Abstract

Blower doors are widely used to test the airtightness of detached houses, where whole building depressurization can be achieved with one blower door. However, testing of multifamily buildings is less common, partly because several blower doors are required to depressurize the entire building. This approach is deemed too costly and impractical outside of research purposes. The emergence of the renovation market has increased the interest in blower door testing of older multifamily buildings, leading to a need for alternative testing methods. This thesis focused on the theoretical development and field evaluation of three single blower door methods suitable for two and three-unit multifamily buildings, typical to Montreal's residential building stock. The results demonstrated that it is possible to estimate both the external and the interzonal air leakage characteristics of multifamily buildings using only one blower door. This represents significantly more valuable data than is currently obtained with the whole building depressurization technique, allowing an estimate of how retrofit measures will impact natural ventilation, the need for mechanical ventilation and potential energy savings. These single door methods would be of value in weatherization programs where an estimate of the airtightness is required, and practicality and cost are a priority.