What IS an air leakage test?

Jenny has been air leakage testing Canberra houses since 2008 when she went to New Zealand to get her gear and learn how to use it. She was prompted to do so after seeing her friend Lish Fejer use a blower door in episode 5 of the 2007 ABC TV series Carbon Cops, a series about improving the energy efficiency of homes in Melbourne. After watching she thought “I need one of these tests on my crazy hot and cold house?” and tried to line someone up to do one. She discovered that the only blower door being used in Australian housing was the one in Melbourne used in the TV series.

At the time Jenny’s kids were aged 10 and 7 and she was working in the federal government’s innovation policy section of the Department of Industry and Science. She believed strongly that life in her home (in fact, most Australian homes) could be much more comfy and healthy for everyone and that there was a real opportunity to be innovative. She spotted a big GAP in the Aussie housing industry that needed filling.

This photo shows 36 year old Jenny testing a neighbour’s 1960s home in Curtin in 2008. She also personally draught sealed and filled the ceiling insulation gaps in this home — she spent years learning by doing. At Light House we walk the talk. We understand the science but most importantly we know how to implement the practical fixes after being “hands-on” working in the housing industry, with real people in real homes, for years.

In 2009, she attended a course at the Wisconsin Energy Institute to learn about large scale air leakage testing. While there she saw a presentation about the German Passivhaus building standard which she investigated thoroughly over the next few years. The Passivhaus standard requires extremely high levels of airtightness and significantly altered construction. Jenny concluded that the approach that she was using successfully on multiple houses with her architect and builder business partners at Jigsaw Housing was far more cost-effective and delivering great results.

Many of you may have spotted these big red doors and fans (referred to as blower doors) on shows like Grand Designs. Others have got no clue what we’re talking about… which we often forget.

A picture is worth a thousand words so check out this 2009 video (with sensational soundtrack) made when Jenny’s first energy efficiency business — Energy Imaging — was starting out. Yes, that is Jenny carrying and setting up the gear. Enjoy!

Read more about air leakage testing and the services we offer at Light House ArchiScience HERE.

For anyone interested in knowing more about the evolution of the business and how Jenny transitioned from working in innovation policy to being innovative in the housing industry, this podcast she recorded earlier this year explains a lot of it.