Blower Door Test

What is a Blower Door Test?

Blower door testing provides a simple measurement of the air changes per hour of a home. All homes leak air and it’s a good thing to keep the air fresh but as new air replaces the old air it needs to be reheated or recooled. Too many air changes will result in increased energy cost and discomfort. We use a Blower Door Test to make sure the amount of air changes per hour are acceptable.

There are several steps involved in conducting a blower door test. First we make sure all exterior doors and windows are closed. We choose one central exterior door to open and size an adjustable frame to that door. Next we install a fan and connect it to a nanometer so we can measure both the outside and inside air pressure differential. One we are ready to start the test we run the fan to a depressurize the house to negative 50 Pascal which is like simulating 20 mile an hour winds running through the home. When the home is depressurized air begins to enter it more forcefully and we measure the difference in air pressure inside the home versus the outside.

Philadelphia and Southeastern PA is in climate zone 4 according to the IECC, International Energy Conservation Code and as such the recommendation is 3 air changes per hour in this climate zone. If you are a builder looking to pass a blower door test you have a break as Pennsylvania has adjusted the number of air changes required to pass a blower door test to 5.

All homes benefit from a blower door test so we can identify the leakage areas and make the home more comfortable and energy efficient. Blower Door Test is a part of LocalEnergyAudits.com. Whether you are a home owner feeling a draft or a contractor looking for a blower door test to close out a building permit you can trust us to get the job done!