Blower Door Air Tightness Testing

In existing buildings, the entire process should take between 1hour and 1.5hours (typical 2 story house 2000sq.ft or 190sqm) naturally depending on the size of the property larger properties will take longer.

In new buildings where the airtightness membranes and tapes are installed to achieve a good air change reading, the process can take 2hours-2.5hours. This depends largely on the craftsmanship of the installer.

We have listed a few things that you as the property owner and the IEA engineer should do in preparation of Irish Energy Assessors completing a blower-door test.

• Close all the wall vents
• Turn off all electric appliances
• Seal extractors fans in bathrooms or kitchen
• Block the chimney by installing a chimney balloon
• Close all window and external doors
• Leave all internal doors open to allow the air to pass freely through the property
• Do not light the open fires, the day prior the test

All these procedures mentioned above are carried out by our engineers except the open fire requirement.

benefit of having a Irish Energy Assessors, complete an air tightness blower door test on your property includes:

• The test identifies air leakage in both new and existing buildings, air leakage means heat loss.
• The report we provide highlights draughts in the dwelling, areas effected , attic trap door , window and doors, smoke detector in ceilings.
• Creatures an environment where the benefits of the heating system are controlled properly
• In built up areas reduces noise levels in houses, by having the building airtight this eradicates the air paths through which the sound travels.
• Displays defects in window/door closers or hinges, the closing mechanism may need to be refitted to allow proper closure to avoid heat loss.

I.E.A. has professional engineers to undertake the blower-door procedure. The pressure induced by the door fan doesn't damage the property. The fitting of the adjustable door frame (which fits door openings of all sizes) contains the fan, is installed without fixings and the metal frame is surrounded with rubber seals to protect the paint work on the door frame.

The fan is connected to software package, the floor areas and wall areas of the building is entered into the software measuring device The software calculates the air flow in or out of the fan (depressurisation test or pressurisation test), the software calculates both readings, total surface area of the building and the air flow through the fan resulting in an Air Permeability reading. We divide this figure by 20 to obtain the A.C., air changes rate. The A.C. rate is the amount of times the air inside the building will change every hour. Air enters the building through air paths or gaps and cracks in the buildings' envelope which are most likely not visible to the naked eye. This happens constantly which we called uncontrolled ventilation or draughts. The more air changes, the more heat loss occurs.