Why blower door testing?

1. Why blower door testing? • Measure leakage • Detect sources • Verify fixes Click your mouse to continue to next slide

2. Why Infrared? • See hidden air and water leaks • Show actual existing insulation value

3. IR Images and Notes

4. Attic Hatch • The attic hatch needs weather stripping. Many people are aware of this coomonly leaky detail. Many other details and conditins are not as obvious.

5. Barrett Memorial Hall

6. Exterior Walls • Many of the exterior walls can be seen here to have inadequate insulation. On the slide on left can see how more heat is escaping from the upper level due to settled insulation. This wall actually has fiberglass on the upper level that is exposed. This is assessable also from the attic, easily removed then dense packed. The slide on the right shows where old duct work is, and how important it is to dense pack this and all wall cavities.

7. View from Attic • Attic is insulated with nu-wool, and in most areas is at a sufficient depth, however the airsealing at the ceiling plane was not done before application, so much heat continues to escape. We recommend airsealing most of the penetrations, working from the attic side, with black foam and or caulking in the stage area. We would also seal at ceiling lights and fans in the main hall.

8. Ceiling I took many pictures of the ceiling. The ceiling was insulated poorly as indicated by the photos. Here we see many cold air pockets that is making the ceiling plane operate extremely poor. The ceiling fixtures, tops of all interior walls, plumbing chases and the attic hatch all need to be properly air sealed requiring moving fiberglass around then putting back then adding cellulose on top which will fill all the voids as well as encapsulating the fiberglass and helping it to perform.

9. Infrared Images

10. Living Room • Here you see a temperature scale from 64 to 73. These photos are taken under normal conditions, meaning the blower was not depressurizing the home.

11. Living Room • This is what the wall looks like with the blower fan running. This image shows that the walls have air paths that connect the inside to the outside. The blower door simulates the effect of a typical strong wind on this hilltop home. Note that we were able to show this even though the test day was rather warm.

12. Kitchen • This is a kitchen soffit, the kind of detail often built above cabinets. Cool air is coming from the attic and the exterior wall. There is a temperature difference of 10 degrees. Here we can see air convection in the exterior walls. The framing is performing better than the spaces between.

13. Top of wall in Attic • All of the interior wall is exposed to outside temperatures becauses its top is not air sealed at the attic level. • Twenty degree difference is dumping into the center of this home currently.

14. Upstairs Window • Typically this type of leaks would not be felt due to the stack effect: Warm air would ordinarily be leaving from gaps around window sashes. Under blower door depressurization, we reverse the normal air flow to show such leaks clearly.

15. Baseboard Trim • The purpose of air sealing is to seal up wall cavities so that insulation can work as effectively as can. Any insulation that air move around, or through, cannot be effective. • Knowing precisely where to air seal is helpful to home owners and building operators.

16. Exterior • Heat losses from cellars are often significant. • Uninsulated foundations like this one radiate a lot of heat. • Even more important is cold air that gets sucked into cellars by the stack, or chimney effect. • Note: In this outside view the lighter areas show heat losses.

17. Windows most important? In this example, typical of many homes and buildings, new windows provide a benefit, but they are the poorest investment.