Blower Door Testing

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Some Important Requirements

The Blower Door Tester needs to be a third party trained and accredited to perform the test.
The test cannot be performed by anyone who was involved with the design or construction of the home including HVAC installers and electricians.
For the test to be successful, the building must prove to have than 7 air changes per hour (ACH) at the 50 pa pressure difference induce by the Blower Door. If the less than 3 ACH per hour is found, then the building will have to have some form of mechanical ventilation.
If there is mechanical ventilation, plans have to be submitted and approved showing how the ventilation is achieved.

What is a Blower Door?

A blower door is a machine used to measure the airtightness of buildings. It can also be used to measure airflow between building zones, to test ductwork airtightness and to help physically locate air leakage sites in the building envelope.

There are three primary components to a blower door: (1) a calibrated, variable-speed fan, capable of inducing a range of airflows sufficient to pressurize and depressurize a variety of building sizes, (2) a pressure measurement instrument, called a manometer, to simultaneously measure the pressure differential induced across the face of the fan and across the building envelope, as a result of fan airflow, and (3) a mounting system, used to mount the fan in a building opening, such as a door or a window.

What is the Requirement?

Each home must have 7 air changes per hour (7 ACH50) or less in order to pass the Blower Door test.

The Blower Door test simulates wind blowing against a building at 20 miles per hour, in which case the total volume of air within the house would be exchanged with outside air 7 times. The 20mph wind is equivalent to 50 Pascals (Pa) of pressure difference. A Blower Door Fan simulates these conditions during a test.

All homes are tested at 50 Pa pressure difference to allow for comparisons to be made between homes/structures, no matter the size or plan type. In Minnesota, buildings of 3 stories or less must abide by the building code with respect to these tests.

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