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Stellar Building Performance serves Satellite Beach, the barrier-island city just south of Patrick Space Force Base, for new construction, townhomes and substantial improvements.
What Is a Duct Leakage Test?
Satellite Beach is 2.92 square miles of barrier island just south of Patrick Space Force Base, so most of what gets tested here is a D.R. Horton townhome community on Tortuga Trail, concrete block with impact windows standard rather than tract housing.
A duct leakage test measures how much air escapes the duct system instead of reaching the rooms it was sized for. That matters more on a barrier island than almost anywhere else: the city states most of it sits in Zone AE or VE, and VE brings open foundations, breakaway walls and elevated or flood-protected mechanical equipment.
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. Stellar Building Performance documents the result against the Florida Energy Conservation Code for the City of Satellite Beach Community Development.
Request Satellite Beach Duct Leakage Testing
we coordinate Satellite Beach duct leakage testing around your stage of construction, with the report sent the same day.
Local Satellite Beach 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 Satellite Beach, and it applies to any conditioned structure built as living space.
Satellite Beach runs permitting through City of Satellite Beach Community Development, with a stated residential plan review turnaround of three business days and office hours starting at 7:00 a.m.
The city states that most of it sits in Zone AE or VE. Lowest floor must be at base flood elevation plus freeboard, VE zones require open foundations and breakaway walls, and product approval (Florida Product Approval or a Miami-Dade NOA) is required for windows, doors, roofing and shutters.
This is also the one beach municipality with a verified production project: a D.R. Horton townhome community on Tortuga Trail, concrete block with metal roofs and impact windows standard, in the 1,463 to 1,512 square foot range. Attached product gets tested unit by unit with party walls treated as envelope.
On elevated construction, mechanical equipment has to be elevated or flood-protected. That pushes air handlers and duct distribution either into the conditioned envelope or onto elevated platforms, and any duct crossing the flow-through space below the floor is a flood-compliance problem and a leakage-to-outside problem at the same time. It is worth testing before those runs are buried.
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?
On Satellite Beach’s barrier island stock most projects are rebuilds and improvements, which means the duct system is usually being replaced, not just verified.
Ducts losing air outside the conditioned space can cause:
For Satellite Beach projects the test does two jobs at once: it satisfies the City of Satellite Beach Community Development and it tells the builder whether the assembly actually performed the way it was drawn.
How We Keep Our Services Simple and Easy
We want completing your Duct Leakage Testing in Satellite Beach to be as easy as possible.
1.
Schedule your test
You tell us the Satellite Beach address and when the home will be ready. The city posts a three business day residential plan review turnaround and opens at 7:00 a.m..
2.
onsite testing
Our inspector arrives at the Satellite Beach 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. You get the number and, if it needs work, the reason behind it.
4.
Report delivered same day via email
Everyone on the Satellite Beach project team gets the signed report the same day, not on the next visit.
5.
Ready for Final Inspection approval
With the report on file, the City of Satellite Beach Community Development can close out the permit and issue the certificate of occupancy.
Contact Us for Convenient Duct Leakage Testing in Satellite Beach
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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 Satellite Beach take 30 to 60 minutes. It is quick, non-destructive, and easy to slot in before final inspection.
In Satellite Beach, 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.
Yes — an undocumented test is an incomplete permit file, and the City of Satellite Beach Community Development will not close it out. Being on time in Satellite Beach is most of the job.
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.
In most cases, no. Other trades can keep working in Satellite Beach while we test — we only need the openings closed and the house in its final configuration.
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 Satellite Beach 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 Satellite Beach to Pass Final Inspection?
Helping Satellite Beach Builders Stay on Schedule
Coordinated Scheduling
The city states most of it sits in Zone AE or VE, and VE brings open foundations, breakaway walls and elevated or flood-protected mechanical equipment. We schedule around it.
accurate results
Measured, not estimated. Calibrated equipment, RESNET certified, documented for the City of Satellite Beach Community Development.
same day reports
Same-day digital reporting to the whole Satellite Beach project team, with deficiencies named if there are any.
Other Areas We Serve
Local duct leakage testing in Satellite Beach, with additional service throughout Brevard County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Martin County, and Okeechobee County.