Retrotec Residential Pressure & Air Leakage - Manual (Page 28)

Page 28 of 75
©Retrotec Inc. 2014
4. Use the Blower Door System to do other tests
In addition to the standard Blower Door tests, it is possible to conduct a number of other tests with a Blower
Door system.
4.1 Measure Pressure Difference/Air flow between Areas
Measuring the pressure difference or air flow between areas is often called a zone test. The area under test is
called the zone and the other area is called the reference area. A basic zone test is no more than the following:
1. Check Baseline pressure: Have the gauge measure a “Baseline” for at least 60 seconds.
2. Connect the red tube to the “Ref A” (red ) port on the gauge, and place the other end of the tube in
the reference area.
3. Connect the blue tube to the “Input A” (blue) port on the gauge. Place the other end of the tube in
the zone.
4. Channel A, “PrA” on the gauge display, displays the pressure difference between the zone and the
reference area.
It is also possible to measure the pressures in zones that are outside the conditioned space, relative to the house
pressure.
To measure zone pressure relative to the house pressure
1. Set up the fan system with a manual speed control and pressurize/depressurize the house to your
normal test pressure (typically 50 Pa).
2. Leave the fan running so that the house is at the test (50 Pa) pressure difference to the outside.
Disconnect the tubing from the Blower Door when the test pressure has been reached and is stable.
3. Connect a long blue tube to the “Input A” (blue) port on the gauge. Leave the “Ref A” (red) port
open to the house.
4. Insert the other end of the blue tube into the zones to be tested. “PrA” will display the difference
between the house and the tested zone. If the tested zone has many leaks to the outdoors allowing
its pressure to drop to close to the outdoor pressure, you would expect the measured pressure
between house and the tested zone to be close to the set test pressure difference between the
house and the outdoors (50 Pa). If the zone has few leaks to the outdoors, the measured pressure
will be close to 0 Pa since the zone will stay at close to the house pressure.
To measure zone pressure relative to the outdoors
1. Set up the fan system with a manual speed control and pressurize/depressurize the house to your
normal test pressure (typically 50 Pa).
2. Leave the fan running so that the house is at the test (50 Pa) pressure difference to the outside.
Disconnect the tubing from the Blower Door when the test pressure has been reached and is stable.
3. Connect a long blue tube to the “Input A” (blue) port on the gauge.
4. Connect a long red tube to the “Ref A” (red) port on the gauge, and run the other end outdoors.
5. Insert the other end of the blue tube into the zones to be tested. “PrA” will display the pressure
difference between the tested zone and the outdoors. If the tested zone has many leaks to the
outdoors, you would expect the measured pressure to be close to 0 Pa because the zone is more
connected to the outdoors. If the zone has few leaks to the outdoors, then you would expect the
measured pressure to be close to the set house pressure (50 Pa).