Big day! The house underwent a blower door test to measure airtightness, one of the three components of the European passive house standard. That followed a preliminary test in May to detect any leaks before drywall was installed.
Our energy consultant, Marko Spiegel, performed the test with Corbett Lunsford of the Green Dream Group, who is executive director of the Illinois Association of Energy Raters. Lunsford (below) acted as a third-party verifier, but also managed to entertain us with a demonstration of his infrared camera, which detects sources of heat loss. The solid orange rectangle on the screen depicts an image of a perfectly insulated wall.
Back to the test. The result was 600 cubic feet per minute at 50 pascals of pressure. Basically, that amounts to one air exchange per hour when air pressure is boosted by a fan in the door. Even more basically, the result makes it one of the tightest houses in the Chicago area.
Still, that’s a short of the demanding European standard. It also does not constitute a dramatic improvement over the preliminary test, which was a bit surprising since so much additional work has been done around potential leaky spots. In addition to drywall, deadbolt locks have been installed on doors, which tightened their seals.
Not sure what the numbers mean for the comfort level of the house. For our family, the ultimate test will come around January, when temperatures dip into single digits. Stay tuned!
****************************
Meanwhile, landscapers finished installing walkways and front-yard shrubs today. I’m hoping for lots of rain to make these babies grow!
Posted by Albert Rooks on September 24, 2010 at 11:51 am
Regardless of the ACH ( 1ACH is amazingly good in this country) this project is really beautiful and a credit to the designers, construction team, and owners.
Not to go over the top, but… You and your husband are are intelligent, meaningful, pioneers in a country that tends to favor ease and consumption as a proof of status and therefore worth. It takes some guts to buck that trend.
Nice!
Albert.
Posted by Adrian on September 24, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Great Job! I believe you will find (as my wife and I did) that a tight house is far, far more comfortable than the other homes that most of us are familiar with.
The house is beautiful.
Again, great job! When is move in day?
Posted by Carla on September 24, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Tight!