Passivhaus Blower Door Test

The Blower Door test is one of the ways to verify that a home complies with one of the principles of the Passivhaus standard, essential to be able to certify a home under this building standard.

This hermeticity test detects the level of existing infiltrations, measuring the uncontrolled entry of air, due to its thermal envelope.

Air tightness and energy saving.

To make a building energy efficient, three fundamental aspects must be taken into account: the thermal envelope, air tightness and controlled ventilation.

These elements are interrelated, since for there to be controlled ventilation, air renewal must be guaranteed, eliminating any infiltration.

Therefore, through the insulation and hermeticity of passive houses, this uncontrolled exchange of air between the interior and the exterior is avoided, ensuring that the house maintains a comfortable environment with almost zero energy consumption.

How is the Blower Door Test performed?

It begins by closing doors and windows, also covering the ventilation slits and any other existing air intake. The interior doors must be kept open, so that the air flows freely inside the house.

Subsequently, the Blower Door kit is placed at the main entrance or in a window. This equipment consists of a waterproof canvas with a fan that adapts hermetically to the selected opening.

The fan integrated with a manometer allows depressurizing or pressurizing, extracting or introducing air into the house. The objective is to achieve a difference of 50 pascals of pressure between the outside and the inside.

A very high value means that the building is not airtight enough.

Airtightness is one of the measurements that must be successfully met to obtain a Passivhaus certification.

This test requires less than 0.6 renewals per hour, at 50 pascals of pressure, in order to comply with the Passivhaus standard.