As the demand for a reduced energy cost increases in this country, the government have applied certain regulations to the building sector. The Building Regulations act Part L Clause 1.5.4.3 of TGD L 2007 requires an Air Permeability Test to be carried out on at least one unit of a small development (4 or less units), where work commences or takes place as a from July 2008.

Excell Sealants are leading the way by having all staff trained up in this area.

Together with our supplier, SIGA (www.siga.ch), Excell can achieve these large savings on a domestic dwelling or commercial units.

Testing shows that a standard 3 bed semi- detached can save in the region of 50-60% of their annual heating costs by simply applying a windproof membrane to the exterior of the dwelling and an Air tight system to the interior of the dwelling.

Excell Sealants will provide the following:

• Identify the primary air barrier elements (e.g. sheathing, plaster, vapour control layer, breather membrane) at an early design stage.
• Develop appropriate details to ensure continuity of the air barrier and communicate these to all involved in the construction.
• Supply and Install all air tight and wind tight membranes to the structure.
• Provide an on site inspection regime and related quality control procedures so as to ensure the design intention is achieved in practice.
• Carry out Air Permeability Pressure Testing using the blower door test.
• Provide a test report for the developer in accordance to Section 7 of IS EN 13829.

In reality, no dwelling is completely airtight and it would not normally be desirable for this to be the case. However, by limiting the leakage of heated air from the dwelling to the outside it is possible to reduce the energy consumption hence reducing Co2 emissions, reducing energy costs significantly and adding to the value of your dwelling.