Blower Door Test

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Contents 1 Blower Door Test Experiment 1.1 Goals of Experiment 1.2 Decisions to be made from Experiment 1.3 Expected Outcomes 2 Methodology 2.1 General 2.2 Process Measurements 2.3 Resources Required 2.4 Participants 2.5 Collaboration 2.6 Help Wanted 2.7 Scheduling & Sequencing 3 References 4 Questions 5 TO DO

Blower Door Test Experiment

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Goals of Experiment

• Determine if we met our air leakage design criteria of 0.1 AC/hr leakage rate.
• Verify general effectiveness of sealing of building envelope with construction now complete.
• Measure potential energy and comfort impact of a window being left cracked open to try to inform occupants.

Decisions to be made from Experiment

• Determine if any additional sealing or gasketing is required.

Expected Outcomes

• Determine a value for our overall building leakage (or at least observe leakage with smoke tracer if unable to measure).
• Provide educational information to building occupants on the effects of leaving windows open.

Methodology

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General

• No occupants opening/closing doors/windows in building (SEND OUT NOTICE AHEAD OF TIME FOR TEST).
• Seal up any openings between Annex and Historic Building (CHECK WITH KEN; Kirsten has visquine).
  • Seal up damper openings in exterior wall with visquine because pressure measurement so low.
  • Seal openings for conduits/wires/pipes in wall between Annex and Historic.
  • Seal ductwork openings between Annex and Historic.
• Make sure basement is segregated from rest of building; area is excluded from test.
• Start out sealing gaps in doors and windows. Incrementally test envelope construction, door/window gaps, then open window to observe impact.
• Prefer to perform test on low/no wind day (CHECK WEATHER).
• Building air systems off initially and sealed closed at outside envelope.
• Consider putting differential pressure meters in multiple locations (use blower door test apparatus meter, digital micro-manometer, magnehelic gauge). Calibrate meters together first to check for differences.
• Use building exhaust system as alternate approach if pressure differential from testing apparatus inadequate.

Process Measurements

• Record outside conditions; temp/RH/barometric pressure/wind speed & direction/weather conditions
• Record inside conditions; temp/RH
• Building pressure differential (Kenco equipment; LL Catey meters).
• Building leakage pressure (Kenco equipment then convert to CFM; otherwise bldg. equip CFM with smoke tracer).
• Use smoke tracer to check for leakage locations.
• Velocity/CFM through slightly open window with building under 0.02" w.c. negative

Resources Required

• Equipment for Test
  • Blower Door Test Apparatus - Kenco
  • TSI Digital Micro-Manometer - LL Catey
  • Magnehelic Gauge - LL Catey
  • Green Garage DDC Online through Laptop - LL Catey
• Media to Document
  • Measurement recording: test form (LLC check with KEN or create in Experiment Workbook)
  • Video - Flip camera USL
  • Photos - Canon camera USL

Participants

• Ken Byczinski, Kenco - Perform test
• Laurie Catey - Labs POC
• Library (USL) - assist with media (Flip, camera)
• Interested participants:
  • Peggy Brennan - videographer, photos
  • Kirsten Lyons - assist, record data (not on Wednesday)
  • Michael Paciero - remote interface

Collaboration

• USL - media
• Kenco - conducting testing, equipment
• LL Catey Engineering Services - equipment

Help Wanted

• Open to observers

Scheduling & Sequencing

• Sequencing/Prerequisites
  • No occupants opening/closing doors or windows during test.
  • Ventilation systems must be balanced.
  • Must have control of ventilation systems.
  • Openings/gaps sealed ahead of time.

• Scheduling
  • Experiment design - 9/23/2011 - REVIEW
  • Conduct field testing - 10/6/2011 between 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. (prep starting at 11:30 a.m.)

References

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• Blower Door Test Workbook
• Experiment Tracker - summary of all experiments & experiment project management

Questions

• Is there other test equipment that might handle the size of our building? (Centrifugal fan or using our equipment)
• Could multiple test apparatus achieve our pressure difference? (Yes; Ken will bring two sets of test equipment with him)

TO DO

• Plan / Do / Study / Act / Repeat
• Research blower door testing online to find if any other conditions/process requirements.
  • Outline of Blower Door Test]
  • BPI Calculations & Factors
  • Blower Door Basics
  • Blower Door Info - temperature, barometric pressure affect test - correction factor
• Calculate the CFM for Annex and Historic Bldg corresponding to 0.1 AC/hr - Kirsten
• Get small scale floor plans to note results and observations - Kirsten
• Review experiment process - group, Ken - DONE
• Confirm October 6, 2011 12-2 p.m. okay with Ken - CONFIRMED. DONE

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