Our Services
Air Tightness Testing
Passive House Systems have been testing buildings since 2007. Air tightness testing is the measurement of airflow through the building envelope. Air leakages are an issue for many existing buildings, as air tightness levels were not a requirement in building regulations.
From 2011, building regulations require an air tightness level of 7 or less air changes per hour.
Our experienced team are fully NSAI certified. Our equipment and expertise allows us to test a range of buildings types, from studio apartments to multi-storey office blocks.
1. NSAI Certified Engineers and procedures, ensuring that your test results are immediately recognised by architects/engineers, building control and ber assessors.
2. A rapid response from personnel who are based in Munster & Leinster.
3. A one-stop-shop for airtightness testing and mechanical ventilation testing.
4. Minimum disruption on-site with immediate results.
5. Practical, cost effective support on-site if your building fails a test.
6. A range of supporting services including thermal imaging and smoke tests.
7. Flexible, competitively priced service for every customer type.
8. All our test equipment is calibrated annually to UKAS requirements.
The following factors are vital for a successful airtightness test:
1. Test location and opening size.
2. Size and condition of house.
3. Interference to other work during test process.
4. Availability of power.
5. Accessibility to all rooms in the property.
6. Implications of unsavoury weather conditions.
Product Specification
Airtightness Installer Training
We can make sure you have the skills you need to become an airtightness installer. We offer a training service, that gives you all the necessary tools to meet airtightness building regulation standards. We offer a hands on, one day, training course giving you all the theoretical knowledge, along with practical installation demonstration.
10.00 – 11.15 – Theoretical Part:
– What is Airtightness and Vapour control.
– Why do we apply airtightness/Vapour Control products.
– What is the difference between Air- and Wind tightness.
– Airtightness Ventilation.
– Most common failure areas.
11.15 – 11.30 – Coffee break
11.30 – 12.30 – Solutions on Site:
– Designing, Building and Testing for Airtightness.
– Intelligent onsite solutions.
– Airtightness details and solutions (Steel, Masonry & Timberframe).
– Air Testing and other Quality Control measures.
– Airtightness in the Irish / UK context, present and future.
12.30 – 13.00 – Lunch
13.00 – 13.30 – Practical Demonstration:
– Demo house overview.
– Airtightness best practice detailing review.
– Airtightness quality assessment.
– Identification of common leakage points in block and timber frame.
14.15 – 15.00 – Exam + Q&A
PROMOTIONAL PRICE: €65.00 / per person!
Each participant of Airtightness Installer Training Course receives a LABC installer certificate, product samples, a memory stick loaded with relative information including airtightness video tutorials and a direct contact with our engineers.
5B4 Link Road Business Park, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. P31 W950
Course Instructor : Jason Healy
Start Time: 9:45AM Finish Time: 15:00PM
Tea/coffee and lunch is provided
Sound Testing
Sound Testing is a service describing acceptable level of sound between two spaces, that are separated by a dividing element and outlining the impact sound insulation (basing on the Technical Guidance Document ‘E’ of the Building Regulations in Ireland).
Impact Testing is carried out on the floors (only if applicable to the property). The tapping machine (simulating footfall) is being placed on the floor of the upper of the test rooms and is used as the sound source to measure the noise received in the room below.
Airborne Testing is undertaken by initiation of a controlled noise on one side of the wall (or floor) and measuring the pressure level of the sound on the other side. It allows us to calculate the difference between two rooms and to compare the obtained results to the requirements of performance. This provides the result of the airborne sound insulation.
If there is under 10 dwellings in the tested construction, our standard set of test sounds is composed of:
– 2 impact Tests (Floor Tests),
– 4 Airborne Tests (2x Floor & 2x Wall Tests).
Amount of tests can be increased or decreased depending on the quantity and type of the dwellings.
- No noisy operations around the property (during testing),
- Ceilings, walls and floors completed (no cosmetic floorings),
- All windows fitted and closable,
- All doors (external & internal) must be installed,
- Any Ventilation Systems installed should be closed,
- 50Hz (240v) power within the dwellings is required.
Ventilation Services
We can design your ventilation system to meeting Irish building regulations and to ensure a healthy indoor air quality:
Heat Recovery & Ventilation (HRV)
Continuous Mechanical Extract Ventilation (cMEV)
Positive Input Ventilation (PIV)
Our design is done by our own in-house engineers with state of art design packages, with some input from external fire compliance engineers and equipment manufacturers. These people don’t just sit at desks, they are also involved in on-site consultations and commissioning.
1. Send us your plans and we will contact you to discuss and understand your budget and expectations.
2. We will return a FREE package cost estimation within two working days.
3. If we are successful with our proposal we will require a commitment to proceed and we complete a full CAD layout design, confirm initial package and/or discuss any design iterations with you.
4. You should advise us of your local builders providers with whom we work in partnership with to process the sale (payments are processed through your merchant, this gives you peace of mind as we have long established relationships with many very good quality Irish builders merchants).
5. Materials are delivered directly to your site, in some cases our experienced installation engineer can visit your site to verify the design and give installation guidance.
6. On completion we can offer a commissioning & customer hand-over service.
We provide installation training to trades people who want to offer our ventilation products as part of their offering in the future.
On successful completion that tradesperson becomes an “Approved Installer” and benefits from extended product warranties and product support.
We employ technicians who were previously involved in the installation of ventilation systems, these people’s experience is essential in successful installation training.
We instruct on:
1. Component variants & selection,
2. Robust installation,
3. Risk averseness -avoid potential problems during installation
4. Effective system commissioning,
5. System hand-over,
6. System Maintenance.
There is normally no charge for this service, please contact our offices for further information.
We will commission the system to achieve the TGD Part L regulations, and provide the necessary sign-off paperwork. This could include homeowner hand-over while we are onsite.
There is a separate charge for this service, please contact our offices for cost estimates.We will contact yearly to advise that you filter needs changing, plus provide excellent value replacement filters -straight to your door.
We know the correct filter types for our customer machines and we strive to give excellent value for money and service.
There is no fee for this service and it is provided in the good faith that we can compete for your filter replacement business.
We want to give our clients assurance, that we will provide you with technical drawings of your ventilation system and we are available for all technical advice and guidance once you buy a kit from us.
Condensation Risk Assessment
Passive House Systems advises its customers using WUFI® software, which is fully compatible with BS EN 15026, and dynamically predicts moisture movement and storage as well as condensation for each location. Using WUFI® enables architects, designers and developers to identify the likelihood and risks of condensation, and enables designs to be optimised for longevity of the building fabric, and for the health and wellbeing of the buildings occupants.
WUFI® is an acronym for Wärme Und Feuchte Instationär, which, translated, means heat and moisture transiency.
WUFI® software was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Germany and provides detailed heat and moisture calculations based on local climate conditions for building materials, multilayer components and even whole buildings.
The designer is able to achieve a minute-by-minute prediction over a given period of years, as specified by the designer. The program considers a worst-case scenario with the injection of a moisture source at the source to predict the robust drying out of the fabric build up.
A further enhancement of using the WUFI® software is that external weather including driving rain and solar radiation is predicted in a cycle and the designer can choose the specific internal environment that the building will be exposed to. This has proven invaluable when assessing the correct position for high performance vapour control and vapour permeable membranes to ensure a healthy building fabric, whether it be roofs or walls.
