Tobacco Smoke Control Testing
CEC offers complete blower door testing services and pressure testing services to demonstrate compliance with LEED requirements. See below for specific information about the LEED requirements and our testing services.
Blower Door Testing and LEED
All Projects seeking to become LEED Certified under the LEED Rating Systems for New Construction (NC), Existing Buildings (EB), Commercial Interiors (CI) or Core & Shell (CS) must meet EQ prerequisite 2, Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Control. This prerequisite is intended to prevent or minimize exposure of building occupants, indoor surfaces and systems to environmental tobacco smoke. For projects which include residential units where smoking will be allowed, this prerequisite is typically met by passing a blower door test. The test is conducted in accordance with ASTM Standard 779-03 on a sample of the residential units in the building. The blower door test results are used to calculate an “effective leakage area” for each unit tested, and in order to meet the LEED requirement, this effective leakage area must be below a certain threshold.
Pressure Testing and LEED
In addition to blower door testing, EQ prerequisite 2 requires weatherstripping around all doors in the residential units which open to a common hallway. If the building design precludes this, a pressure test must be conducted to demonstrate that the unit has a sufficient negative pressure with respect to the hallway to prevent smoke from escaping into the hallway.
For projects seeking to achieve EQ Credit 5, Indoor Chemical & Pollutant Source Control under LEED-NC, LEED-CI, or LEED-CS, a separate pressure test must be conducted in rooms where hazardous gasses or chemicals may be present. This test, similar to the test above, must demonstrate that the room has a sufficient negative pressure with respect to any surrounding spaces to prevent chemical fumes from affecting the building’s indoor air quality.
Diagnostic Blower Door Testing for LEED
CEC highly recommends that project teams arrange for diagnostic blower door testing prior to the completion of construction on the building that will be certified. A diagnostic test will help the project team identify any potential sources of air leakage that should be addressed during construction of the LEED building. This diagnostic testing can be conducted in a separate building with similar construction, on an unfinished unit in the building that will be certified, or on a finished unit in the building. The circumstances of the project will often dictate which approach is taken, and each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Our diagnostic testing service includes conducting the blower door test in accordance with the LEED requirements for 1 or more units, as well as use of additional methods to identify and document specific areas of significant leakage in the test unit(s).
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