They'll huff and puff...and blow savings your way

People who know a lot about conserving energy are big fans of a portable industrial fan that's used to find holes in your house.

It's the key piece of machinery for a blower-door test - a technique that the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency consider the gold standard for helping people cut their winter heating bills.

Technicians fit the fan into a door frame in your house, shut all your windows and let 'er whir. Soon, the air pressure inside is lower than that outside, and it's easy to feel air rushing in through hidden gaps.

Plug those gaps with appropriate filler, and you're potentially looking at 20 percent off your heating bills.

The blower-door test is part of a thorough home-energy audit designed by the government, called Home Performance with Energy Star. To find a contractor, click on that label at .

Energy Star audits aren't available everywhere, but you can hire private contractors to do similar checkups. They're listed at , the Web site for the group that certifies audit technicians.

A thorough audit with a blower-door test costs about $300 to $500, and there's some government money to help:

* In Philadelphia and nearby Pennsylvania suburbs, an Energy Star pilot being run by the nonprofit Energy Coordinating Agency will refund the cost of audits- after clients start making the recommended changes to save energy. There's funding for 75 audits. Call 215-988-0929, ext. 249.

* New Jersey's Clean Energy Program offers price breaks and some rebates for Energy Star audits. Call 1-866-657-6278.

* It's possible - but not yet certain - that Pennsylvania's new energy fund will help cover audits. See "Green Stuff for Greening" for fund info.