Home owners have come to realize the benefits an energy audit gets them. Hence many are opting for this service. Energy audit has helped many to understand the kind of energy leaving their house and in what amount. This has guided many in taking appropriate steps to make the house energy efficient. While checking the house for its energy efficiency the auditors apply a number of processes. To start with they check the characteristics of your homes thermal envelope which include the walls, ceilings, floors, doors, windows, and skylights. The openings that lead to energy leak are checked. Also HVAC appliances are checked for their energy consumption.

During this check the energy auditor will use a number of equipment to understand the performance of the house. One amongst the many equipment used is Blower Door. A blower door is used to check the air leak in the building. They provide a means to quantify the air flow and the resulting heat loss also it lets you know of the places that lead to the leakage. It is installed towards the outside of the door and usually takes less time and effort to setup. Not only energy auditors but even new construction projects use blower doors for quality control and retrofit contractors.

A blower door is made of a powerful variable-speed fan, this is mounted in a panel that is adjustable and can fit in the doorway temporarily. The fan is used to blow air through the building in a controlled manner. The fan is connected with Pressure gauges to measure the rate of airflow that is required to maintain the building at a certain pressure. Controlled air flow is used to seek the air leaks.

Before the test the house needs to be prepared for it. The doors and windows of the house are closed. As the test tends to depressurize the house by sucking in all the air through the openings you need to disable all the combustion devices. So the heating systems, gas water heaters, Pilot lights, wood-burning appliances etc. need to be put off.

The fan usually consists of an expandable frame to fit the door opening. It is either a fabric cover or rigid panels to block off the doorway except for the fan. The gauges need to be “zeroed” as part of the preparation; this needs to be done as per the manufacturer’s directions.

The measurements are taken increasing the fan speed until the pressure difference between the house and outside is at the desired level. Ideally testing is done between 10 and 60 Pascals (Pa). The airflow out of the house at that pressure is then recorded. The operator prefers to take multiple readings for better accuracy. Later it is averaged and adjusted for temperature using a simple computer program. This method gives a detailed result.

The use of such equipment requires professional assistance. Hence you must consider hiring a certified energy auditor for the audit of your house. StarEnergyAudits.com is a leading service provider for professional energy audits. Our team of qualified professionals analyze your house thoroughly and propose effective measures to reduce energy wastage. We are well known for our impeccable services in New Orleans, Louisiana and surrounding area.

Tags: air sealing, baton rouge, blower door, blower door testing, Energy Audit, new orleans

This entry was posted on Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 9:24 am and is filed under Air Sealing, Energy Auditor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.