Understanding the Blower Door Test for a More Energy-Efficient Home
What Is a Blower Door Test in a Home Energy Audit?
As a Chicago homeowner, you know the battle against the elements can be tough. The key to combating uncomfortable drafts and ever-rising energy bills is to seal your leaky home. Some air leaks may be obvious, but others are harder to find.
One way to reveal air leaks is to conduct a blower door test during a home energy audit. This is when a large, temporary fan is installed in an exterior door to suck air out of the house. This depressurizes the interior, forcing air to flow in through cracks or openings. Home energy auditors can pinpoint the location of leaks using thermal imaging cameras and other tools to reveal precisely where your home is losing energy.
Why Should Chicago Homeowners Care?
In a city known for its brutal winters and sweltering summers, maintaining an energy-efficient Chicago home is essential. Air leaks result in significant energy loss, causing your heating and cooling system to work overtime. This hikes up your energy bills and increases your carbon footprint.
The blower door test identifies these leaks and helps you understand where air sealing and insulation improvements will have the biggest impact. Implementing the recommended efficiency upgrades helps stabilize your home’s temperature, reduce energy costs, and contribute to a healthier planet.
Implementing Improvements
So, where are those sneaky leaks hiding? They could be in your attic, around window frames, under doors, or even behind electrical outlets. Each leak contributes to lower comfort and higher costs. Here’s what you can do about them:
- Seal cracks with caulk or weatherstripping around doors, windows, and other openings. This includes sealing around baseboards, switch plates, and any visible gaps in your home’s structure.
- Replace the door sweeps on the bottom of exterior doors to block cold air from coming in and warm air from escaping.
- Upgrade the insulation in your attic, walls, or basement to keep your home’s temperature more consistent. Professional installation is the best way to avoid gaps or compression that may reduce insulating power.
- Use expanding spray foam for larger gaps in places where pipes enter your home, around chimneys, or where different construction materials meet.
- Replace old single-pane windows and warped exterior doors, which can be significant sources of air leakage.
- Seal the ductwork if your home uses forced-air heating or cooling. Leaky ducts waste energy by allowing conditioned air to escape into unheated areas like the attic, garage, or crawl space.
Work with Titanium Insulation
If you’re ready for a more energy-efficient home, turn to Titanium Insulation for help. We have already helped hundreds of clients in the Greater Chicago area tighten up their homes and reduce the strain on their wallets. Our company is fully licensed, bonded, and insured, with a team of handpicked industry veterans ready to conduct a blower door test and recommend insulation improvements. Contact us today to schedule a home energy audit or request a free insulation estimate.
