A blower door is a calibrated fan mounted in a sealed panel in an exterior doorway. It pulls the house to a known pressure, and a manometer records how much air the fan must move to hold it there. That airflow is your home's air leakage, measured through every gap in the envelope: around windows and doors, at attic hatches, through recessed lights and at the joints where building materials meet.
In a Florida home that matters because the air leaking out is air you have already cooled and dried. Leakage also pulls in humid outdoor air. A measured number turns "the house feels drafty" into something you can compare before and after air-sealing, or document for a rating or program submission.
Randolph Scott Bell holds RESNET certification as a HERS Rater (RTIN 4516301), is an Energy Star v3 Verifier, a LEED Accredited Professional and is licensed for blower-door testing. He is also a Florida State-Certified General Contractor (CGC1528750), 17 years building in Palm Beach County, so the person reading your number can also tell you what it would take to fix. His rating career included 350+ certified energy ratings in St. Lucie County for a solar fund based in Fort Pierce.
For the wider picture, including insulation, impact windows and the upgrades a test tends to point toward, see energy-efficient home improvement and the home energy audit guide.
A home energy audit in Florida is more useful with a number in it. The blower door gives the air-leakage figure; a look at the attic, ducts, windows and cooling equipment explains where it comes from. Because the same person is a certified energy rater and a licensed general contractor, the report can say what a fix would involve, not only that a leak exists.
Before the visit. You are told how to prepare the house, which usually means closing windows and exterior doors, and setting equipment such as the air handler as directed. During the visit. The fan is sealed into an exterior doorway, the house is pulled to a known pressure and the airflow is recorded. With the fan running, leak points can be checked in the same visit. After the visit. You get the measured result and a plain-language read on what it means for a rating, a program submission or an air-sealing plan.
A good score is judged against the standard that applies to your project, which differs between a HERS rating, an energy-code submission and a program, so the target is confirmed before the test rather than guessed afterward. Who needs one depends on the same thing: some new homes and renovations require a tested result, while an existing home may simply want to know where it leaks. For the rating itself, see HERS rating in Florida.
Three fields and we call you back. Scoped per home; no price list here.
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