Ensuring your building is airtight is crucial for improving energy efficiency, comfort, and meeting building code requirements. A blower door test measures your building’s airtightness by creating a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the building in order to identify leaks and drafts. Proper preparation is key for confidently passing the test. Using an acoustic camera can help you identify and fix air leaks before the test, making the testing process smoother. Here’s how to prepare for the blower door test:
1. Understanding acoustic camera
One of the main challenges before conducting a blower door test is not knowing exactly where the air leaks are. This can lead to inefficient repairs and repeated testing. Traditional methods often rely on trial and error. However, with an acoustic camera, you can identify and visualize air leak sources before the blower door test even begins. Sorama’s acoustic camera visualizes the intensity of sound waves using its microphone array combined with a visual display to localize and pinpoint sound sources, allowing you to see where air leaks are and taking the guesswork out.
2. Conduct a preliminary inspection
Before using the acoustic camera, visually inspect the building for common leak points such as windows, doors, electrical outlets, and pipes. This initial check helps you focus your efforts when using the camera. Larger areas can be swept in a second stage of the process.
3. Sweep the area of interest
The handheld Sorama CAM iV64 acoustic camera makes sweeping the building for air leaks both fast and accurate. Its intuitive, user-friendly interface ensures that even non-experts can operate it effortlessly. The Sorama CAM iV64 is also:
- Lightweight and easy to handle;
- Weather independent offering flexibility in scheduling the test;
- Features high-resolution visual display;
- Shows real-time data;
- Easy to interpret visual insights as heatmap-like images;
- Gives user full control over their data transfer, analysis, and collection.
One of the key advantages of the CAM iV64 is its independence from weather conditions. Unlike traditional methods that require specific weather conditions (like windy days) to detect leaks, our acoustic camera allows you to perform the scan at any time, giving you full control of your testing schedule, saving valuable time and keeping your project on track.
4. Identify air leaks
Turn on the camera, select a frequency between 20 kHz and 40kHz, and start sweeping areas of interest from your preliminary inspection. The camera will display a heatmap-like visualization of the air leaks, with red indicating higher frequencies and blue for lower ones, highlighting areas where air is escaping.
5. Document findings
It’s important to document and capture images of identified leaks during the scan. Sorama’s acoustic cameras give users full control of the data, allowing you to save stills without needing to record audio, making it ideal for privacy-sensitive environments. Additionally, with USB-C export capabilities, your findings can be quickly shared with repair teams, providing them with detailed instructions to ensure effective fixes. This guarantees the repairs are targeted and effective, helping to ensure your building passes the blower door test on the first attempt.
6. Seal the leaks
Use caulking, weather stripping, or expanding foam to seal the leaks you’ve identified. Be thorough in your repairs, as even small gaps can compromise the building’s airtightness. It’s important to choose materials suited to the specific gaps you’re addressing, ensuring long-term effectiveness.
7. Re-test with the acoustic camera
After sealing, re-scan the building with the acoustic camera to verify all leaks have been fixed. If new leaks are found, repeat the sealing process, testing and sealing until the building is ready to undergo the blower door test.
Because the CAM iV64’s effectiveness is not weather dependent nor does it need specific conditions, you can continuously re-test throughout the constructions or renovations.
8. Prepare for the blower door test
With leaks sealed, you’re ready for the blower door test. Close all windows and doors and follow the test administrator’s instructions to measure your building’s airtightness.
9. Review test results
Blower door tests measure air leakage at three pressure levels:
- Level 1: Low pressure (10-25 Pascals) – Provides a baseline but may not detect smaller leaks.
- Level 2: Medium pressure (25-50 Pascals) – Makes more leaks visible, simulating typical wind conditions.
- Level 3: High pressure (50-75 Pascals) – Reveals smaller, poorly sealed areas.
After the test, the building is evaluated and it is revealed which of the three pressure levels the building belongs to. The highest level indicates better airtightness that contributes to lower energy costs, finer indoor air quality, and quieter, more comfortable space to live in and work in. Regulations for new buildings and retro fits increase as the need for more sustainable and greener solutions rises. Buildings can emit large amounts of CO2 that encourages local governments to offer grants, rebates, or subsidies to support builders in achieving the highest level of airtightness.
Sorama CAM iV64 can be used to scan the building at different frequencies, helping to pinpoint even the smallest leaks. This approach allows for quick and accurate identification of problem areas, ensuring that all gaps—large or small—are effectively sealed before re-testing. For larger gaps, more advanced sealing techniques might be necessary, but the acoustic camera helps ensure no leaks go unnoticed. This way the building can qualify for the highest level of airtightness and significantly reduce the total cost of ownership in the long run.
10. Maintain airtightness and ongoing testing
Maintaining airtightness requires regular inspections to catch new leaks before they cause problems. The Sorama CAM iV64 acoustic camera is ideal for routine maintenance checks, ensuring any leaks are detected early, which adds to long-term building energy efficiency and comfort. The benefits also include reduced energy costs, a quieter and more comfortable environment, and a healthier building overall. This proactive approach minimizes the need for frequent repairs, promotes green and healthy building practices, and ensures lower maintenance costs—making it a solid return on your investment (ROI) for both energy savings and building longevity.
Conclusion
To prepare for a successful blower door test, the key steps involve identifying and sealing air leaks ahead of time. By using an acoustic camera like the Sorama CAM iV64, you can efficiently locate leaks, speed up the repair process, and reduce the need for repeated testing. This approach helps ensure that your building is not only ready for the blower door test but also set up for long-term energy efficiency, comfort, and is compliant with modern building standards.