Skip to main content

Combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ) Test

Building Science-to-Sales Translator

Combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ) Test

Image(s)

Technical Description

Combustion safety tests are an important part of a performance check-up or a maintenance call for homes with combustion appliances that rely on gravity draft exhaust. This includes furnaces and water heaters that burn gas, propane, or oil and have open flues with a risk of combustion gas spillage when other fans are operating in the home (e.g., kitchen and bathroom fans or clothes dryers). This test helps diagnose whether these appliances are operating safely by checking if there is adequate air for all the combustion appliances present, making sure the appliances are safely exhausting emissions up the flue or chimney, and verifying that no emissions are pulled back into the home even if all of the exhaust fans in the home were operating at the same time.

Alternate Terms

Advanced Combustion Safety Diagnostics

Disclaimer

This content is a work created with funding provided by the United States Department of Energy under Contract no DE-AC05-076RL01830 for the operation of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The information and guidance provided by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in the content are intended solely for educational purposes only and do not constitute formal training or certification. It is provided with the explicit understanding that neither the United States Government nor the United States Department of Energy, nor the Contractor, nor any or their employees, nor any jurisdiction or organization that has cooperated in the development of these materials, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness or any information, apparatus, product, software, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Viewers assumes full responsibility for all actions that they may take from information provided in this content including ensuring the safety, code compliance, and proper functionality of any products they choose to install. Installation and use of such products should be performed in accordance with local regulations and manufacturer instructions.