Quality management

Since 2006, the French Energy Performance regulation, named RT, has been allowing two ways to justify building airtightness: either with a measurement or with the application of a quality management approach. The quality management approach certification is managed by the French Ministry in charge of construction, for which it set up a specific expert committee to assess quality management approaches. Since 2012, the justification has been compulsory for residential buildings. This obligation led to a more systematic use of certified quality management approaches.

Envelope airtightness is incorporated in the French Energy Performance (EP) Regulation (named “RT”) and is a key factor in the reduction of energy consumption. From 2006 until 2012, the French 2005 Energy Performance Regulation (RT, 2005) did not require justification of envelope airtightness. However, constructors could get certification for airtightness through a quality management (QM) approach, in order to build better-than-regulatory buildings.

Since January 1st 2013, the French energy performance (EP) regulation requires building airtightness level to be justified to a lower-than-required value. These requirements represent an important change in the airtightness market. As a consequence, it is the State’s responsibility to accompany this market evolution and to supervise the implementation of the quality in building airtightness. French regulation allows two ways to justify the airtightness value for the building envelope.

From 2006 till 2012, the 2005 energy performance (EP) regulation (RT 2005) did not entail any obligation to justify the envelope airtightness level. As a consequence, asking for the certification of airtightness quality management approaches was a voluntary request from constructors. Thus, they might be allowed to take into account a better-than-default value into the thermal calculation. Since 2012, French 2012 EP regulation (RT 2012) requires building airtightness level to be justified, with two ways of justification.

From January 1st 2013 on, the French energy performance regulation will demand that the airtightness level is justified and that airtightness of a building should be below 0,6m3/h/m² at 4Pa for single family housing and 1m3/h/m² for multi-family dwellings, resulting into an important growth in the airtightness market. It is the role of the State to accompany this market evolution and to supervise the quality of airtightness measurements used for the EP calculation. This is why it has been decided that there are two possibilities to justify the airtightness level of a building.

In France, starting on January 1st, 2013, a minimum airtightness value for all residential building will be required by the energy performance regulation (RT 2012). It will be compulsory to justify for any new residential building that its airtightness is below 0.6m3/h.m² at 4 Pa (Q4Pa_surf) for single-family houses and 1 m3/h.m² for multi-family buildings.