A blower door test is a diagnostic tool that measures the amount of air leakage occurring in a house or building. The results show you whether air is leaking into and out of the building through unintentional openings in its envelope. Blower door testing is a crucial step in any retrofit or new construction project that’s concerned with energy efficiency, durability, and occupant comfort. It’s also a building code requirement for most construction and renovation projects in Denver.
How a Blower Door Test Works
Blower door testing is a fairly straightforward process. To conduct the test, we mount a powerful fan in an otherwise sealed exterior door and close all other intentional openings in the home or building (doors, windows, and vents). After we calibrate the fan, it sucks air out of the house or building, depressurizing it. The higher-pressure outside air rushes in through any opening it can find, most of which are unintentional gaps, cracks, and leaks in the building’s construction. The leakage happening through these unintentional openings is what we measure when conducting a blower door test. While the test is happening, we use infrared imaging to locate the openings, which are not always visible to the naked eye.
Why Get a Blower Door Test?
There are a lot of good reasons to get a blower door test. The first is that it might be required by building code, depending on where you’re located. In Denver, blower door testing is required for new construction and for renovations where the addition is 30% or greater than the size of the original structure.
But a blower door test is worth it even if it’s not required. With the results of your test, you can:
- Improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs
- Avoid moisture intrusion, improving durability and reducing the risk of mold
- Reduce cold drafts that make the living space uncomfortable
- Close off common pest entry points
A blower door test will help you make the right improvements that lead to a healthier, more comfortable, more durable, and more energy efficient home or building.
When to Get a Blower Door Test
Scheduling your blower door test for the right time ensures that you’re able to take full advantage of the information you learn from it. The right time depends on the project.
- For new construction, blower door testing is typically completed near the end of the building process, when the windows and doors have been fully installed.
- For retrofits, blower door testing is completed at the start of the project, often as part of a wider home energy assessment. By testing upfront, you’ll find out exactly what needs to be done to improve airtightness and energy efficiency, so you can plan and budget accordingly. You can test again once the work is completed to determine if it was successful.
- Testing at the start and end of a construction project can prove whether the work completed made a difference. If the second test doesn’t measure lower air leakage than the first, the sealing work was not sufficient.
Blower Door & Energy Efficiency Testing in Denver, CO
No matter what type of project you need blower door testing for, e3 Power can help. We are an independent energy efficiency auditor with over 10 years of experience testing commercial buildings, single-family homes, and multi-family homes in the Denver area, and we’ve completed over 5,000 blower door tests. We can schedule you fast, usually within 2 business days of your request, and get you your compliance letter the same day as your test.
