Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA)

The Center of Excellence for the Air Barrier Industry

Code, Standards & Test Methods

Codes

The following states have incorporated air barrier requirements into their commercial energy conservation codes. Information is posted as it is made available to the ABAA office. Please check back frequently.

Other states that are considering air barriers are as follows:

  • Illinois
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina

Click here for a summary of the requirements for air barrier materials, air barrier assemblies, whole building testing and water resistive barriers in ASHRAE 90.1-2010, ASHRAE 189.1, 2012 IRC, 2012 IECC and 2012 IBC

Standards

Test Methods

E 2178 – Standard Test Method for Air Permeance of Building Materials

1. Scope

1.1 This test method is to determine the air permeance of building materials at various pressure differentials with the intent of determining an assigned air permeance rate of the material at the reference pressure difference (P) of 75 Pa.

1.2 The method is intended to assess flexible sheet or rigid panel-type materials using a 1 m 1 m specimen size.

1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurements are included in this standard.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents


ASTM E2357-05 – Standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage of Air Barrier Assemblies

1. Scope

1.1 This test method covers the determination of the air leakage rate of air barrier assemblies that are used in building enclosures. This procedure measures the air leakage of a representative air barrier assembly before and after exposure to specific conditioning cycles and then assigns a rating dependent upon the results. Although this is a laboratory procedure, the method may also be applied to site mockups.

1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents