The quality framework for Air-tightness measurers in France: assessment after 3 years of operation

The 2012 French thermal regulation will include a minimum requirement for residential buildings envelope airtightness, with two options to justify its treatment: a) measurement at commissioning or b) adoption of an approved quality management approach. This paper describes the qualification process for air-tightness measurement authorized technicians when their results are to be used in the EP-calculation method. Our analyses underline the importance of the qualification process to ensure homogeneous measurement practice among technicians. It also shows the limits of the controls that can be implemented if the process is not appropriately sized to absorb a large number of applications. This process highlight nevertheless the great interest of collecting trusted data through a controlled measurers network .