Abstract: Tracer emission sources which emit tracer gas at a predetermined constant known rate are distributed throughout a building. The preferred source is a small vessel containing a vaporous perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) substance having a very small bore hole in the top through which the PFT vapor can escape. Time is permitted for the tracer gas to mix uniformly throughout the building and for its concentration to equilibrate with infiltrating air. The concentration of the tracer is then measured and compared to the known volume of air in the building to determine the infiltration rate. In the preferred mode, the concentration is integrated and measured by continuously sampling the tracer gas at a constant rate on activated charcoal adsorbent over a period of several weeks.

Abstract: Sources which emit tracer gas at a known constant rate are positioned throughout a building. Samples of air are collected in selected rooms with constant rate adsorbent samplers. Samplers are analyzed in a laboratory to determine the tracer gas concentration during the period sampled, which concentration is compared to the known volume of the building to determine air infiltration rates. The tracer gas emission rate is rendered independent of room temperature by allowing the gas to escape through specially designed orifices which automatically open and close in response to changes in temperature. In one design, an orifice is formed in a material which expands and contracts with variations in temperature surrounded by a second, less elastic material. In another design, the area of an orifice is changed by a needle valve imbedded in a material which expands and contracts with temperature variations to move the needle in and out of the orifice.