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Stellar Building Performance serves Melbourne Village, the smallest incorporated town in Brevard County, for the custom and infill construction that makes up all of its new residential work.
What Is a Duct Leakage Test?
Every new home in Melbourne Village with conditioned living space has to be tested. Melbourne Village is the smallest municipality in Brevard, roughly 681 residents on 0.58 square miles, and the work here is infill on large wooded lots, over 90 percent of them between a third of an acre and a full acre.
A duct leakage test measures how much air escapes the duct system instead of reaching the rooms it was sized for. On one-off builds there is no second house to learn from — each duct system is its own, which is why we would rather test before things are closed up than after.
Registers are sealed and a calibrated duct blaster pressurizes the system to 25 Pascals, reporting the result as CFM25 per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area. The result documents compliance with the Florida Energy Conservation Code for the Town of Melbourne Village.
Request Melbourne Village Duct Leakage Testing
we coordinate Melbourne Village duct leakage testing around your stage of construction, with the report sent the same day.
Local Melbourne Village and Brevard County Projects Our Team has Worked On
Florida Energy Code Duct Leakage Requirements
The Florida Energy Conservation Code governs every residential permit in Melbourne Village, and it applies to any conditioned structure built as living space.
Melbourne Village has roughly 681 residents in 0.58 square miles, which makes it the smallest municipality in Brevard County. It still runs its own building official through the Town of Melbourne Village.
The single most important scheduling fact in the entire county is here: all Melbourne Village inspections happen on Thursday. You have to be on the list by close of business Wednesday. Miss the list and you wait a full week. We schedule duct testing early in the week so the report is in hand before the Wednesday cutoff, rather than testing Thursday morning and hoping.
The town was founded in 1947 as an intentional community, and over 90 percent of its lots run between a third of an acre and a full acre under heavy protected canopy. There is no greenfield here, only infill. New houses require Town Review Board approval plus formal site plan review, as do additions that increase coverage by 25 percent or more and any building over 18 feet tall, with signatures notarized.
A duct test is required here whenever any part of the duct system or the air handler sits outside the conditioned space. Total leakage must be no more than 4 CFM25 per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area, or 3 CFM25 per 100 square feet at rough-in where the air handler is not yet installed. Where every duct run and the air handler are inside the thermal envelope, the code does not require a test at all.
Why is Duct Leakage Testing Beneficial?
A custom home in Melbourne Village is the only one of its kind, and its envelope is too. There is no second unit to fix.
Ducts losing air outside the conditioned space can cause:
A clean result in Melbourne Village means the file is complete and nobody is making a second trip. A failure caught early means it is still cheap to fix.
How We Keep Our Services Simple and Easy
We want completing your Duct Leakage Testing in Melbourne Village to be as easy as possible.
1.
Schedule your test
You tell us the Melbourne Village address and when the home will be ready. We test early in the week so the report is in hand before the Wednesday cutoff, rather than testing Thursday morning and hoping.
2.
onsite testing
Our inspector arrives at the Melbourne Village site and sets up. Registers are sealed and the duct blaster is connected to the system, which is then brought up to test pressure.
3.
Diagnostics and Measurements
We measure total duct leakage in CFM25 per 100 square feet and compare it against the limit for the test stage. We note the problem areas while we are still standing in the house.
4.
Report delivered same day via email
Documentation is emailed the day of the test so the Melbourne Village permit file is complete when the inspector opens it.
5.
Ready for Final Inspection approval
With the report on file, the Town of Melbourne Village can close out the permit and issue the certificate of occupancy.
Contact Us for Convenient Duct Leakage Testing in Melbourne Village
Why Builders Choose Stellar Building Performance
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Recent Duct Leakage Tests
Checking in from the field! See some highlights of our recent Duct Leakage Test site visits!
Frequently asked questions about Duct Leakage Testing
Most duct leakage tests in Melbourne Village take 30 to 60 minutes. It is quick, non-destructive, and easy to slot in before final inspection.
In Melbourne Village, duct leakage testing is required for new residential buildings where any part of the duct system or the air handler sits outside the conditioned space. That covers most homes with ducts in an attic, a garage, a crawlspace, or a soffit chase. If every duct run and the air handler are inside the thermal envelope, the code exempts the system from testing.
Common Structures Like:
Additional Structures Like:
Either one is allowed. A rough-in test is run before the drywall closes the system up, which is the better moment to catch a problem because the ducts are still reachable. A postconstruction test is run near the end, once the air handler is in and the home is approaching final inspection. The limit is 4 CFM25 per 100 square feet in both cases, except at rough-in without the air handler installed, where it tightens to 3.
It can. The Town of Melbourne Village needs the documented result in the file before it closes the permit, so a missing report in Melbourne Village is a stalled CO. We schedule so that does not happen.
It is recommended to test as close to completion as possible. Our best suggestion is to be one of the last vendors in the project before the cleaners do their final clean. We provide a pre-inspection, get ready checklist in all of our proposals that is designed to make being prepared for your duct leakage test as simple and easy as possible.
Usually not. The test runs while the crew keeps going; what matters is that the building is buttoned up the way it will be at handover.
Want the longer version? Read our complete duct leakage testing FAQ.
Duct Leakage Testing Code Reference
Duct Leakage Test Florida Requirements Explained
Duct leakage testing is required in Melbourne Village under R403.3.3 of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, Eighth Edition, which calls for ducts to be pressure tested at 25 Pascals either at rough-in or after construction.
The limits live in R403.3.4. Total leakage must be no more than 4 CFM25 per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area on a postconstruction test, and the same 4 CFM25 on a rough-in test where the air handler is installed. If the air handler is not in place at rough-in, the limit tightens to 3 CFM25 per 100 square feet.
There is a real exception: no duct test is required where the ducts and air handlers are located entirely within the building thermal envelope. Homes on the performance path under R405 are handled differently again, and are tested against the duct leakage rate assumed in the energy calculation.
We keep the full code language, including the complete text of R403.3.3, R403.3.4 and the R405 provisions, on our main duct leakage page: read the full Florida duct leakage code references.
questions? give us a call, this is our specialty!
Need Duct Leakage Testing in Melbourne Village to Pass Final Inspection?
Helping Melbourne Village Builders Stay on Schedule
Coordinated Scheduling
Every Melbourne Village inspection happens on Thursday and you have to be on the list by close of business Wednesday. We schedule around it.
accurate results
A RESNET certified inspector and calibrated gear — results the Town of Melbourne Village will accept without a second visit.
same day reports
Documentation lands by email the day we test, so the Melbourne Village closeout package is never waiting on us.
Other Areas We Serve
Local duct leakage testing in Melbourne Village, with additional service throughout Brevard County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Martin County, and Okeechobee County.