Replies

1. 
   CramerSilkworth | Jan 22, 2020 09:21am | #1

   The Energy Conservatory "Minneapolis" Blower Door Kit is the (only?) alternative, almost identical in price and peak flow. That happens to be the kind I learned on so that's what I got. Been working great so far.

   You can also rig up your own with just a good utility fan in a window or door, and a cheap pressure gauge to see if you're near test pressure (50 Pa). It won't give you a cfm result but it'd be 1/10th the cost and help you hunt down leaks. I've done that when I want to leave the GC able to find & fix leaks on their own but don't want to leave my $3500 kit on a jobsite.

2. 
   nshirai | Jan 22, 2020 09:23am | #2

   We own a TEC system and it's great, but not quite as slick as the Retrotec stuff. Sort of a Mac / PC type thing. Both work great, but differ in style and user experience.

   For trainings, the best thing would be to sign up for the week long HERS rater or BPI Analyst courses. Operating the blower door is a big part of each of these, but it'll come within the context of a lot of solid building science and house-as-a-system content. Of the two, I feel HERS to be the more robust training, and probably more useful for your particular business, but the BPI option will probably be less expensive and have a little less rigorous testing to pass. If you only have time/money for the bare bones minimum, BPI has a 2 day training that is solely focused on the basic operation of the blower door / duct blaster systems. Search in your area for Resnet/HERS providers, and/or BPI test centers. Your state/local utilities may have some leads.

   Every builder should own their own blower door and know how to use it.

1. 
   alcoprop | Jan 23, 2020 07:03am | #3

   Thanks for the great info!