Home Air Leakage Testing: Blower Door
West Los Angeles and San Fernando

Why Air Leaking is a Problem for your Home

There was a time when gas and electricity were plentiful and cheap! Houses were built solid, but without worrying about leakage or tight sealing of doors, windows, or other openings such as fireplaces etc. As houses age, leakage becomes even more prevalent and costly.

Leaky houses can have a whole set of issues and problems ranging from drafts, outside contaminants, blistering paint, pollens and dust, to a house that simply won't adequately heat or cool.

While in the past air sealing efforts concentrated on the easy to find air leaks around windows and doors. We now know that the most important leaks in a house are the hard to find leaks in the attic, crawlspace, attached garage and other framing connections. These hidden leaks are responsible for much of the air leakage in typical homes and are often the cause of performance and durability problems. In fact, leakage in duct work is typically 30% of air loss.

And whether a house is tight or loose, nothing will cause it to deteriorate faster than moisture migration and condensation in attics, ceiling and other building cavities. Moisture problems are usually a result of air leakage through the building envelope and can be made worse by the use of hot tubs, whirlpools and saunas.

Whole House Leakage Testing

Whole house testing for leakage requires a diagnostic tool called a blower door. It has a powerful, calibrated and adjustable fan that is temporarily installed into an exterior doorway. The fan blows air out of the house to crate a slight pressure difference between inside and outside. This procedure does not create noticeable air disturbance within the residence, typically only 0.2" of water column. But it is enough to force air through all holes and penetrations in the building envelope. By measuring the air pressure in the building against the fan pressure the computer will determine, in square inches, how much leakage the building has, if any, and what the detrimental effects might be.

We can then determine the best approach to economically correcting these defects and begin saving you money on your energy costs.

A house that is too tight has it's own set of problems also, and these may need some attention. Some outside air is a must for our health and well being, so we don't want to eliminate all infiltration or ventilation.

Whatever the issue with whole house leakage, we will have the answer to help you breath easy.

Please contact us or call 800.481.7666 for more information.