The following are the extracts from ASHRAE 90.1 (Section 5.4.3) for the Air Leakage requirements:- 5.4.3.2 Fenestration and Doors. Air leakage for fenestration and doors shall be determined in accordance with NFRC 400. Air leakage shall be determined by a laboratory accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization, such as the National Fenestration Rating Council, and shall be labeled and certified by the manufacturer. Air leakage shall not exceed 5.0 L/sm2 for glazed swinging entrance doors and for revolving doors and 2.0 L/sm2 for all other products. Exceptions to 5.4.3.2: (a) Field-fabricated fenestration and doors. (b) For garage doors, air leakage determined by test at standard test conditions in accordance with ANSI/ DASMA 105 shall be an acceptable alternate for compliance with air leakage requirements. Our project is in Thailand, all the fenestration and doors are field fabricated, with the exception of a two doors at a special Manufacturing Process Room and the Mezzanine Office - this can be as indicated via a floorplan, if necessary. We would like to seek exceptions for compliance to NFRC 400 air leakage test for these two doors based on the following reasons:- 1. There is no accredited laboratory in Thailand that can readily certify the NFRC 400 requirements. To set up the test apparatus specifically for the two doors for this project only will not be cost effective. 2. The air conditioned areas enclosed by these doors are relatively small in comparison to the total factory area which is mainly naturally ventilated. 3. As the doors will be manufactured off-site, the quality and air leakage performance should be able to match that of the field-fabricated type as allowed under exception (a), will this be acceptable?
The project is seeking an exemption for NFRC 400 air leakage testing for a small percentage of the doors installed in the project. Their reasons for requesting exemption are that an accredited laboratory that can provide certification is not available, that the doors are custom manufactured doors, and therefore more closely resemble field-fabricated doors which are exempted from the requirement, and that the doors adjoin to only a small percentage of the total air-conditioned area for the project. The reasons provided for exempting the doors from the testing requirement are acceptable. The project submittal should provide information justifying why NFRC 400 air leakage testing is not feasible for the doors in question. In order for a project to exempt manufactured doors from the requirements, the following criteria must be met: 1. The country where the doors are manufactured and installed does not have an accredited laboratory for certifying the NFRC 400 requirements. 2. The manufactured doors exempted open directly to spaces less than 3,000 square feet of building area. 3. At least 85% of the doors for the project meet the Door air leakage labeling requirements. Applicable Internationally; Thailand.