🏗️ Windows and doors — air permeability (m³/h) of a completely assembled product in a test chamber at a series of positive and negative pressures, with the air permeability of the chamber subtracted; PN-EN 1026

Construction PN-EN 1026

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. EN 1026:2016 (clause 1) specifies a test method for the air permeability of completely assembled windows and door sets of any material at positive or negative test pressures; the method takes into account the conditions of use of the product installed according to the manufacturer's specification and the requirements of European standards. The standard does not apply to the joints between the window or door frame and the building construction. There are no normative references. Definitions (clause 3): closed state — closed, fastened (latched or locked) and secured; test pressure — the difference between the static pressures inside and outside the chamber (positive when it is higher in the chamber); air permeability — the amount of air passing under the test pressure through all the joints between sash and frame, expressed in m³/h; length of the opening joint in m (the actual length of the seals is irrelevant); area of the test specimen in m². The "Scope" field of the PKN card of PN-EN 1026:2016-04 (English version, description of the scope in Polish): "This European Standard gives a test method intended to determine the air permeability of complete windows and door sets made of any materials, subjected to positive or negative test pressures. (…) This European Standard does not apply to the joints between the door or window frame and the building construction" (our translation).

PRINCIPLE AND APPARATUS (clauses 4–6). A defined series of test pressures (positive and negative) is applied to the test specimen, and at each of them the air permeability is measured with a suitable instrument. Apparatus: a chamber with one open side for fixing the test specimen, not deforming under pressure to an extent that affects the result; equipment for producing a controlled pressure and for rapid pressure changes within defined limits; an instrument for measuring the air flow into or out of the chamber to an accuracy of ±5 % of the measured value for flows above 1 m³/h and ±0.05 m³/h for flows up to 1 m³/h (accuracy = the sum of the error and the expanded uncertainty from the calibration certificate); pressure measurement to an accuracy of ±5 %; means of sealing all the joints of the test specimen. The test specimen is fixed as in use, without twisting or bending, fully operational, clean and dry; air inlets are taped over, unless the flow through them is precisely what is being tested.

PROCEDURE (clause 7). Temperature and humidity at the test specimen 10–30 °C and 25–75 % (the test specimen conditioned in these conditions for at least 4 h immediately before the test); temperature is measured to an accuracy of ±3 °C, relative humidity ±5 %, atmospheric pressure ±1 kPa. The test pressure is applied in steps of 50 Pa up to 300 Pa, and from 300 Pa — in steps of 150 Pa. The air permeability result is given to an accuracy of ±10 %, and below 3.0 m³/h — ±0.30 m³/h. The air permeability of the chamber is taken as zero if it is less than 5 % of the highest permissible air permeability over the whole range of the class assigned to the test specimen; otherwise it is measured after sealing all the joints of the test specimen with tape or an airtight foil, unless it is known and constant within the accuracy — and in no case may it exceed 30 % of the combined air permeability of the test specimen and the chamber. Then the combined air permeability is measured at positive pressures — separately for windows and external doors (7.3.2) and for internal doors (7.3.3), in a defined closed state — and at negative pressures (7.4); the pressure sequences are shown in Annex A.

EDITIONS. EN 1026:2016 (CEN/TC 33) replaced EN 1026:2000; according to the foreword, the revision clarifies the test method and does not call into question earlier results according to EN 1026:2000. Changes: deletion of the normative references, an added definition of the closed state, a simplified definition of test pressure, a changed definition of the opening joint and of accuracy (5.4), the closed state in 7.3, separate methods for windows and external doors and for internal doors, a supplemented description of the test specimen in the test report, new figures (sliding doors, a sash with fixed glazing, with extension profiles and roller-shutter boxes, external and internal doors). In the iTeh catalogue (read on 27.10.2026) EN 1026:2016 has the status "Published" and the stage "9020 – Submission to 2 Year Review Enquiry".

STATUS (PKN card as of 27.10.2026). The card of PN-EN 1026:2016-04 (English version) has no withdrawal label: publication 22-04-2016, 19 pages, Building and Construction Sector, KT 169 Windows, Doors, Shutters and Hardware, "Adopts: EN 1026:2016 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-EN 1026:2001 - Polish version", ICS 91.060.50. PKN search, search term "EN 1026" (27.10.2026): PN-EN 1026:2001 (Polish version) is withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 1026:2016-04; there is no Polish version of the 2016 edition in the results.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database refreshed from the production server on 27.10.2026 and current PCA documents downloaded on that day). Number 1026 (form "PN-EN 1026") appears in 17 records at 6 Polish laboratories: AB 023 (8), AB 1054 (4), AB 1596 (2), AB 661, AB 1632, AB 1671. In all 6 current PCA documents the standard is in the same 17 rows; no entry is suspended. Forms: "PN-EN 1026 'N'" without the year (AB 023, AB 1054, AB 1596), "PN-EN 1026" (AB 023, AB 1054), "PN-EN 1026:2016 'N'" (AB 661, AB 1632), "PN-EN 1026:2016-04" (AB 1671) and "PN-EN 1026:2001" (AB 1596, second entry). In PCA documents the note "N" denotes a method used in activities relevant to notification under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, and "+" — tests at and outside the premises of the laboratory. The "Laboratories" tab ("PN-EN 1026") shows 11 laboratories: these 6 Polish ones and 5 Czech ones (tab query on labcoda.pl, 27.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Windows, balcony doors, roof windows, window-and-door assemblies and external and internal doors, including fire-resistant, smoke-control and powered doors and doors with panic hardware, rooflights and products for sealing the joints between windows and the wall (AB 023 — also in entries with PN-EN 14351-2 and PN-EN 12153); windows, balcony doors, external and internal doors at and outside the premises (AB 1054, mobile laboratory); doors, windows and shutters (AB 1596); windows and doors up to 7000 mm wide and 4000 mm high, range 1.3–520 m³/h (AB 661), 0.18–1100 m³/h (AB 1632), windows and external doors up to 6000 × 6500 mm, 0.6–500 m³/h (AB 1671).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — the chamber: its air permeability is subtracted from the result unless it is less than 5 % of the highest permissible air permeability in the class; it may not exceed 30 % of the combined flow — a leaky chamber inflates the air permeability of the window. Second — the closed state: the result relates to a defined state (closed, latched, locked), which the test report states; internal doors are tested by a different procedure than windows and external doors. Third — air inlets: they are taped over unless the aim is to measure the flow through them; the flow through an air inlet that has not been taped over is then added to the air permeability of the joints. Fourth — scope: the standard does not cover the joint between the frame and the wall — the result of the window test does not describe it. Fifth — conditions: 10–30 °C and 25–75 % humidity, conditioning for at least 4 h. Sixth — edition: AB 1596 has the withdrawn PN-EN 1026:2001 in one entry; according to the foreword, the 2016 edition does not invalidate earlier results, but it changed, among other things, the procedure for internal doors.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. The fragment of EN 1026:2016 we read ends at point 7.2.3. We do not give the course of the measurements at positive and negative pressures (7.3–7.4), the expression of the result (clause 8), the pressure sequences of Annex A or the requirements for the test report; this standard does not give air permeability classes.

Method principle

The window or door, fixed as in use, is mounted in a test chamber with one open side and subjected to a defined series of positive and negative test pressures (steps of 50 Pa up to 300 Pa, then of 150 Pa); at each pressure the air flow through all the joints between sash and frame (m³/h) is measured and the air permeability of the chamber itself is subtracted (EN 1026:2016, clauses 4–7).

Applications

• Completely assembled windows and door sets of any material — air permeability at positive and negative pressures (EN 1026:2016, clause 1)
• Windows and external doors, and internal doors — separate procedures (7.3.2 and 7.3.3)
• Tests within the assessment of construction products — in scopes with the note "N" (notified activities under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011)
• In accreditation scopes: 6 Polish laboratories; measuring ranges up to 520, 500 and 1100 m³/h, products up to 7000 × 4000 mm and 6000 × 6500 mm

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 1026:2016-04 (wersja angielska; wprowadza EN 1026:2016 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Okna i drzwi — Przepuszczalność powietrza — Metoda badania

Title (EN)

Windows and doors — Air permeability — Test method

Step-by-step procedure

1. Preparation of the test specimen

   Fixing as in use, without twisting or bending; the test specimen operational, clean, dry; air inlets taped over unless the flow through them is being tested (clause 6).

2. Conditions

   10–30 °C and 25–75 % humidity, conditioning ≥ 4 h; measurement of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure (point 7.1).

3. Air permeability of the chamber

   Taken as zero (< 5 % of the permissible value in the class), known and constant, or measured after sealing the joints of the test specimen; ≤ 30 % of the combined flow (point 7.2).

4. Measurement at positive and negative pressures

   Steps of 50 Pa up to 300 Pa, then of 150 Pa; windows and external doors according to 7.3.2, internal doors according to 7.3.3, negative pressures according to 7.4. WE DO NOT GIVE the details.

5. Result and test report

   Air permeability in m³/h to an accuracy of ±10 % (below 3.0 m³/h — ±0.30 m³/h), closed state and description of the test specimen (clauses 8–9). PN-EN 1026:2016-04 — current (PKN card as of 27.10.2026; English version); PN-EN 1026:2001 withdrawn.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• TECHNICAL NOTE: a leaky chamber inflates the air permeability of the test specimen — its share may not exceed 30 % of the combined flow (point 7.2.2)
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the test does not cover the joint between the window and the wall (clause 1)

Frequently asked questions