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67-561: In 1977, when it was built at 211 Rink Avenue in the Walsh Acres neighborhood of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, the house was the world's most airtight house. The cost of the electricity to heat the house was estimated as $ 30–40 for a year. The house's building envelope continues to perform as designed, more than 40 years later. For its first two years, the Saskatchewan Conservation House could be viewed by

134-560: A l {\displaystyle Q_{Actual}=Q_{Fan}*{\sqrt {\rho _{Ref} \over \rho _{Actual}}}\,\!} Depending on how a blower door test is performed, a wide variety of airtightness and building airflow metrics can be derived from the gathered data. Some of the most common metrics and their variations are discussed below. The examples below use the SI pressure measurement unit Pascal (pa). Imperial measurement units are commonly water column inches (WC Inch or IWC). The conversion rate

201-575: A l {\displaystyle ACH_{natural}} = Natural Air Changes per Hour [1/h] A C H a t 50 p a s c a l {\displaystyle ACH_{at50pascal}\,\!} = Air Changes per Hour at 50 pascal [1/h] Further physical modeling efforts allowed for the development and validation of an infiltration model by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This model combined data derived from blower door tests with annual weather data to generate time-resolved ventilation rates for

268-575: A n = C F a n Δ P F a n n F a n {\displaystyle Q_{Fan}=C_{Fan}{{\Delta }P_{Fan}}^{n_{Fan}}\,\!} Q B u i l d i n g = C B u i l d i n g Δ P B u i l d i n g n B u i l d i n g {\displaystyle Q_{Building}=C_{Building}{{\Delta }P_{Building}}^{n_{Building}}\,\!} It

335-688: A s u r e d ∗ ρ O u t ρ I n {\displaystyle Q_{Corrected}=Q_{Measured}*{\rho _{Out} \over \rho _{In}}\,\!} The values ρ O u t ρ I n {\displaystyle {\rho _{Out} \over \rho _{In}}\,\!} and ρ I n ρ O u t {\displaystyle {\rho _{In} \over \rho _{Out}}\,\!} are referred to as air density correction factors in product literature. They are often tabulated in easy to use tables in product literature, where

402-567: A Pioneer Award for the design and construction of the house. In response to the energy crisis of the 1970s, the Government of Saskatchewan asked the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) to design and build a solar house that would be "appropriate for Saskatchewan". The house would have to be capable of staying warm despite short winter days and night-time winter temperatures of −24 °C (−11 °F). A committee

469-604: A blower window to a blower door concept used in the construction of the Saskatchewan Conservation House in 1977. The Saskatchewan group was actively involved in the development of the blower door in 1977-78 and published their findings in 1980. They made available their flow nozzle to interested companies including one from Minneapolis. Harold Orr , who had been in Ottawa in 1967 when Tamura was conducting his work, continued to work on blower door technology after Tamura published his paper. Tamura's blower window concept from 1967, preceded

536-418: A calibrated fan, a door panel system, and a pressure measurement device ( manometer ). The blower door fan is temporarily sealed into an exterior doorway using the door panel system. All interior doors are opened, and all exterior doors and windows are closed. HVAC balancing dampers and registers are not to be adjusted, and fireplaces and other operable dampers should be closed. All mechanical exhaust devices in

603-907: A factor can be determined from outside and inside temperatures. If such tables are not used, the following equations will be required to calculate air densities. ρ I n {\displaystyle \rho _{In}\,\!} can be calculated in IP units using the following equation: ρ I n = 0.07517 ∗ ( 1 − 0.0035666 ∗ E 528 ) 5.2553 ∗ ( 528 T I n + 460 ) {\displaystyle \rho _{In}=0.07517*(1-{0.0035666*E \over 528})^{5.2553}*({528 \over T_{In}+460})\,\!} ρ O u t {\displaystyle \rho _{Out}\,\!} can be calculated in IP units using

670-603: A given home in a specific location. This model has been incorporated into the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals (1989), and it has been used in the development of ASHRAE Standards 119 and 136. Other infiltration models have been developed elsewhere, including one by Deru and Burns at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), for use in whole- building performance simulation . A basic blower door system includes three components:

737-547: A heating cost of $ 280 a year in 2011. In Saskatchewan, the first house to apply for official certification as a passive house was the Temperance Street Passive House, in 2016. It uses many of the principles that were introduced in the Saskatchewan Conservation House in 1977. 50°29′14.5″N 104°39′22.1″W  /  50.487361°N 104.656139°W  / 50.487361; -104.656139 Regina Walsh Acres Regina Walsh Acres

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804-519: A model for low-energy house design. Its design approach of treating the "house as a system" became the basis of a voluntary national building standard. The standard included r-20 insulation, blower-door ratings of 1.5 ach@50pa or better, incorporation of a heat-recovery ventilator, and use of non-toxic materials. The new standard was supported by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA). At

871-407: A roof with r-60 insulation, increasing the house's insulation to approximately six times compared to the standard. Rather than having a basement, it was raised off the ground to further prevent heat loss to the ground. The raised floor system included a crawl space with r-20 insulation. Orr estimated that suspending the floor above the soil level could mitigate 80 percent of the downward heat loss. At

938-493: A specified building pressure, again, typically at 50 Pa (ACH 50 ). A C H 50 = Q 50 ∗ 60 V B u i l d i n g {\displaystyle ACH_{50}={Q_{50}*60 \over V_{Building}}\,\!} This normalizes the airflow at a specified building pressure by the building's volume, which allows for more direct comparison of homes of different sizes and layouts. This metric indicates

1005-511: A time when single-panel windows were the norm and high-grade windows were r-2, the Saskatchewan Conservation House used triple-glazed windows in deep window enclosures. The designers also tried adding a system of shutters that could be used to prevent heat loss, but the shutters were not particularly successful. The house was laid out to take advantage of the Sun when possible, with living accommodations and windows facing south. Large trees were planted to

1072-408: A variety of building sizes; a pressure measurement instrument, called a manometer , to simultaneously measure the pressure differential induced across the face of the fan and across the building envelope, as a result of fan airflow; and a mounting system, used to mount the fan in a building opening, such as a door or a window. Airtightness testing is usually thought of in residential settings. It

1139-461: Is 1 WC inch = 249 Pa. Examples below use the commonly accepted pressure of 50pa which is 20% of 1 IWC. This is the first metric that results from a Blower Door Test. The airflow, (Imperial in Cubic Feet / minute; SI in liters / second) at a given building-to-outside pressure differential, 50 pascal (Q 50 ). This standardized single-point test allows for comparison between homes measured at

1206-616: Is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan , Canada. Originally created for the 16th Saskatchewan general election in 1967 from parts of Regina North and Regina West , this constituency has changed boundaries many times. This district currently includes the Regina neighbourhoods of Normanview, Regent Park, Sherwood-McCarthy, McCarthy Park, and Walsh Acres. It will gain portions of Coronation Park and Argyle Park west of Argyle Street for

1273-417: Is a machine used to perform a building air leakage test. It can also be used to measure airflow between building zones, to test ductwork airtightness and to help physically locate air leakage sites in the building envelope . There are three primary components to a blower door: a calibrated, variable-speed blower or fan , capable of inducing a range of airflows sufficient to pressurize and depressurize

1340-704: Is assumed in blower door analysis that mass is conserved, resulting in: Q F a n = Q B u i l d i n g {\displaystyle Q_{Fan}=Q_{Building}\,\!} Which results in: C F a n Δ P F a n n F a n = C B u i l d i n g Δ P B u i l d i n g n B u i l d i n g {\displaystyle C_{Fan}{{\Delta }P_{Fan}}^{n_{Fan}}=C_{Building}{{\Delta }P_{Building}}^{n_{Building}}\,\!} Fan airflow

1407-537: Is becoming more common in commercial settings. The General Services Administration (GSA) requires testing of new US federal government buildings. A variety of blower door air tightness metrics can be produced using the combination of building-to-outside pressure and fan airflow measurements. These metrics differ in their measurement methods, calculation and uses. Blower door tests are used by building researchers, weatherization crews, home performance contractors, home energy auditors , and others in efforts to assess

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1474-409: Is determined using C Fan and n Fan values that are provided by the blower door manufacturer, and they are used to calculate Q Fan . The multi-point blower door test procedure results in a series of known values of Q n, Fan and ∆P n, Building . Typical ∆P n, Building values are ±5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 pascal. Ordinary least squares regression analysis is then used to calculate

1541-452: Is plugged in and turned on, while a thermos stays warm once it is filled without adding more energy. The resulting house incorporated three key elements: superinsulation, extreme airtightness, and one of the first heat-recovery ventilators. At a time when most Canadian houses had 4-inch-thick (100 mm) walls with an insulation R-value of r-8, the Saskatchewan Conservation House had 12-inch-thick (300 mm) walls with r-40 insulation and

1608-399: Is to be subtracted from all indoor/outdoor pressure differential measurements during the test. The blower door fan is used to blow air into or out of the building, creating either a positive or negative pressure differential between inside and outside. This pressure difference forces air through all holes and penetrations in the building enclosure. The tighter the building (e.g. fewer holes),

1675-659: Is well enough insulated that it does not require an "active" furnace or boiler, hence the term "passivhaus". Buildings are certified to the passivhaus standard. The first passivhaus to be built, in 1991, was the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Passive House, a row of four townhouses in Darmstadt, Germany. Since then, the passive house approach has become influential in Germany and other areas of Europe. In April 2015, Germany's Passive House Institute gave

1742-505: The next general election . The riding was created prior to the 2003 election from parts of Regina Sherwood , Regina Coronation Park , Regina Elphinstone and Regina Qu'Appelle Valley . Dan Harder, the Saskatchewan Party candidate, withdrew his candidacy on October 27, 2007 after the party learned the details of a complaint of inappropriate conduct made against him by employees of Big Brothers of Regina in 2006 while he

1809-708: The Energuide Energy efficiency building codes, for use in Canadian buildings. Fourteen similar houses were constructed in Saskatoon in the mid-1980s, using principles from the Saskatchewan Conservation House. The Saskatchewan Conservation House also became a model for the international Passive House ( Passivhaus ) building energy efficiency standard. The Passivhaus standard was developed by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Feist and Swedish structural engineer Bo Adamson. After studying early superinsulated homes, including

1876-610: The Saskatchewan Conservation House, Feist stated a mathematical formula for the design of high-performance buildings , which was published in his thesis Passive Houses in Central Europe (1993). Feist's standard has two hard limits: airtightness of a building must meet or exceed 0.6 ach@50pa, and its total energy use for heating and cooling must not exceed 15 kilowatt hours (kwh) per square metre of floor area. A building built to this standard can reduce energy consumption by 80 to 90 percent, compared to conventional construction. It

1943-482: The Swedish work in 1977 by a decade. The first blower door was further used to test the airtightness of the Saskatchewan Conservation House built in 1977, which was tested at 0.5  ach at 50  Pa . These early research efforts demonstrated the potential power of blower door testing in revealing otherwise unaccounted for energy losses in homes. Previously, air leakage around doors, windows and electrical outlets

2010-578: The US, whereas a reference pressure of 10 Pa is used in Canada. It is calculated as follows: E L A = C B u i l d i n g ∗ ρ 2 ∗ Δ P R e f n B u i l d i n g − 0.5 {\displaystyle ELA=C_{Building}*{\sqrt {\rho \over 2}}*{\Delta }P_{Ref}^{n_{Building}-0.5}\,\!} It

2077-432: The air out of a house at a prescribed pressure of 50 pascals (0.0073 psi). At the time most new Canadian houses scored around 9 air changes per hour (ACH) at 50 Pa. On average, an existing Canadian home had 1,384 square centimetres (214.5 sq in) of air gaps, resulting in ratings of around 6.85 ach@50pa. In contrast, the Saskatchewan Conservation House achieved measures of 0.8 ach@50pa. Air remained fresh due to

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2144-405: The airflow rate through the fan and dividing by the area. These metrics are most used to assess construction and building envelope quality, because they normalize the total building leakage area to the total amount of area through which that leakage could occur. In other words, how much leakage occurs per unit area of wall, floor, ceiling, etc. Another common metric is the air changes per hour at

2211-484: The airflow values derived using C F a n {\displaystyle C_{Fan}\,\!} and n F a n {\displaystyle n_{Fan}\,\!} from the blower door manufacturer to the actual volumetric airflow through the fan, use the following: Q A c t u a l = Q F a n ∗ ρ R e f ρ A c t u

2278-493: The analysis and generation of blower door metrics. This method is preferred by some for two main reasons: (1) measuring and recording one data point is easier than recording multiple test points, and (2) the measurements are least reliable at very low building pressure differentials, due both to fan calibration and to wind effects. In order to increase the accuracy of blower door test results, air density corrections should be applied to all airflow data. This must be done prior to

2345-409: The basement, and (3) air leakage . As one of the principal designers of the Saskatchewan Conservation House, Orr suggested a radical increase in insulation of the walls, ceiling and foundation, and the use of airtight construction techniques. Orr has compared the difference between the two approaches to designing a coffeemaker vs. designing a thermos bottle . A coffeemaker keeps things warm while it

2412-500: The blower door fan is ramped up to a reference indoor/outdoor pressure differential and the fan pressure is recorded. Often the blower door hardware converts fan pressure measurements directly to fan airflow values. Building leakage is described by a power law equation of flow through an orifice. The orifice flow equation is typically expressed as Q = C Δ P n {\displaystyle Q=C{\Delta }P^{n}\,\!} The C parameter reflects

2479-405: The construction quality of the building envelope, locate air leakage pathways, assess how much ventilation is supplied by the air leakage, assess the energy losses resulting from that air leakage, determine if the building is too tight or too loose, determine if the building needs mechanical ventilation and to assess compliance with building performance standards. In Sweden blower door technology

2546-422: The derivation of building air leakage coefficients ( C B u i l d i n g {\displaystyle C_{Building}\,\!} ) and pressure exponents ( n B u i l d i n g {\displaystyle n_{Building}\,\!} ). The following methods are used to correct blower door data to standard conditions. For depressurization testing,

2613-431: The derived building C and n values to calculate airflow at 50 pascal. This same method can be used to calculate airflow at a variety of pressures, for use in creation of other blower door metrics. An alternative approach to the multi-point procedure is to only measure fan airflow and building pressure differential at a single test point, such as 50 Pa, and then use an assumed pressure exponent, n Building in

2680-535: The designers of the Saskatchewan Conservation House a Pioneer Award for its design and construction. Ironically, adoption of the approach has been slower in Canada than in Europe. Canada's first passive house was assembled in Whistler, B.C. , using prefabricated components from Austria, for use at the 2010 Winter Olympics . The building used about one-tenth of the energy of a comparable-size conventional building, with

2747-630: The east and west United States coasts. The blower door first became commercially available in the United States in 1980 under the name Gadsco. Harmax started to sell units in 1981, followed closely by The Energy Conservatory in 1982. While these blower door-testing efforts were useful in identifying leakage pathways and in accounting for otherwise inexplicable energy losses, the results could not be used to determine real-time air exchange in buildings under natural conditions, or even to determine average annual air exchange levels. Sherman attributes

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2814-438: The fan to reach the maximum target indoor/outdoor pressure differential should be used. A multi-point test can be performed either manually or using data acquisition and fan control software products. The manual test consists of adjusting the fan to maintain a series of indoor/outdoor pressure differentials and recording the resulting average fan and indoor/outdoor pressures. Alternatively, a single-point test can be performed, where

2881-398: The first attempt at doing this to Persily and Kronvall, who estimated annual average air exchange by: A C H n a t u r a l = A C H a t 50 p a s c a l 20 {\displaystyle ACH_{natural}={ACH_{at50pascal} \over 20}\,\!} A C H n a t u r

2948-510: The following equation should be used: Q C o r r e c t e d = Q M e a s u r e d ∗ ρ I n ρ O u t {\displaystyle Q_{Corrected}=Q_{Measured}*{\rho _{In} \over \rho _{Out}}\,\!} For pressurization testing, the following equation should be used: Q C o r r e c t e d = Q M e

3015-422: The following equation: ρ O u t = 0.07517 ∗ ( 1 − 0.0035666 ∗ E 528 ) 5.2553 ∗ ( 528 T O u t + 460 ) {\displaystyle \rho _{Out}=0.07517*(1-{0.0035666*E \over 528})^{5.2553}*({528 \over T_{Out}+460})\,\!} In order to translate

3082-466: The home, such as bathroom exhaust, kitchen range hood or dryer, should be turned off. Pressure tubing is used to measure the fan pressure, and it is also run to the exterior of the building, so that the indoor/outdoor pressure differential can be measured. The exterior pressure sensor should be shielded from wind and direct sunlight. The test begins by sealing the face of the fan and measuring the baseline indoor/outdoor pressure differential. The average value

3149-435: The house was estimated at $ 30–40 for a year. An experimental solar heating system with a 17.9 m (193 sq ft) array of vacuum-tube solar collectors collected heat from sunlight during the day, storing it in a 12,700-litre (2,800 imp gal; 3,400 US gal) water tank insulated to about r-100. Pumps and heat exchangers could use the stored heat to heat the house at night or heat water. Solar gains during

3216-401: The house was extremely air-tight, the designers built an air-to-air heat exchanger to move fresh air into the house through a series of baffles. On the other side of the baffles, stale indoor air was pushed out. The design transferred heat from the warm exhaust air being released to the cold incoming air. The Saskatchewan Conservation House did not have a furnace. The cost of electricity to heat

3283-458: The house, with a better air barrier and more insulation, we saved at least $ 10 on the size of solar collectors and equipment needed to achieve the same thing. – Harold Orr, 2013 The Saskatchewan Conservation House was used for two years as a model show house. It was then sold to a private owner, who removed the solar component. Its building envelope continues to perform as designed, more than 40 years later. The Saskatchewan Conservation House became

3350-402: The inclusion of an air-to-air heat exchanger that used waste heat from vented air to warm fresh air as it was moved into the house. The Saskatchewan Conservation House project faced challenges, including the government-mandated inclusion of a solar hot-water system that proved to be expensive and inefficient. The solar component was new and experimental. It cost around $ 65,000 to build, more than

3417-631: The initial concept similarly involved the use of a blower window , which was first utilized by G. T. Tamura in Ottawa, Canada , as part of a Division of Building Research study to test houses in Ottawa in 1967–1968 and was published in 1975. In Canada, a team at the National Research Council of Canada 's Division of Building Research (NRC/DBR) in Saskatchewan, advanced the published work of Tamura in 1975 and went from

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3484-404: The leakage characteristics of the building envelope: C Building and n Building . These leakage characteristics of the building envelope can then be used to calculate how much airflow will be induced through the building envelope for a given pressure difference caused by wind, temperature difference or mechanical forces. 50 Pa can be plugged into the orifice-flow equation, along with

3551-401: The less air is needed from the blower door fan to create a change in building pressure. Typically, only depressurization testing is performed, but both depressurization and pressurization are preferable. Different values for blower door metrics are to be expected for pressurizing and depressurizing, due to the building envelope's response to directional airflow. The smallest fan ring that allows

3618-483: The north to provide a wind buffer, while the south side was left clear to the Sun. To prevent air leakage and achieve extreme airtightness, Orr and his colleagues installed a vapor barrier themselves. Local contractors did not have the expertise they needed for their experimental technique. They built a double wall, using the outer wall for the structure and placing the vapor barrier on the internal wall, then adding inexpensive blown mineral fibre for insulation. Because

3685-469: The public as a model house . In 1978 as many as 1,000 visitors a week visited it. The Saskatchewan Conservation House influenced the development of energy efficiency building codes both in Canada and internationally. It shaped the field of energy-efficient construction, including passive solar building design and the German passive house . In April 2015, Germany's Passive House Institute gave its designers

3752-408: The rate at which the air in a building is replaced with outside air, and as a result, is an important metric in determinations of indoor air quality. In order to take values generated by fan pressurization and to use them in determining natural air exchange, the effective leakage area of a building must be calculated. Each gap and crack in the building envelope contributes a certain amount of area to

3819-426: The same reference pressure. This is a raw number reflecting only the flow of air through the fan. Homes of different sizes and similar envelope quality will have different results in this test. Often, an effort is made to control for building size and layout by normalizing the airflow at a specified building pressure to either the building's floor area or to its total surface area. These values are generated by taking

3886-453: The size of the orifice, the ∆P is the pressure differential across the orifice, and the n parameter represents the characteristic shape of the orifice, with values ranging from 0.5 to 1, representing a perfect orifice and a very long, thin crack, respectively. There are two airflows to be determined in blower door testing, airflow through the fan ( Q Fan ) and airflow through the building envelope ( Q Building ). Q F

3953-600: The time, it was the most stringent standard in the world. It was introduced decades before green building initiatives such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and Built Green . The elements used in the project paved the way for the development of the Natural Resources Canada R-2000 standard and its integration into the Canadian national building code. They led to the establishment of new national energy conservation protocols,

4020-420: The total cost for the rest of the house, which cost around $ 60,000. The prototype solar system was also extremely costly to maintain. Even though the electricity to power the system cost a few dollars a month, maintenance during its first year cost approximately $ 10,000. Orr's takeaway from the project was that: Conservation is much less expensive than solar. For every dollar we spent on reducing heat loss from

4087-412: The total leakage area of the building. The Effective Leakage Area assumes that all of the individual leakage areas in the building are combined into a single idealized orifice or hole. This value is typically described to building owners as the area of a window that is open 24/7, 365 in their building. The ELA will change depending on the reference pressure used to calculate it. 4 Pa is typically used in

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4154-405: The winter were small, so the angle of the array was optimised. The Saskatchewan Conservation House was the most airtight house in the world at the time it was built. Its conservation measures, such as insulation, airtightness, and its ventilation system, were highly effective. A blower door was used to obtain a standardized measurement of the number of times per hour that a fan could suck all of

4221-415: Was considered to be the primary leakage pathway in homes, but Harrje, Dutt and Beya used blower doors to identify thermal bypasses. These bypasses were air leakage sites, such as attic utility chases, that accounted for the largest percentage of air leakage energy loss in most homes. Use of blower doors in home energy retrofitting and weatherization efforts became known as "house doctoring" by researchers on

4288-488: Was executive director of the organization. See Brownlee, Karen (29 October 2007). "Sask. Party rejects Regina candidate" . Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Lindy Kasperski was suspended from the 24th Assembly 's NDP caucus after being charged with fraud. Following Kasperski's acquittal, he was offered reinstatement – but refused in the face of a difficult re-nomination fight in this constituency. Blower door A blower door

4355-587: Was first used to measure building air tightness in 1977. The earliest implementation in Sweden used a fan mounted in a window, rather than a door. By 1979, similar window-mounted measurement techniques were being pursued in Texas , and door-mounted test fans were being developed by a team at Princeton University to help them find and fix air leaks in homes in a Twin Rivers, New Jersey housing development. In Canada

4422-652: Was formed with participation from the Saskatchewan Research Council, the University of Saskatchewan , the Building Research Division of the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, and others. Members included R.W. Besant, Rob Dumont, Dave Eyre, Harry Filson, Bill Gibbons, George Green, Hendrik Grolle, Dave Jennings, Garry Marvin, Deryl Thomson, and lead engineer Harold Orr . One of the first steps taken by Orr's team

4489-495: Was to estimate the energy requirements of powering a standard 1970s house with solar power. Their calculations showed that the water-based energy storage technology of the time was inadequate to meet the needs of such a house. The team chose a different approach, that of radically reducing the house's energy demand. The total energy consumption of a house reflects several factors relating to its building envelope : (1) heat loss through windows, walls, and ceiling, (2) heat loss through

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