by Mark Macy

Created on: April 19, 2009   Last Updated: April 21, 2009

In America's healthy rush into alternative energies starting in 2009, Regina and I had visions of glistening solar panels covering our roof, streaming enough energy into our home to get us "off the grid."

We hired a Denver firm to do a comprehensive, 4-hour energy audit, and like many people we were surprised by the results. Before getting into "sexy solar," most homes need a lot of energy efficiency foreplay,' and ours was no exception. We're talkin' caulkin'...and a lot more....

Instead of installing shiny new solar panels on the roof that would take several decades of use to pay for themselves, we'll be caulking around wooden window frames, adding insulation in the attic, installing a programmable thermostat along with a new 95-percent efficiency furnace, and plugging up our two gas fireplaces that we haven't used for more than 10 years. (We can easily unplug them later if we change our minds.)

On my wife's blog you can see some revealing infra-red photos taken during our energy audit on a cold Colorado day, while a door fan was installed to create a vacuum in the house. Blue areas indicate where cold air is streaming into the house from outside. The pictures show common leaky areas of many American homes

1) power outlets on walls to the outside. This is a common leakage area in many homes.

2) recessed light fixtures. These fixtures look great, but they're real inefficient in terms of heat loss, especially when mounted in ceilings just below the roof of the house.

3) fireplaces. In gas fireplaces like ours, the flue is often removed or disabled, so there's always a free flow of air between the inside and outside of the house. It can be the greatest source of heat loss in the house.

4) the outer edges the wooden window frames. Notice that the windows themselves are not the problem. We bought high-quality, triple-pane windows, but we had several of them installed separately by a low-bid handyman, who failed to caulk around the window frames. Until they're caulked, they might as well be cheap single-pane windows because of the massive air leakage.

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What we're doing to our house in terms of energy efficiency and wise use of resources is happening in a number of other homes in our community, and apparently in many homes throughout Colorado. I hope it's part of a growing trend that's building momentum beyond the borders of America, spreading around the world, and moving us toward our paradise destiny.

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