Blower door test results
Last Post 19 Apr 2021 12:06 PM by newbostonconst. 18 Replies.
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14 Jan 2011 04:41 PM
I recently completed building a prototype home in Asheville, NC and I wanted to share my blower door test results.  I am a former H.E.R.S rater and hired a local rater to perform the Energy Star Certification on my home.  I consider this rater to be the leading residential building scientist is this region and was excited to see the results.

ACH 50 = .48  Air changes per hour measured at 50 pascals of pressure.  This exceeds Passivhaus standards
ELR = .039     Some raters or certification programs measure in ELR or MLR (Envelope Leakage Ratio).  I prefer this test as it gives a truer performance #.

I've been in touch with several building scientists, building science organizations and other certifying professionals to find a tighter envelope.

I would enjoy hearing back from others on this site as to their blower door test results.  You can visit my blog for more information at:  www.affordablegreenhome.blogspot.com

"Build it tight and ventilate it right"


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20 Jan 2011 01:45 PM

Concerning new construction, when is the best time to have a Blower Door test performed?



....jc<br>If you're not building with OSB SIPS(or ICF's), why are you building?
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20 Jan 2011 01:54 PM
Posted By PanelCrafters on 20 Jan 2011 01:45 PM

Concerning new construction, when is the best time to have a Blower Door test performed?


For stick built, there's a good arguement for making 2-passes. First pass as soon as the sheathing is up & sealed, windows & doors installed, plumbing & electrical roughed-in, but before insulating  or closing in the cavites, at which point sealing the exterior air-barrier is still accessable for sealing.  Then, once the finish walls & ceiling board is up and all electrical & boxes & plumbing penetrations to the interior have been made & sealed, re-test before painting or final finishing.

With SIPS or ICFs it might be a single pass, as soon as the shell is up, windows & doors in, and exterior plumbing/electrical penetrations made, but prior to final trim & finish.


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20 Jan 2011 05:15 PM
jc;

our energy raters do a thermal bypass check list at the frame inspection; its a visual inspection before things get covered up. But, they want they home completely finished, including flooring before doing the blower door test and if possible power on.


Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br />
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22 Jan 2011 08:43 AM
Posted By cmkavala on 20 Jan 2011 05:15 PM
jc;

our energy raters do a thermal bypass check list at the frame inspection; its a visual inspection before things get covered up. But, they want they home completely finished, including flooring before doing the blower door test and if possible power on.
That's interesting. You would think that it would be best to perform it prior to insulation & drywall so that you can fix the problems at the source.

But then again, with a true vault(no trusses, TJI's from top plate to beam) that it would be difficult to seal the TJI's prior to the test...



....jc<br>If you're not building with OSB SIPS(or ICF's), why are you building?
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22 Jan 2011 06:59 PM
Posted By PanelCrafters on 22 Jan 2011 08:43 AM

That's interesting. You would think that it would be best to perform it prior to insulation & drywall so that you can fix the problems at the source.

But then again, with a true vault(no trusses, TJI's from top plate to beam) that it would be difficult to seal the TJI's prior to the test...


Well in our case our jobs are all SIP construction, but even if it was conventional they still would want to verify that the insulation is installed as specified


Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br />
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23 Jan 2011 12:06 PM

The best time to do a blower door test is at the earliest possible stage in which the envelope and all penetrations are sealed.  As another poster mentioned, if stick framing, doing a blower door test before insulation and drywall is a good idea.  There might be an extra charge from the rater to perform an additional test as this is usually done at the end of construction, or sometimes you can rent a blower door (if you know what your doing) and test the home at your convenience.  I was involved in a Passiv Haus certified home in this area and they did several blower door tests (rented the equipment) to make sure they passed the strict requirements of Passiv Haus which is ACH 50 = .60 or less.



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23 Jan 2011 03:38 PM
Posted By cmkavala on 22 Jan 2011 06:59 PM

Well in our case our jobs are all SIP construction, but even if it was conventional they still would want to verify that the insulation is installed as specified
It will be SIP construction, but only for the walls. Actually, it will be a hybrid with SIP exterior walls and a non-load bearing inner wall for more insulation(Passive House style). R-50...


....jc<br>If you're not building with OSB SIPS(or ICF's), why are you building?
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24 Jan 2011 07:19 AM


Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br />
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26 Jan 2011 07:59 PM
CTP-

ACH 50 = .48 sounds fantastic. What is the construction type (SIPS since you are in that forum)? What type of windows did you use? Did you use storm doors (which must be uncommon in NC)?

Lee Dodge
www.ResidentialEnergyLaboratory.com
in a net-zero energy house


Lee Dodge,
<a href="http://www.ResidentialEnergyLaboratory.com">Residential Energy Laboratory,</a>
in a net-zero source energy modified production house
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27 Jan 2011 08:24 AM
Can you provide exterior surface sq ftg and building volume cu ft? Curious to see what size can get those good numbers. I'll look at your blog to see if you get into your technique.

I just tested a standard stick home I built in 2006, before I knew what a blower door really was. 2 story, around 4500 sq ft, full basement, some knee walls, a dormer, a room in attic trusses (it has some difficult spots) Standard stick frame r19 batt walls and r50 cellulose in the attic, 12 can lights:

ACH50 1.7; mlr .21, 1250 cfm50

House has 5857 sq ft surface area and 43930 cu ft of conditioned volume.

I could probably get the house down to 1000 cfm50 fairly easily based on some easy air leak fixes; anything tighter than that would be quite difficult and expensive to get, but for a home that we didn't pay attention too like I do now, I was quite pleased with the results.

What I did on this home: sill and sill box is foamed with 2" eps and 1 part foam; any visible gaps in framing was sealed with 1 part or sealant; all exterior walls are on sill seal (a couple of the corners were leaking pretty good where the sill seal butted together; all penatrations from floor to floor or thru wall were sealed; poly vapor barrier taped, it is not bed in sealant at edges. Windows are foamed in all around from the inside. We did not gun sealant on top plate and multi member framing joints like insulation contractors do now, I did not build recessed can boxes on this house, the perimeter is 1 part sealed at drywall/vapor barrier. Basically in framing before insulation we took of obvious air movement locations, we did not spend a deliberate amount of time tightening the building.


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28 Jan 2011 08:34 AM
See attached check list

Attachment: ThrmByChklstTRK_060206.pdf

Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br />
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31 Jan 2011 12:34 PM
greentree,

The cubic ft volume = 21,453

Lee Dodge,

The exterior walls are Eco-Panels R-26 with ZIP exterior skin. The roof deck was sprayed with 6" of Demilac Agribalance R4.5 per inch. The windows are all Marvin Integrity--either casements or awnings. I did not use storm doors, but instead Therma-tru fiberglass doors with polyurethane core.

CTP


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08 Mar 2021 03:00 AM
The blower door test is becoming more common in Philadelphia. We conduct them at the post construction phase but I do think it would be beneficial to conduct it while the walls are exposed so that problems can be found and corrected ahead of time. The blower door is an incredibly useful tool for keeping the building air tight.

Ori Rosenkrantz
BlowerDoorTester.com
LocalEnergyAudits.com


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08 Mar 2021 03:00 AM
The blower door test is becoming more common in Philadelphia. We conduct them at the post construction phase but I do think it would be beneficial to conduct it while the walls are exposed so that problems can be found and corrected ahead of time. The blower door is an incredibly useful tool for keeping the building air tight.

Ori Rosenkrantz
BlowerDoorTester.com
LocalEnergyAudits.com


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08 Mar 2021 03:00 AM
The blower door test is becoming more common in Philadelphia. We conduct them at the post construction phase but I do think it would be beneficial to conduct it while the walls are exposed so that problems can be found and corrected ahead of time. The blower door is an incredibly useful tool for keeping the building air tight.

Ori Rosenkrantz
BlowerDoorTester.com
LocalEnergyAudits.com/blower-door-testing


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08 Mar 2021 12:51 PM
I find the cheap $200 thermal cameras work well to look for cold spots or hot spots depending on your season. I there is a cold/hot spot it means air is moving through the wall. I do it after drywall is installed...If I find cold/hot spots I drill a small hole and spray foam in....after a couple days of doing this the house is well sealed. I got .79 ACH on our last house doing this. Blower door test tell the status of the whole house and really don't help you at fixing anything. Thermal camera is cheap and easy.


"Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." George Carlins
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15 Apr 2021 06:56 PM
There are benefits to performing blower door tests throughout the building process to detect air leaks before the building is finished; and again when the building is completed. https://www.enercept.com/blog/benefits-of-blower-door-tests-at-different-stages-of-sip-construction


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19 Apr 2021 12:06 PM
thermal camera is easiest, cheapest, and can be done throughout the build process.


"Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." George Carlins
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