A blower door test is an important part of a home energy audit that measures the airtightness of your home and identifies hidden air leaks. It can be done as a standalone test but is typically performed as part of a home energy audit.
Home Energy Medics is a whole-home energy efficiency expert with over 15 years of experience improving houses throughout the DC Metro area. In this guide, we explore the ins and outs of a blower door test, explaining what it entails and how it fits into a home energy audit.
Blower Door Tests 101
What Is a Blower Door Test?
A blower door test measures how much air escapes through the gaps and cracks in your home’s exterior, known as the building envelope. This process helps determine your home’s airtightness, which contributes significantly to its overall energy efficiency, comfort, and air quality.
How Does a Blower Door Test Work?
To conduct a blower door test, we install a powerful fan in an exterior door frame, typically your front door. The fan sucks the air out of the house, reducing the air pressure inside. As the fan runs, the higher pressure outdoor air naturally flows toward the lower pressure air inside the home, entering through any unsealed gaps or cracks. The test measures how often the indoor air is replaced with outdoor air to determine how substantial the problem is.
How Is a Blower Door Test Performed?
To perform a blower door test, all exterior windows and doors are closed, while interior doors remain open to allow free airflow. The fan (called a blower door) is then mounted in the main door frame and calibrated. When switched on, it depressurizes the house. With the help of an infrared camera, we can detect exactly where leaks occur. The data collected is then used to recommend targeted air-sealing improvements.
What Are the Benefits of a Blower Door Test?
A blower door test identifies air leaks, which are a major source of energy loss in homes, so that they can be properly sealed. Sealing air leaks in your home has many benefits, including:
Enhanced Comfort - Reducing air leaks can eliminate drafts and help your home maintain a more comfortable, consistent temperature.
Lower Energy Bills - By ensuring your home retains heated and air conditioned air more effectively, you can cut down on heating and cooling expenses.
Better Indoor Air Quality - Sealing leaks prevents outdoor pollutants, allergens, and moisture from entering your home, leading to healthier indoor air.
The Role of a Blower Door Test in an Energy Audit
A home energy audit is a comprehensive evaluation of your home’s performance. During a home energy audit, we assess the attic, basement, windows, doors, HVAC system, air ducts, combustion appliances, and more to determine how safe, healthy, and energy efficient your home is. The audit is designed to locate inefficiencies as well as health and safety concerns so we can recommend the most effective improvements.
Blower door testing is a crucial component of a home energy audit. The test measures your home’s airtightness and helps us pinpoint the specific locations where air leakage occurs, such as poorly sealed windows, doors, or attics. Once we know how much air leakage is occurring and where the leaks are located, we can address the problem with targeted insulation and air sealing improvements that significantly improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing your energy consumption and lowering your utility bills.
What Else Is Included in an Energy Audit?
Home Energy Medics provides the most comprehensive energy audits possible. Our energy audits include a thorough evaluation of every inch of your home plus diagnostic testing like infrared imaging and blower door testing. During an energy audit, we gather as much data about your home as possible so that we can make informed recommendations that will have a measurable impact on your home’s comfort, indoor air quality, durability, and energy efficiency—we leave nothing to guesswork!
In addition to a blower door test, our comprehensive energy audits include:
Exterior home inspection (we look at everything from roof to foundation including grading, windows, and doors)
Attic & basement inspection (and every room/space in between!)
Insulation evaluation (We’ll find out what type of insulation you have, how much of it there is, and what condition it’s in)
Infrared camera analysis
Combustion safety testing
Moisture readings
Indoor air quality evaluation
Complete HVAC system evaluation
Duct leakage testing
Ductwork design evaluation (we’ll make sure it’s laid out properly to deliver optimal temperatures to every room)
Home Energy Audits in DC
Home Energy Medics offers home energy audits throughout the Metro DC area that include blower door testing. A full home energy audit should be performed before making any upgrades to your home’s insulation or HVAC system. Testing first allows us to make data-backed recommendations so you don’t have to rely on guesswork to improve your home. If you hire us to complete the recommended upgrades, we’ll refund all or part of the cost of your audit!