Blower Door Testing

A Blower Door Test is the cornerstone of a Home Energy Audit, as it illuminates many of the issues that contribute to an uncomfortable, inefficient and unhealthy home. Air leaks are the biggest detriment to a home’s performance, and a blower door test can sniff them out.   

What is a Blower Door Test?

In a blower door test, an air sealing insert is placed in a main door to your house. This insert seals off the door opening and is equipped with a fan that is used to pressurize your home. This is known as the Blower Door.  During the test, all windows and doors are closed and any vents are sealed off as well. Any air that goes in or out of the home at this point has to do so through undesirable leaks.

Once your home has been pressurized, we calculate how much air it takes to keep your home at that given pressure. The amount of air which needs to be pumped into your home to keep it at equilibrium is equivalent to the air escaping. This helps us to determine how many air changes (amount of air leaving your home and being replaced by outdoor air) are occurring in an hour. At the traditional testing level, ACH50 (50 pascals), 3 air changes per hour is a very good goal. If your ACH50 is closer to 10 than it is to 3, we know you have a leaky home and we can begin to identify sources of leaks.

Improved Home Efficiency and Comfort

Through the use of blower doors, we are able to identify leaks in your home and seal them. This benefits you in multiple ways. The first is through increased efficiency--the more air that escapes your home, the more you pay to replace it. The second is increased comfort--a higher level control over your home’s air flow allows for more consistent in-home temperatures. The third is higher quality of indoor air--rather than having air leak in through cracks and bringing dust and pollutants with it, it enters your home through windows or filtered vents.

To learn more about blower door test and how they can help improve your in-home experience, contact us today!