Commercial Testing

CPS’s staff has experience of testing a wide range of over 1300 commercial buildings including retail units, office developments, schools, hospitals, supermarkets, sports centres and many more. We therefore can offer you advice to help obtain a compliant building first time.

Using CPS’s own designed, manufactured and calibrated equipment we have the ability to air test small offices and industrial units up to buildings with an envelope area of 50,000m². The equipment ranges from small door fans to a 7.5 tonne lorry with our fan on the back.

Part L2A Regulation: Relevant to New Commercial Buildings

There is now a testing requirement for buildings above 500m² GIFA. Gross Internal floor Area (GIFA).

The test standard has changed for buildings over 500m² GIFA and is now based on the Air Leakage rate that is used in the DER calculation (Design Emission Rate)

Buildings below 500m² GIFA are only exempt from an air test if a leakage rate of 15 m³/h/m² is used to calculate the DER. Note that using this high leakage rate may result in a failure of the SBEM calculations unless compensated for elsewhere in the build specification.

Normal and Best Practice:

Building Type

Air Leakage Rate in m³/hr/m² at 50 Pa

 

Best Practice

Normal Practice

Building Regulations Standard

--- 

10

Offices - Naturally Ventilated

3

7

Offices – A/C and Natural Vent.

2.5

5

Offices – A/C - Low Energy.

2

5

Factories & Warehouses

2

6

Superstores

1

5

Schools

3

9

Hospitals

5

9

Museums

1

1.5

Cold Stores

0.2

0.3

Part L2B Regulation: Relevant to New Commercial Buildings

The construction of extensions to existing buildings that are not dwellings where the total useful floor area of the extension is greater than 100m2 and greater than 25 percent of the total useful floor area of the existing building. Extensions exceeding these parameters require an air test.

 
Built by WEB21K 2008