One of three performance metrics for Passive House certification is air tightness of the building envelope (the other two are heating/cooling load and primary energy demand). After months of construction it was time yesterday to test the air tightness of our Madrona Passive House project.
We’re excited to say that the results from our blower door test came in at .32ACH50! That’s almost 50% better than the air tightness standard (.60ACH50). The structure of the building has more complexities than a simple design, which makes meeting the air tightness standard a bit more challenging. That’s why we’re particularly excited to have such a successful blower door test.
Left: Passive House colleague Brian Cowan is immersed in the cloud of theatrical smoke used to locate air movement. Right: The gauge showing building pressure at 50.5 pascals and air flow at 153 cubic feet per minute.
Below: Front entry door showing no air leaks during the test.
Now that we’ve completed this test we can move ahead with covering up our building shell. This will involve installation of the Roxul ComfortBoard IS and ventilated rain screen battens. This will quickly be followed by the Forest Stewardship Council® certified cedar siding.
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