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Blower Door Test #3

3rd Blower Door Test

With all windows and doors installed, all wall penetrations complete and sealed and drywall up it was time for us to do another blower door test. This time we had to design / create a perfectly sealed "blower window" to test the house. 

In previous tests the basement windows were not installed, and I could simply install a small piece of rigid foam, foam it in place and tape the duct blaster to the foamboard


Now we needed to find a way to test the house, and create the same (or better) seal to the house between the fan and the house:

So we cut a piece of leftover ZIP board, and cut a hole in it to seal the duct blaster to it

We added a handle, airtight gasket from 475 building supply, and some VELCRO strips to mount the manometer to.

We installed a compression weatherstrip around the perimeter to seal nicely to the window frame

We removed an operable sash from one of the ZOLA windows. We chose our window wisely.
  1. Window small enough our scrap of ZIP would fit over the window
  2. Window size is repeated more than once in the house (so we can test in different locations)
  3. Window that is repeated on different sides of the house (East and South in our case). 
All of these situations allow us to test the house in multiple locations on multiple floors in both situations to ensure a more complete and comprehensive airtightness


We installed the Blower Window to the outside of the window frame for the depressureization test. This will force the blower door pressure onto the frame, pushing it tight to the frame to compress the weatherstrip. The handle was installed to help pull the window tight as necessary

We did add a pull pole attached with a small clamp to make it more hands free.

Now we are ready for the test!


That's right! 52 CFM50. 

Passive House Volume: 29356 CUFT - We verified this in the field

RESNET / BPI Volume: 38698 CUFT

This puts the Rochester Passive House at:

0.11 ACH50 - Passive House

0.085 ACH50 - RESNET!

In the next week or so we will be doing a pressurization test with a very similar technique. 
Stay Tuned!





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