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ASHRAE Standard 215-2018 (RA 2021) -- Method of Test to Determine Leakage of Operating HVAC Air Distribution Systems (ANSI Approved), 2018
- ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 215-2018 (RA2021) [Go to Page]
- Online Supporting Files
- CONTENTS
- FOREWORD
- 1. PURPOSE
- 2. SCOPE [Go to Page]
- 2.1 This standard is for field application in both new and existing buildings.
- 2.2 This standard can be applied to determine whole-system or sectional leakage airflow.
- 2.3 This standard provides
- 2.4 The test procedures in this standard are limited to single-duct supply and independent exhaust air systems.
- 2.5 This standard is not for determining return air leakage.
- 2.6 This standard is not for determining leakage involving ceiling and floor plenums, systems serving pressure-controlled spaces, or air dispersion systems.
- 2.7 This standard does not replace ductwork pressurization leakage testing.
- 2.8 This standard does not specify leakage acceptance criteria.
- 2.9 This standard shall not be used to override any safety, health, or critical process requirements.
- 3. DEFINITIONS
- 4. INSTRUMENTATION [Go to Page]
- 4.1 Calibration Requirements. Measurements from the instruments shall be traceable to primary or secondary standards calibrated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or to the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) if...
- 4.2 Precision Error. The required precision with a 95% confidence level for the instruments used shall be as follows.
- 4.3 Bias Error. Mean bias errors for airflows shall be stated at standard air density as a fractional value of the measured airflow adjusted to standard air density or as an absolute value , whichever is applicable.
- 4.4 Accuracy. When instrument accuracy is reported without separating out the precision and bias error components, it shall be assumed that “accuracy” means a precision error at a 95% confidence level and the bias error is zero.
- 4.5 Airflow Measuring Instruments
- 4.6 Pressure Measuring Instruments. Static pressure at a point in a duct shall be sensed with the static tap part of a pitot-static tube conforming to Figure 1.
- 5. TEST SETUP [Go to Page]
- 5.1 General Requirements
- 5.2 Single-Duct Constant-Air-Volume (CAV) Systems
- 5.3 Single-Duct Variable-Air-Volume (VAV) Systems
- 5.4 Independent Exhaust Systems
- 5.5 Test Plan
- 6. TEST PROCEDURE [Go to Page]
- 6.1 General Requirements
- 6.2 Measure and Record Data
- 6.3 Time Averaging. Because airflows and pressures in fan-driven air-handling systems are never strictly steady, the airflow, pressure, temperature, or relative humidity indicated on an instrument fluctuates with time. Time averaging of measured para...
- 6.4 Calculations
- 7. TEST REPORT [Go to Page]
- 7.1 Date, time, and location of test.
- 7.2 Name of organization and technician who performed the test.
- 7.3 System identification or name and location or area served by the system.
- 7.4 The manufacturer’s model number and serial number for the system fan or air-handling unit (AHU) serving the section under test.
- 7.5 A text description or schematic diagram of the system features sufficient to clarify the scope of the leakage test performed.
- 7.6 A text description or schematic diagram sufficient to clarify the test instrumentation used and data collected. The description shall include the instrument manufacturer’s model number, serial number, instrument accuracy (precision and mean bia...
- 7.7 The test plan incorporated as an appendix to the test report.
- 7.8 A text description or schematic diagram sufficient to define the configured state of all system parameters used to achieve the reference operating condition specified in Sections 5.1 through 5.4 and Section 5.5.1. The configured state of all such...
- 7.9 The system’s deviations from the reference operating condition during the data collection phase of the test.
- 7.10 The averaging period and the sample frequency for each measurement parameter at each measurement plane.
- 7.11 Test results and calculated values for leakage airflow Qleak,std (Equations 5a or 5b, as applicable), fractional leakage Lf,std (Equations 6a or 6b, as applicable), leakage flow uncertainty (Equations 9a or 9b, as applicable), and the fractional...
- 7.12 A description of any unusual conditions present during the test, such as extreme weather conditions, that will affect the repeatability of the test results.
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX A: AIRFLOW MEASURING INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGIES [Go to Page]
- A1. Airflow Measuring Stations [Go to Page]
- A1.1 Description. Airflow measuring stations (AFMS) are specialized devices that are permanently mounted in the airstream to provide a continuous output of the duct average velocities at the plane of measurement, typically for HVAC control or system ...
- A1.2 Common-Sense Installation Advice. AFMS duct placement recommendations are as follows:
- A2. Flow Capture Hoods
- A3. Tracer Gases
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX B: AIRFLOW MEASURING INSTRUMENT CALIBRATION AND VERIFICATION PROCEDURES [Go to Page]
- B1. Airflow/Velocity Measuring Stations [Go to Page]
- B1.1 General. To help reduce uncertainty in test results, the committee offers the following recommendations regarding airflow measuring station (AFMS) performance verification and output adjustment, if and when necessary.
- B1.2 Airflow/Velocity Field Verification and Adjustment. When factory calibration is not possible, when not available for a specific meter design, or when duct conditions significantly affect measurement performance, the performance of an airflow mea...
- B1.3 Suggested Methods of AFMS Verification. The following are some of the methods and comparison references recommended for use in the verification and adjustment of factory calibrated airflow measuring stations after it is determined that measureme...
- B2. Laboratory Method of Test for Determining the Measurement Accuracy of Flow Capture Hoods [Go to Page]
- B2.1 Purpose and Scope. The following provides a laboratory method of test to determine the measurement accuracy (bias and precision errors) of flow capture hoods used in field applications to measure airflows through user-selected air distribution s...
- B2.2 Summary of Test Method. The test method compares airflows determined by flow capture hoods to airflows through a reference flowmeter in a laboratory test apparatus. The test method includes a range of supply outlets or exhaust inlets, and airflo...
- B2.3 Test Apparatus. Two different test apparatus configurations are required: one for single-branch testing (Section B.2.3.1) and the other for multibranch testing (Section B.2.3.2). The test apparatus components shall consist of the following:
- B2.4 Determining Test Apparatus Air Leakage. The test apparatus shall be tested for air leakage using the following procedure after initial construction and after any configuration change is made to the apparatus that could affect its airtightness, s...
- B2.5 Flow Capture Hood Test Procedure. For each single-branch and multibranch test of a flow capture hood, the test shall each be repeated for at least 30 airflow test points spaced equally over the measurement range of the hood.
- B2.6 Calculations. Analyses of the flow capture hood test data shall be performed separately for each set of tests, single-branch and multibranch.
- B2.7 Test Report. The test report shall contain the following information.
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX C: EXAMPLE CALCULATIONS INCLUDING UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS [Go to Page]
- C1. Uncertainty Analysis Background
- C2. Example Calculation—No Bias Errors
- C3. Example Calculation—Including Airflow Bias Errors
- C4. Uncertainty Due to Conversion to Standard Air
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX D: DERIVATION OF MOIST AIR DENSITY EQUATION
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX E: EFFECT OF BIAS ERRORS ON MEASURED AIRFLOW
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX F: EXAMPLE TEST PLAN AND TEST REPORT [Go to Page]
- F1. Example Test Plan [Go to Page]
- F1.1 Scope. ASHRAE Standard 215 shall be used to determine the leakage airflow Qleak,std, fractional leakage Lf,std, and uncertainties and for the system identified in this test plan.
- F1.2 Required Test Instrumentation. Instrumentation for the test shall conform to the following requirements (refer to Figure F-1):
- F1.3 Requirements for Establishing Reference Operating Conditions. The reference operating condition shall be established according to the applicable specifications given in ASHRAE Standard 215, Section 5, for a single-duct VAV system. The reference ...
- F1.4 Requirements for Measurement and Recording of Test Data. Measurement and recording of the test data shall be in accordance with the applicable requirements of ASHRAE Standard 215, Section 6.
- F1.5 Requirements for Calculations. Data collected from the test shall be used to calculate the leakage airflow Qleak,std, fractional leakage Lf,std, and uncertainties and for the system identified in this test plan using the equations in ASHRAE Stan...
- F1.6 Requirements for Test Report
- F2. Example Test Report
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX G: DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURE FOR AIRTIGHTNESS TESTING OF LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM SECTIONS DURING OPERATION [Go to Page]
- G1. Example (Pressurization: MODES 1 and 2)
- G2. Example Spreadsheets
- INFORMATIVE APPENDIX H: INFORMATIVE REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY [Go to Page]
- H1. INFORMATIVE REFERENCES
- H2. BIBLIOGRAPHY [Go to Page]