Retrotec Residential Pressure & Air Leakage - Manual (Page 14)

Page 14 of 75
©Retrotec Inc. 2014
Porch
Crawl space
Exhaust appliances: turn off
Kitchen & bath exhaust fans
Whole house fan
Clothes dryer
Central vacuum system
Attic & crawl space power ventilators
Other Devices:
Evaporative coolers - turn off
Window a/c units - turn off
Close fresh/outside air vents
Wall furnace - turn off
Central heating & cooling system:
Turn off
Remove filter from grills
Open supply diffusers
If subtraction test: tape over supplies & returns
Close damper over fresh/make-up air intake
Turn off fresh air ventilation system
Water heater:
Turn to pilot position, and leave keys on heater
2.3 Preparation of Intentional Openings
A major test objective is to ensure that the entire conditioned (heated or cooled) space is kept at the same
pressure relative to outside during the test. For example, when there is a 50 Pa pressure difference between
the front hallway (where the Blower Door is located) and the outdoors, there also needs to be a 50 Pa pressure
difference between the back bedroom and the outdoors. In order to achieve this, exterior openings such as
windows must be closed and doors to conditioned spaces must be opened.
Establish what the conditioned space of the enclosure is. Conditioned areas must be included in testing, and will
need to be pressurized. Unconditioned space should be allowed to match the exterior pressure.
2.3.1. Select a Doorway
It’s important to select the correct doorway to use for testing.
To select a doorway
1. Select a doorway that will fit the specific Blower Door system. If the doorway is abnormally tall or
wide, it will be easier to pick a different door rather than try to use cardboard or something
makeshift to make the system work.