Blower Door Test Michigan

Greenedge of michigan baker commons 217 e 24th st.

Blower door test michigan. Prior to starting construction on an addition a benchmark of the existing building must be made with an initial blower door. Code compliance performance prescriptive energy rating index hers ratings blower door duct leakage testing manual j s and d analysis energy modeling thermal infrared inspections residential construction consulting combustion zone testing. To pass the blower door test in the prescriptive path in the new michigan energy code requires a home to be equal to or less than 4 ach50 air changes per hour with the blower door depressurizing the home to 50 pa. On page 447 michigan energy code n1102 4 1 2 of the 2015 michigan residential code book states that the building or dwelling unit shall be tested and verified as having an air leakage rate not exceeding 4 air changes per hour.

The new code requires homes to be at or below 4 00 ach50 air changers per hour with a blower door running at 50 pascals. It is also required for additions and major renovations. Last year we built an energy star home for a customer and we used a blower door test to evaluate the houses air infiltration performance. The state of michigan recently passed a new version of the state energy code which is based on the 2015 iecc but with some state specific amendments.

Understanding blower door test results. Based on 2015 michigan residential code n1 102 4 1 2 county building departments are requiring a blower door test for new homes and in some counties additions as well. By measuring the air flow through the fan and its effect on the air pressure in the home or office the blower door system measures the air tightness of the entire building envelope. A blower door test must be preformed before and after the addition is made.

The new code went into effect for all homes permitted after february 8 2016. To avoid conflict of interest michigan code officials require builders to use an independent third party to complete testing code n1102 4 1 2. Blower doors test the amount of natural air leakage in a house. Simply put a blower door is a diagnostic tool used to measure how much air infiltration air leakage occurs in a house.

A blower door test determines how airtight a home is. These problem spots are easier to find using the infrared camera to determine the air infiltration points to help with evaluating indoor air quality. A blower door test is now required for every new home in michigan that pulled a permit after february 8 2016. Too much and its drafty too little and you have to install mechanical ventilation which can be expensive.