Right now, you home is probably losing energy through air leaks. No matter how well insulated a home is, it will still have spots where it can lose heat during cold weather, or gain it during warm weather. The latter is a special concern in a climate as hot Phoenix’s. Your home’s air conditioning may work harder than necessary to combat the excess heat that steals in through the gaps in the house’s sealing, and that means energy waste throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
You can try to seal up your home to make it more efficient—but how will you know where to begin? There’s a method that can help: call Goettl Good Guys Air Conditioning and ask for blower door testing in Phoenix, AZ. This is a U.S. Department of Energy-recommended way to find the air leaks in a building. After a blower door test, you’ll know how airtight your home is… and how you can improve it for better energy savings and higher indoor air quality.
Here’s how a blower door test works
The blower door itself is a doorway-shaped fan that seals onto the frame of an outside door. The technicians attach the blower door to your home’s front door, and then make sure that all the other doors and windows in your home are shut and sealed, as well as the fireplace dampers and woodstove air inlets. The technicians also make sure that no natural-gas appliances will fire during the test.
Once the preparations are done, the technicians turn on the variable-speed fan in the blower door to lower the air pressure inside your home by drawing air out of it. The door contains a number of diagnostic tools to confirm the airtightness of the house. These include an air pressure gauge to measure the differences between indoor and outdoor pressure, and an airflow manometer and hoses that measure airflow.
With the pressure lower inside the home than outside, outdoor air will rush in through all available openings to fill the vacuum. The technicians use smoke pencils to pinpoint these leaking spots. The process should take around an hour (dependent on the size of the home) to determine the house’s airtightness and the location of air leaks.
After our energy auditors from Goettl Good Guys Air Conditioning have completed blower door testing in Phoenix, AZ, they will have a solid idea of the steps to take to better insulate your house to save energy. You can rely on our insulation services to help you make the most of the results of the blower door test.
Since 1939, our team of heating, cooling, and ventilation specialists have helped people in Phoenix enjoy greater comfort and higher energy savings in their homes. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.