What is the Certification Program?
The Blower Door Technician certification is designed for those involved in airtightness testing of new construction or existing buildings, whether whole or in part.
Program Objectives
The objective of the Certified Blower Door Technician program is to ensure that a person has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to conduct a whole building airtightness test by following:
- Appropriate test standards
- Building code requirements
- Project specifications
Benefits
- ABAA-recognized certification
- Peer and industry recognition
- ABAA website search function will drive more business
- Meet project prequalification requirements for whole building testing agencies
- Recognized across state/national jurisdictions
- Kept up to date with changes to standards, requirements, building codes and program requirements
- Certified in accordance with ISO 17024 standard
- Gain recognition with owners that require whole building testing and leverage ABAA’s relationships with key players in the building community
- Promotion of credentials to various audiences:
- Green building programs
- Leading specifiers and architectural firms
- ABAA conference attendees, social media followers, and newsletter subscribers
Certification Scope
The blower door technician is responsible for all the tasks associated with creating and executing a test plan.
- Creating a test plan
- Organizing the equipment
- Staffing
- Security and safety issues
- Preparing the building
- Conducting the blower door tests
- Notifying the contractor to return mechanical systems to pretest conditions
- Removing temporary masking
- Cleaning site
- Reporting the results
The technician shall be able to conduct all types of blower door testing, including:
- Whole building
- Guarded unit testing
- Unguarded unit testing
- Zone testing
- Partial construction testing
- Other applicable blower door test set up
Recommended Knowledge and Skills
- Building science
- Construction of the common building envelope assemblies
- Operation of mechanical and distribution system and how they could impact the air leakage test
- Blower door equipment
- Whole building testing experience or related experience
- Blower door software
- Understanding of electrical / network / communication requirement for the equipment and software used for testing
- Problem solving skill to trouble shoot both the equipment and the building test configuration.
Foundational: Level I – Is this Right for Me?
Level I is designed for blower door technicians with some experience testing residential and low-rise (3-story) buildings and businesses wanting to expand blower door testing to include large buildings.
Qualifications
- Technicians who have completed the ABAA Blower Door Training
- Current blower door technicians with some blower door testing experience either in a residential setting and/or with low-rise (three story) buildings
- Businesses or technicians involved in the air barrier industry and want to expand their current service offering
Expert: Level II – Can I Move to the Expert Level?
Level II is designed to fast-track experienced blower door technicians to certification and be recognized for their years of industry experience and extensive knowledge.
Qualifications
Level II is designed to fast-track experienced blower door technicians to certification and be recognized for their years of industry experience and extensive knowledge.
- Highly seasoned blower door technicians who have conducted multiple tests on large buildings (min. 20+ tests).
- Experienced technicians who have completed the ABAA Blower Door Training
- Level I technicians who have gained experience and now want to be recognized for their new level of competence
How Much Will It Cost?
| Level I | Level II | |||||
| Track A | Track B | Track A | Track B | Track C | Track D | |
| Member (Non-Member) |
Member (Non-Member) |
Member (Non-Member) |
Member (Non-Member) |
Member (Non-Member) |
Member (Non-Member) |
|
| Program Certification | $495.00 ($695.00) |
$495.00 ($695.00) |
$595.00 ($895.00) |
$595.00 ($895.00) |
$595.00 ($895.00) |
$595.00 ($895.00) |
| Training Manual | $195.00 ($250.00) |
$195.00 ($250.00) |
$195.00 ($250.00) |
$195.00 ($250.00) |
$195.00 ($250.00) |
$195.00 ($250.00) |
| Annual Renewal Fee | $150.00 ($175.00) |
$150.00 ($175.00) |
$150.00 ($175.00) |
$150.00 ($175.00) |
$150.00 ($175.00) |
$150.00 ($175.00) |
| Exam re-write Fee | $200.00 ($250.00) |
$200.00 ($250.00) |
$200.00 ($250.00) |
$200.00 ($250.00) |
$200.00 ($250.00) |
$200.00 ($250.00) |
*Level II Track A and Track D – practical evaluation cost is not included. Contact the ABAA office for an estimate.
What Are The Next Steps?
