Building envelope and indoor air quality 

· Is your building airtight?
· Is your building correctly pressurized?
· Are your HVAC units and ducts clean?
· Are your ducts properly sealed?

The building envelope consists of features of the building such as roof, walls, doors, windows and any other items or areas that limit the uncontrolled movement between the inside and outside of the building. The connections between the features of the building keep the envelope sealed. As buildings age, these features shift and wear out. This results in the breakdown of those connections allowing greater unwanted air movement that requires increased energy to maintain good indoor air quality. The results are increased costs to maintain buildings at a comfortable setting.

Building inspections consist of visual queues, such as presence of cobwebs, localized dirt staining, light penetrations, bowed ceiling tiles and other compromised areas. Additionally, an air leakage detector and Infrared thermal imaging is used to scan surfaces for penetrations through the building envelope. Once all the data is collected, the report will outline where the air leakage is occurring. The primary focus is to control the entry of unconditioned air. Controlling the air intake creates higher air quality.