legislation built environment testing must improve to meet this demand. Airtightness is not constant and changes overtime due to wear and tare, thermal stress, and other factors. Therefore, it is important to have a testing method that is reliable and can be used routinely to ensure optimal performance.
The Portascanner® Airtight is novel and highly beneficial. All other existing methods of quantifying airtightness require the use of an invasive process that disrupts the operation of any facility being tested. The Portascanner® AIRTIGHT is a world-first instrument that will:
- Identify leak sites with a microscopic level of accuracy.
- Measure and quantify them using sophisticated algorithms.
- Generate a value for the air flow rate through each leak.
- Calculate the building or room’s overall air permeability.
- Store photographic and quantitative data to generate traceable, exportable reports
With the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT users can calculate the airflow rate through leaks, generating an air permeability value for an entire room/ward, which the user can compare against the required value for pressurization.
This has three benefits:
- Planetary Health: Reducing CO2 emissions, both operational and embodied.
- Human Health: Access to pathogen-free, pure, fresh air; thermal comfort; and acoustic insulation.
- Building Health: Eliminating mould, rot, infestation, condensation, and ensuring watertightness, fire prevention, and suppression.
