During a home energy audit, the auditor attaches a blower door to your front door. This special door detects air leaks in your home. It’s a great test to find sources of energy loss and solutions to fix them.

Founded in 1954, Minnick’s takes a Whole-Home approach to comfort. We believe your HVAC system is just one way to stay comfortable at home. Its ability to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer depends on the other components in your home.

During an energy audit, Minnick’s tests the performance of these systems as a whole using a blower door.

Blower doors fit snuggly in a doorway and use a variable-speed fan to pull air out of the house. That lowers the air pressure inside. A pressure gauge measures the pressure differences inside and outside the home. Because of the difference in pressure, air flows into the home through all unsealed cracks and openings. And, as we mentioned above, smoke is typically used to help see where these leaks are located.

Using a blower door will give you a better understanding of how much energy (and money) is escaping through air leaks in your home. It will also help you pinpoint areas that need your attention before the summer arrives.

Don’t take our word for it. Remember Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, the popular character portrayed by actor Tim Allen in the 90s television series Home Improvement.

As the fictional host of the fictional home improvement show Tool Time, the Tool Man would show his audience the ins and outs of home repair. In one such episode of the show within a show (see below), Tim Taylor demonstrates how a blower door works.

“The blower door is the most effective way to detect air leaks in your home,” explains Taylor’s Bob Villa-esque co-host Al Borland, portrayed by Richard Karn.

“It does that by creating a vacuum inside the house, pulling outside air through any crack or opening you may have,” adds Taylor.

Of course, you can’t see the air. That’s why the auditor uses smoke to detect the location of air leaks. Watch as Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor and his co-host bungle their way through a demonstration.

The Blower Door Test is just one part of the Minnick’s Healthy Home Energy Audit. It’s a comprehensive audit which includes an inspection of every room and all the systems in your home. Once the audit’s complete, Minnick’s auditor analyzes the data to find solutions.

The energy audit focuses on efficiency, lowering utility bills, safety, and comfort. As a family-owned company, Minnick’s is a pioneer in Whole-Home Comfort. We believe more your comfort depends on more than just the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. We take a holistic approach to comfort.

The blower door test is one component of that Whole-Home Approach that we deliver in our energy audits.