A: I have been performing air leakage testing for nearly 10 years and wanted to demonstrate my capability and knowledge in air leakage testing by obtaining this highly sought after certification. I am also seeing city standards (such as the Toronto Green Standard) and codes now asking for certification and/or demonstration of the tester and test agency’s experience in whole building air leakage testing to ensure qualified agencies are performing the test. Given the increase in air leakage testing, I think that this is a positive direction forward to ensure that testing is performed by qualified individuals and companies, particularly for large buildings given that testing is more complicated with these types of buildings.

A: The certification program provides a rigorous testing of your knowledge and experience, and provides a great way to demonstrate your capabilities. I am already finding that the certification program is helping to provide confidence with clients that they will get what they are expecting and more when they see the certification.

A: I will continue to provide high-quality air leakage testing services and will use the knowledge gained through the program to further improve our methods in planning and executing tests. While we have been performing air leakage testing for decades, there is always more to learn and ways to improve. This program provided some new tools for me to bring to my work with RDH.

A: It’s hard to nail it down to one or two parts that were most impactful. The program provided impact at all levels, from small to large building tests; gaining a deeper understanding of the operation and calibration of the equipment; and providing access to a larger community of testers to learn from and bounce ideas off.

A: There are a couple of ways that I have been doing this including working with code officials to get airtightness testing into the code; showing how a failure to focus on airtightness can lead to significant building issues beyond increased energy bills; and demonstrating that testing can be done on large building as well as small.

A: Do it! The ABAA certification is a worthwhile investment and there is a lot of knowledge to be gained for all experience levels by taking the ABAA Blower Door Technician training program.

A: I will be continuing to engage and work with ABAA through meetings and the annual conference. I am always keen to see what new work, standards, research, and programs ABAA brings to the industry to push us forward.

A: I’ll be looking to help with the standards and code development as well as research to help continue moving air leakage testing forward in North America to improve the quality of buildings.