The testing capabilities of the British Board of Agrément (BBA) are set to be significantly expanded with the imminent arrival of some new kit.

The BBA has invested in a bespoke environmental chamber that can sending temperatures up to 70°C and down to -20°C to put domestic and commercial wall systems under one of the most onerous test conditions.

Described as ‘super-sized and super-stringent’, the new test equipment challenges the performance of externally applied wall systems.

Measuring 3 metres in width and 2.8 metres high, the chamber increases the BBA’s capacity to carry out a wide range of hygrothermal tests – thermal cycling with water spray – designed to simulate and accelerate the most extreme conditions a wall system can expect in service.

The results can be used as part of a BBA Certification assessment or European Technical Assessment (ETA), leading to an estimate of durability on various externally applied wall systems including external wall insulation, render systems and prefabricated wall panels.

The new chamber is currently being built and is expected to be commissioned before the end of June 2016.