How to Test Air Infiltration

Call your local hardware store or a local building inspection company to rent a blower door testing device. This large piece of equipments fits in your main doorway and blows large amount of air into your home. The large size of the equipment means you will need help setting up the device.

Turn on the blower door device and wait for the specified period of time before you begin inspecting your home (this time varies by the weather and size of your home). Thereafter, use the infrared camera to take pictures of susceptible areas around your home including doorways, windows, and outlets.

Inspect the pictures for leaks. Blue or red colored areas appearing around doorways and other susceptible areas indicate severe air infiltration.

Set up a PFT testing device in your home. This device tests the changes in air infiltration over an extended period of time in your home. This is important because the weather can affect the rate of air infiltration. The PFT test has two devices: the emitter and the receiver. The emitter releases small amounts of harmless gas that the receiver picks up. The receiver records how long it takes for the gas to reach it and the density of the gas. High air infiltration slows and thins the gas. The receiver records this information over time and indicates which times during the year your home suffers from the greatest amount of air infiltration.