How long blower door tests take depends on home size, preparation, and whether it is standalone or part of larger audit. For a typical single family home of 1500 to 2500 square feet, the actual blower door test setup and measurement takes about 30 to 60 minutes. This includes brief walkthrough to close windows and exterior doors, open interior doors, cover fireplace and exhaust fans, install adjustable frame and fabric panel in an exterior door, connect fan and digital manometer, run baseline pressure measurements, then run fan to depressurize house to 50 pascals and record CFM50 and ACH50 readings, including both depressurization and pressurization for accuracy. If technician also does leak location using smoke pencil or infrared camera while blower door is running, add another 30 to 60 minutes. As part of comprehensive home energy audit that includes attic inspection, insulation check, infrared scan, and combustion safety testing, total time on site is 2 to 4 hours. For new construction code compliance test where house is empty and prepared, test itself can be as short as 15 to 30 minutes. Preparation by homeowner to close windows and disable combustion appliances helps keep test quick and accurate.
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