OVER 5,000 BLOWER DOORS TESTS COMPLETED
Blower door testing is the best way to measure air leakage in a home or building. It’s an integral aspect of an energy assessment, and in many cases, blower door testing is required by building code.
Since 2010, e3 Power has been providing professional energy efficiency testing throughout the Denver metro area and has completed more than 5,000 blower door tests. We’re an independent energy audit company, which means we don’t use blower door testing to upsell other services so you know your test results are 100% accurate.
- COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BLOWER DOOR TESTING
- WE TEST NEW BUILDS AND REMODELS
- YOU’LL RECEIVE A COMPLIANCE LETTER THE SAME DAY AS YOUR TEST
- GET TESTING SCHEDULED WITHIN 2 BUSINESS DAYS
HOW MUCH DOES A BLOWER DOOR TEST COST?
Our pricing is very cost-effective:
- $225.00 for single tests
- $200.00 for additional tests
Included in the price of your blower door test, we offer to do a framing inspection for you to locate areas of possible air infiltration. This increases the likelihood of passing the blower door test the first time.
THE BENEFITS OF BLOWER DOOR TESTING
A blower door test tells you how airtight a building is. With the results of blower door testing, you can:
- Reduce energy use from air leakage. A tight home is an efficient home.
- Avoid moisture condensation problems.
- Cut down on uncomfortable drafts caused by cold air leaking in from the outdoors.
- Determine how much mechanical ventilation might be needed to provide acceptable indoor air quality.
- Comply with building code requirements.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING A BLOWER DOOR TEST?
Blower doors consist of:
- a frame and flexible panel that fit in a doorway
- a powerful variable-speed fan
- a pressure gauge to measure the pressure differences inside and outside the home
- an airflow manometer and hoses for measuring airflow
To run a blower door test, you fit the frame and panel into the home’s front door and close all other entry doors and windows. The fan depressurizes the building, creating a vacuum. The higher outside air pressure then flows in through all unsealed cracks and openings, and we use infrared imaging to locate the openings. With the data we collect, you can figure out where the air is getting in. Then you are able to properly air seal the building to provide you with better energy efficiency.
After you complete air sealing, we can re-test to determine the effectiveness of the air sealing measures.
BLOWER DOOR TESTS ARE REQUIRED FOR MOST CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION PROJECTS IN DENVER
Since the adoption of the 2015 IECC Residential Energy Codes, blower door air leakage testing is now a requirement for most construction projects in the Denver Metro area. This includes new construction and renovations where the addition is 30% or larger than the original home.
These are the ACH requirements for blower door test standards that you need to be aware of:
- Single-family homes – 3 air changes per hour or less, or 3 ACH.
- Townhomes with attached common walls – 4 ACH in Denver County.
- ADU’s – 4 ACH in Denver County, different for all municipalities.
- Additions – Required for additions that are more than 30% of the original square footage of the home, not including the basement. A pre-test is performed to determine the air leakage of the original home. This ACH number is the benchmark for the final test post-construction. The final test must be less than or equal to the pre-test. Performing a pre- and post-test is much easier to pass since there is no specific ACH required to pass. If a pre-test is not conducted, then 5 ACH or less is required. We highly recommend that you perform a pre- and post-test to increase your chances of passing.
- Attached multi-unit testing – To aid in passing your air leakage testing on attached homes, we use multiple blower door fans to isolate the shared interior walls. This is called guarded testing. By running multiple blower doors at the same time, we are able to determine the leakage to the outside of individual units negating leakage between units through shared interior walls.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU FAIL YOUR BLOWER DOOR TEST?
If you are unable to pass your blower door test, we use infrared imaging and zone pressure diagnostics to determine where you are having air infiltration issues so you can address them. We will continue to work with you until you are able to pass your blower door test. Additional testing is $200 per test with 1.5 hours of diagnostics included; additional diagnostics time is charged at $25 per 15 minutes.
