Home Energy Consultants, Inc.

845 635-8302

Contact Us

Services > Building Performance Testing > Blower Door Testing

Blower Door Testing Services

Ensuring a comfortable, healthy, and energy-efficient home starts with understanding how air moves through your building envelope. At Home Energy Consultants, Inc., our blower door testing services offer a precise and professional way to measure your home’s airtightness and uncover hidden leaks that drive up energy costs and compromise comfort.

What Is Blower Door Testing?

Blower door testing is a diagnostic method used by energy professionals to determine how much air is entering or escaping your home unintentionally. The process involves temporarily installing a calibrated fan, known as a blower door, into an exterior doorway. The fan creates a controlled pressure difference (typically 50 Pascals), drawing air through any unsealed gaps, cracks, or penetrations in the building’s envelope. This enables pinpointing areas of air leakage and accurately measuring a structure’s overall airtightness.

Why Choose Our Blower Door Testing Services?

  1. Optimize Energy Efficiency & Lower Bills

Air leakage is a major source of heat loss or gain, placing unnecessary strain on heating and cooling systems. Our blower door testing services help identify these inefficiencies so you can shore up weak spots and save significantly on utility costs, often recouping improvements within just a few years via lower energy bills.

  1. Boost Comfort & Indoor Air Quality

Drafts, temperature swings, and stale air are signs of a leaky envelope. By identifying problem areas with our blower door tests, you’ll enjoy more consistent indoor temperatures, improved humidity control, and fewer outside pollutants entering your home.
Blower Door Testing Services

  1. Ensure Code Compliance & Certification Support

Many building codes and green building programs require documented airtightness including compliance with standards like the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Our services provide accurate measurement and support your certification needs with professional-grade reporting.

  1. Identify Critical Leak Locations

Not all leaks are obvious. Our blower door tests combined with infrared scanning or smoke pencils allow us to visually locate air leakage around windows, doors, ducts, recessed lighting, electrical outlets, attic penetrations, and more.

Our Blower Door Testing Process

  1. Preparation:

    We guide you in preparing your home, securing windows and exterior doors, turning off combustion appliances, and opening interior doors, to ensure accurate testing conditions.

  2. Test Setup:

    A certified technician installs the blower door system (fan, door panel, and manometer), calibrates it, and then depressurizes the building to the target 50 Pa level.

  3. Leak Detection & Measurement:

    With your home under controlled pressure, the technician locates leaks using infrared or smoke methods and records airtightness metrics such as CFM50 (airflow rate) and ACH50 (air changes per hour).

  4. Analysis & Reporting:

    We analyze the results, pinpoint critical areas for improvement, and supply a detailed report that helps you prioritize air sealing upgrades for maximum return on investment.

When Should You Schedule Blower Door Testing?

  • New Construction or Renovation: Test near the end of the project after the main envelope is sealed, but before final finishes. This helps catch and rectify issues early.
  • Mid-Build Testing: Optional, but valuable for checking the performance of the air barrier midway through construction.
  • Existing Homes: As part of an energy audit or when experiencing high energy bills or comfort issues, our blower door testing services help diagnose where improvements are needed.

Ready to Seal in Efficiency?

With our expert blower door testing services, Home Energy Consultants, Inc. helps you unlock significant energy savings, enhanced indoor comfort, and improved resiliency. Contact us today to schedule a test and take control of your home’s performance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. How do blower door test results benefit homeowners?

    Results provide a clear picture of how well your home performs and help you prioritize upgrades. This leads to improved comfort, reduced utility bills, and better indoor air quality.

  2. What happens if you fail a blower door test?

    Failing a blower door test means your home or building has more air leakage than allowed by code or program standards, indicating the envelope isn’t adequately sealed. The technician will identify problem areas so you can make targeted improvements and schedule a retest to confirm compliance.

  3. What do the results tell me and how do I use them?

    Results include metrics like airflow at 50 Pa (CFM50) and air changes per hour (ACH50). Lower values indicate better airtightness. Based on the findings, you can prioritize sealing efforts by targeting areas like attic penetrations, rim joists, or duct leaks to improve efficiency, comfort, and safety.