ENERGY CODE COMPLIANCE MADE EASY
Providing services needed to help homebuilders, developers, architects, and HVAC professionals navigate energy code compliance and certification. With objective reporting we serve as an independent third party to navigate clients through the home inspection and construction process.
The Blower Door
"The Draft Test"
A blower door test involves setting up a temporary frame in one of the home's exterior doorways and covering it with a sealed panel. Then, a powerful fan is placed in the panel, and mutiple pressure gauges (called a manometers) are attached using hoses.
This setup helps us measure how much air flows through each home every minute. Essentially, it's a way to find out how tightly sealed the home is.
By lowering the air pressure inside the house, we can pinpoint where air leaks are letting outdoor air come into the home, which can affect your heating, cooling and comfort.
How Does It Work?
Once the equipment is set up and the home is ready for testing, the powerful fan will start to lower the pressure inside the home. This means the air pressure inside becomes lower than the air pressure outside. As this happens, outside air rushes in through any openings like seams, gaps, cracks, electrical and plumbing passages, and anywhere else air can flow freely.
As the blower door test is cruising, I would encourage you to walk around and feel where air is moving throughout the home.
Once the testing, results and site specific data is collected and recorded it will be analyzed with powerful energy modeling software and custom reports Will be generated and delivered to you for your project.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
A Blower Door Test evaluates how well-sealed your home or building is, using a measurement called 50 pascals (50pa). A pascal is a small unit of air pressure. During Blower Door testing, air movement and flow are measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM) in any enclosed space. The CFM measurement is then used to calculate the number of air exchanges per hour (ACH50)..
ACH50 indicates how many times outside air replaces or is exchanged with the full volume of indoor air
*Under the testing conditions of 50pa.
ACH50 is just one way to measure and/or compare air leakage in a home or building.
Why have Blower Door Testing performed
PA 2018 IECC requires for certificate of occupancy
Improved home owner air quality and comfort
Building Science Services
Rough In Testing
Coordinated with you each step of the way. This is highly recommended after all exterior sheathing, doors, windows and hatches have been installed and/or sealed.
Blower Door Guided
Blower door guided air sealing ensures code compliance. A blower door, thermal and fog imaging guides our team to effectively air seal and meet 2018 PA IECC code
Final Blower Door
The final blower door test is completed, leveraging advanced tools and methodologies, it provides you and the STATE with compliance of PA 2018 EICC code.
Contact Us Today
And tell us about your project...
484-966-0740
