ADDISON, Wis. -- After yet another power failure darkened his rural Wisconsin neighborhood, a light bulb went on over the head of Michael Richter.
"I saw the need for energy independence," said the mid-40s electrical engineer. "Meaning, if there's a supply disruption, I won't be disrupted."
Richter has been working toward that end for five years. His 1,500-square-foot ranch is super-insulated -- "everything to Energy Star standards," he said, referring to a national building efficiency program.
A close look at his rural subdivision house, which seems indistinguishable from others, reveals that:
* The tinted south window is a solar heat collector. Resting against the exterior of the house below that window, a blue-glass solar panel converts rays to power for the system's blower.
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* Inside, a wood-pellet stove churns out heat. It burns clean and cheap, with a bag of pellets lasting two or three days, Richter said.
* Atop the backyard deck pergola is a solar electric panel, and in the yard is a door-size wood, screen and Plexiglas contraption that cost $100. It's Richter's experiment in mass-producing inexpensive solar panels.
"Three hundred dollars -- that was my whole heating bill last season. And I don't have to worry anymore about a storm where the power goes out or somebody has too much to drink and nails a power pole and we're all in the dark," Richter said.
He has price security, too. "I hear horror stories of people paying $1,200 to $1,600," Richter said, but if you use less, he explained, you minimize the impact of price spikes.
Rising prices and uncertain supplies make a compelling argument for saving energy.
America's average household heating bill will be $928 this winter -- the first since 2001 that doesn't involve a significant increase, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted. But all of this country's major foreign petroleum suppliers plan production cuts, officials noted.
"When I started doing [home energy] audits six years ago, people were pretty casual about conservation," said Tim Guillama, owner of Beyond Energy LLC in North Prairie, Wis. "Most were calling me to solve a problem, like drafts. Now the top reason is to reduce utility costs."
Guillama is one of a cadre of home-energy service firms certified by Wisconsin Focus on Energy, a public-private conservation promotion group. That business sector is booming these days: 1,978 evaluations in the 12 months ending June 30, up from 1,329 during the previous period, reported Focus on Energy spokeswoman Rebecca Ehlers.
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A typical Focus on Energy audit costs $300, Guillama said. That covers airflow testing, an analysis of the building envelope and its energy-using components, and a list of recommended actions.
Typical savings among his clientele: 10 percent to 20 percent, Guillama said.
Rob and Kim Suhr discovered, via Guillama's recent energy audit of their 1975 two-story home in the Wales, Wis., that several unnoticed holes in their house probably were costing them a small fortune.
"It was a 13-inch by 11-inch hole, all added up," Rob Suhr said. Now it's sealed, he added.
Their home audit also showed that the house needed more attic insulation, plus air seals on roof overhangs and around a bay window, several fixtures and the basement sill boxes.
The couple paid a contractor about $3,000 to do the required work. Tightening up the house had an immediate effect.
"We have no drafts anymore," Suhr said.
