Category: Testing

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A New Tool to Find Air Leaks in Buildings Using Sound

Testing the air barrier or air control layer of a home has traditionally been done using artificial pressure created by a fan, commonly referred to as a blower door test.  Why You Need Blower Door Testing – Northern Built   The advantage of using an air pressure differential testing is twofold, we can quantify the building tightness (CFM50, ACH50 or CFM/ft² of surface area) and locate deficiencies in the air barrier.  Finding the air leaks can be done by watching for fluttering drapery or spiderwebs, feeling for air leaks, using synthetic smoke created by smoke generating tools, by thermal imaging, or measuring pressure differentials between spaces inside the building enclosure using a manometer.

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Considerations When Adding Exhausting Equipment to an Existing Home

I was recently contacted by a friend who wanted to add a kitchen range exhaust hood to their 100-year-old home.  They were looking for insight on how the fan might be added, where the ducts could be located, sizing of the system, and any other concerns that might need to be considered.   One of my first questions was what equipment was presently used for space heating and water heating.  A critical question that needs to be considered before adding any type of exhaust system.  Why?  Health and safety of the occupants. Continue reading “Considerations When Adding Exhausting Equipment to an Existing Home”
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How a Window Manufacturer Tests Thier Products

As builders and homeowners, we are interested in how a window or door performs, their longevity and durability, and how easily they install, and of course the cost.  Have you ever given thought to how a window or door is tested by the manufacturer?

I recently had the opportunity to tour Andersen Windows and Doors research and development department, a place called the Garofalo Center for Research, Development and Innovation.  This is the facility where, in the words of Andersen, they “test to failure”.  Stated in another way, they don’t test to see if a product simply passes a required testing standard, Andersen wants to know at what point their products fail. Continue reading “How a Window Manufacturer Tests Thier Products”

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What You Need to Know About Thermal Imaging Cameras

I purchased my first thermal imaging camera back in 2009, it was an Extech i3 (made by Flir).  The $1200 camera had a resolution of 60×60, total pixels of 3,600 and shot photos only in thermal (no digital photo overlay).  If you don’t understand any of those terms, that’s okay, you will have a basic understanding of how thermal imaging works by the end of this article.  Oh, and by the way, you can now purchase more than twice the camera I had in 2009 with half the cost.

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Blower Door Testing for Contractors, Should You Own One?

This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website.

I had the opportunity to interview Gary Nelson, one of the founders of The Energy Conservatory and Minneapolis Blower Door a few years ago.  An Interview with Gary Nelson-NorthernBuilt.  During the interview, he made the comment that his hope for the blower door when it first started appearing in the market was that every contractor would own one and that testing both existing and new homes would become a common practice.  That was 40 years ago.

We haven’t got there yet, but there are more and more contractors purchasing the tool and there are many online videos and webinars showing how a blower door is set up and used.  In this blog, I’ll discuss how to perform basic diagnostics on a home using a blower door.  Methods used to find air leaks, a short discussion on zonal pressure testing, and different tasks that the manometer can perform, all topics I think a contractor that owns (or wants to own) a blower door should be familiar with.

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How to Track Appliance Electricity Use

This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website.

Part of my job working as an energy auditor is educating homeowners on electricity usage, reviewing and analyzing historical electricity usage is part of the process.  Checking service conductors and individual branch circuits in an electrical service panel is also sometimes needed.  This information lets me know if an appliance, motor, or other device is operating as expected.  How about electricity usage of an appliance or other equipment over time?  My visit to a home is usually under four hours, hardly enough time to figure out how often a device operates.  For this, we need tools that can record data.

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Recessed Lighting in Older Homes-The Issues and the Fixes

The post originally appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website.  

Recently, I’ve been on a few energy audits and assessments where the homes were built or remodeled in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.  Electricians working in those times were installing the traditional recessed light fixtures, also known as recessed cans or pot lights.  This type of lighting fixture usually doesn’t have any issues when installed inside the air and thermal boundaries of the building envelope but can be very problematic when they end up displacing insulation and interrupting the continuity of the air control layer.  I’m going to discuss the pros and cons of this type of lighting as well as how we can improve the performance of a home that has existing recessed cans.

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Why You Need Blower Door Testing

This article first appeared in issue 304 of Fine Homebuilding Magazine.

I bought my first blower door in 2009, back when new construction was in a downturn and energy auditing and weatherization projects were on the rise.  I took a 40-hour energy auditing training course at a local college which included hands-on training on how to use a blower door.  It took many tests before I became comfortable in its operation and understood the information it was providing.  Though one of the more expensive tools I own, I’ve been able to keep it busy and add this specialized testing to my business’s income stream.

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Duct Tightness Testing

This post originally appeared on the Green Building Advisor website.

Testing air leakage in ductwork used for forced air heating and cooling systems has been required since the 2012 IRC code.  The 2012 through the 2018 code allowed a testing exemption for all ductwork located inside the building envelope.  In other words, if you kept all ductwork inside the thermal and air boundary of the building, no testing was required.  That has changed for the 2021 energy code.

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Testing-Failed a Code Required Blower Door Test, Now What?

2012 was the first year the International Energy Conservation Code required residential construction to pass an air leakage rate test, better known as a blower door test.  My area of the country requires the test to be at or below 3 air changes per hour at the test pressure of 50 pascals (ACH50).  (Other areas, typically warmer climates require 5 ACH50.)  Most new construction in my market has no problem passing the test, but I have had a handful of houses fail, usually the failed tests are by a builder having their first blower door test or the project is a very small home.

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