Home Performance Analysis - Blower Door Test

How do air leaks waste energy?

To get the best efficiency, comfort, indoor air quality and safe operation from a home, we need to know about air leaks. Here are some important reasons:

• Air leaks cost money. If your ducts are leaking, you're losing heated or cooled air, which means you're wasting energy and money. When air leaks into or out of your home, you use more energy to get it back to the temperature you want. If the blower door test shows that your home is leaky, you can save on your energy costs by sealing those leaks.

• Air leaks make insulation less effective. If air is leaking around or through your insulation, the insulation can't perform as intended. The blower door test can locate the leakiest parts of your home to show where insulation is being bypassed, and guide your Home Performance contractor to seal leaks to make your insulation more effective.

Air leaks can cause moisture and indoor air problems. Air leaks can carry moisture into cold places where condensation can form to feed mold growth. Air leakage from garages, crawlspaces and other locations can carry odors and pollutants into your home. The blower door test will help guide your Home Performance contractor to seal leaks in order to reduce these problems.

How does a blower door work?

Your Home Performance contractor will set up a lightweight cloth-covered frame temporarily in one of your outside doors. A fan goes into this door and is used to blow air out of your home. When your home is at a standard test pressure, the contractor will measure the air flow out of the fan. The more air flow, the leakier the home.

The Home Performance contractor will also test the pressures in garages, crawl spaces, attics and other zones to see if they are leaky. This will help identify where insulation may not be working or where pollutants are entering your home.

Can my home be too tight?

Some homes are already too tight, which means they have inadequate levels of fresh air flow. A blower door test is the only practical way to determine how tight your home is. If your home has inadequate levels of natural fresh air flow, your Home Performance contractor will recommend a ventilation system to make sure you have enough fresh air.

If a blower door test indicates your home is very leaky, it is very likely that your home can be made much tighter without becoming too tight or requiring ventilation. However, many homes need air sealing to keep pollutants from entering the house from the garage, crawl space, attic, etc. Some of these homes will become tight enough that they need ventilation after the air sealing is complete. A home with a tight shell and a well designed mechanical ventilation system will use less energy and have fresher air flow to improve the indoor air quality of your home. Your Home Performance contractor will sit down with you in advance to work out a plan to tighten your home and provide proper ventilation.

How should I prepare for a blower door test?

There are just a few things to be aware of before a blower door test. Your Home Performance contractor will need to use one of your outside doors to install the blower door, so it will not be available to use during the test. All of your outside doors and windows will also need to be closed during the test, and your contractor will let you know when you can use them again. The entire Home Performance test can take up to 3 hours to complete.

The pressure from the blower door will cause your home to leak air faster than usual, and this will change the temperature of your home. However, the home temperature will return to normal after the test. You should not have any fires in fireplaces or wood stoves for the first 24 hours before the test. If you forget and burn wood before the test, be sure to inform your Home Performance contractor. Your Home Performance contractor may need to set furnaces, water heaters and other appliances so that they will not turn on during the test. Please inform your contractor how you want those appliances set when the testing is complete. All interior doors (bedroom, bathroom, etc.) in your home need to be open during the test. The contractor may also need to open and close doors between the home and basement and the home and the garage. If you have a forced air heating or cooling system, your contractor may need to reach all of your heating registers. When possible, uncover them before the test.

What are the next steps after the Home Performance tests?

After thoroughly testing and evaluating your home, the Home Performance contractor will put the test information into a computer program that will print a report to help you decide what to do next. The report will identify which improvements will save the most on your energy costs and make recommendations to improve comfort, indoor air quality, and safe operation of combustion devices like furnaces, fireplaces, and water heaters.

If you are looking for an Oregon insulation installation contractor, please call us today at (503) 640-1700 or complete our online request form.