Mind the gap. Or pay the price.

That's the choice before homeowners this winter, when fuel bills are predicted to soar, making every little unsealed nook and cranny an expensive oversight.

We Energies, which serves much of Wisconsin, predicts a 40% to 50% hike in natural-gas prices. The utility also plans a 6.9% electric rate increase, effective Jan. 1.

Despite warnings since the 1970s about tightening energy supplies, many of us have lived fuelishly.

Jim Maletta, owner of North Star Energy Consulting LLC in West Allis, sees the evidence day in and day out.

"With most houses, there are a bunch of little places where air leaks a little from the windows, a little from the door, or a small hole in the plaster, or gaps behind the (house) trim or at the spacers where the wood of the house framing sits on the concrete basement wall. You get these little gaps, thin little spaces just an eighth of an inch, and every time the air blows, you end up with drafty rooms and higher bills," Maletta said.

"A lot can be done to save on fuel bills, just by air sealing," he said.

That's been Maletta's credo for eight years as a home evaluation consultant to the public-private conservation group Wisconsin Focus on Energy.

Focus on Energy pushes hard on three fronts: sealing air gaps, insulating well and using an efficient heating system.

For about $175 cost varies by house size and location homeowners can get a Focus on Energy assessment and for another $75 to $125, a customized cost-payback list of recommended actions.

Shockingly wasteful

Homes built in the last 15 years tend to be energy tight "and only need a little tweaking," Maletta said.

Older homes are sometimes shockingly wasteful, however.

"People pay $350, $450, even $500 a month in fuel bills, and don't take action. In one sense, it's a plus that gas prices are up. It's encouraging people to do what they should have 20 years ago," he said

This fall, Maletta is working 12-hour days, six days a week, as consumers seek advice on trimming energy costs.

Focus on Energy is offering rebates the program calls them rewards for approved work undertaken after a certified energy assessment. The goal: a house tight enough to qualify in the federal government-backed Energy Star high-efficiency program.

"These price hikes are high enough that people realize if they spend $3,000 on insulation, they've end up recovering it (via lower bills) in about six years," Maletta said.

Insulating a pre-1990 house to Energy Star status is a $2,400 to $4,000 investment, depending on house size, he estimated.

It cost Milwaukeean Mike Kramer $1,125 to insulate his house to Energy Star status. "But that was spring of '03. I paid $1,650, but I got a $525 credit from the Energy Star people," Kramer reported.

The 66-year-old retiree, who meticulously tracks all bills for his 1950s southwest side ranch house, discovered that with insulation, a programmable thermostat and a switch to fluorescent light bulbs, his natural gas bill dropped about 35% and his electric bill, even more.

"No later than May this year, that investment was paid for," Kramer said. "Now I'm very happy happy that this Energy Star program was available back then, and happy that I had enough brains to take advantage of it."

There are pockets of homeowners around the state and country like Kramer, content in knowing that they winter-proofed before America's latest energy crisis.

Among the contented are Barbara and Vernon Noerenberg, who 22 years ago bought a Wauwatosa house with infrared radiant electric heat.

"I don't think we really considered the heat source back then; we bought this property for the house and yard," said Barbara Noerenberg.

The zoned heating system was a happy surprise. "The warmth is so much nicer and cleaner. No furnace, no ducts. And our bill for this 3,800- square-foot house was about the same as in our (conventionally-heated) old 1,700-square-foot house," she said.

The house was built so well, she said, that the family didn't even feel the need to add attic insulation until five years ago. They fitted the 1959 structure with energy-efficient windows.

Despite a steady 74-degree temperature in most of the house, the Noerenbergs' monthly utility bill is no more than about $300, she said.

"The only bad thing with our system is, if the electricity goes out, you don't have heat. It's only happened once in 22 years, but we were out for two days," she said.

Upgrading and updating

Homeowners increasingly use remodeling projects to address heating and cooling deficiencies, said Susan Scifo, client liaison for The Winters Group in Wauwatosa.

"Typically, it involves replacing the furnace," Scifo said. "Replacing the ductwork is almost always required."

When 30-somethings Dave and Angela Sidebottom hired Scifo's company to remodel their 1962 Brookfield ranch house this year, they decided to upgrade their heating system.

Even with ample attic and wall insulation, a programmable thermostat and high-efficiency appliances and windows, their gas- electric bill ran $180 to $220 monthly last winter.

This winter, a new master suite and enclosed porch has upped their square footage from about 1,800 to about 2,200.

"We redid the ducting and added more cold-air returns so the house wasn't sucking in so much air in from the outside," Dave Sidebottom said. "Because all the bedrooms are on one end of the house, we added a second heating zone, so we can heat them independently. This way, we'll only have to heat the non-bedroom areas for a few hours in the evening after work."

Sidebottom, whose house is featured on this weekend's Metropolitan Builders Association's Fall Remodelors Tour, said he knows that this will soften but not eliminate the blow from higher winter fuel prices.

"If I could keep our energy bill the same, I'd be thrilled," he said. "If it still goes up 10% to 20%, would it impact our lifestyle? No. But there are other uses I'd rather spend our money on, that's for sure."

Research by Michele Derus of the Journal Sentinel staff. Sources: National Energy Star Program, Wisconsin Focus on Energy, Energy Center of Wisconsin, We Energies, www.we-energies.com

What we spend on home utilities

$1,735

Average Wisconsin household energy bill 2004

of that

$944

on natural gas

$791

electricity

How your Wisconsin utility dollar is broken down

38%

Heating

6%

Cooling

11%

Water heating

9%

Refrigerator/Freezers

6%

Lighting

30%

All other

Annual costs of energy hogs and misers

Source: Wisconsin Focus on Energy

Pre-1990 top freezer refrigerator, $96; current Energy Star models, $35.

Pre-1990 side by side refrigerator, $129; current Energy Star model, $46.

Conventional central-air conditioner, $691; Energy Star air conditioner, $397.

Electric water heater, clothes washer, $65; Energy Star gas water heater washer, $13.

Dishwasher/electric hot water heater, $115; Dishwasher/gas hot water heater, $8.

Conventional 40-pint dehumidifier, $207; Energy Star dehumidifier, $138.

Waterbed heated to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, $187, waterbed at 60 degrees, $118; electric blanket, $17.

Electric range, $72; toaster oven, $5; crockpot, $1.

Small moves add up to

big savings

-- For specialized cooking, use small appliances.

-- Cold water beats hot for moving kitchen wastes through disposals and pipes.

-- Set the refrigerator temperature in the 36- to 42-degree range; set the freezer control in the minus 5 to plus 6 degree range.

-- Run full dishwasher loads, using the shortest cycle possible for proper cleaning.

-- Turn off cooktops a few minutes before food is finished cooking; retained heat will finish the job.

-- Use hot water for laundering clothes only when maximum cleaning is needed.

-- Clean the clothes dryer lint filter after each load for peak efficiency.

-- Insulate exposed water pipes.

-- Insulate water tanks with a wrap, about $20, to hold heat inside. Add pre-cut pipe insulation to exposed pipes.

-- Drain a bucket of water from the bottom of the water heater once or twice annually to reduce mineral deposits and sediment buildup.

-- Use a dehumidifier in warm-weather months and humidifier in cold-weather months to increase comfort without changing the thermostat.

-- Turn off lights when not in use, even for short periods of time.

-- Power on computer equipment only when needed.

-- Open drapes during sunny days on west- and south-facing windows to let in the sun's radiant heat.

-- Turn off electronics, including computers, peripherals and TVs, when not in use.

-- Take showers of five minutes or less.

-- Set water heater temperature at 120 degrees or less.

-- Install low-flow showerheads and sink aerators to reduce hot- water use.

-- Seal ductwork with mastic, not duct tape, to ensure improved heating system efficiency.

-- Install double-pane storm windows. A lower-cost alternative is to apply plastic sheeting on the inside of windows to reduce heat loss.

Ten ways to reduce household natural gas bills

Source: Wisconsin Focus on Energy/ www.focusonenergy.com

-- Insulate to keep heat inside. Biggest savings potential: insulating attic to at least R-38.

-- Seal air leaks all those holes, cracks and gaps in the house are akin to leaving a window open.

-- Maintain the heating system for top efficiency.

-- Replace furnace filters monthly and keep air supply and return registers unobstructed.

-- Install high-efficiency heating and cooling systems.

-- Use programmable thermostats to modify temperatures while you're away or asleep.

-- Turn down the water heater to 120 degrees. Each 10-degree drop saves 3%-5% of heating cost.

-- Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators, which can cut use in half.

-- Choose an Energy Star-qualified clothes washer, which saves up to 25 gallons of water per load.

-- Use ceiling fans, which move air up to 20% more efficiently.

Source: The Department of Energy and the non-profit Alliance to Save Energy

Homeowner tax credits

available via the 2005

U.S. Energy Act.

-- Up to $2,000, or 30%, of the cost of solar hot-water system installation (excludes pools and hot tubs.)

-- Up to $500 on outlay for thermostats, caulking and other weatherization.

-- Up to $200 for installing new exterior windows.

-- Up to $300 for a high-efficiency central air condition, heat pump or water heater.

-- Up to $1,500 for installing a high-efficiency furnace or boiler.

-- Ten percent of purchase price for improving the building's envelope with qualified products, including advanced main air circulating fans.

Payoffs from energy efficiency and conservation efforts

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2000: $5 billion savings in utility bills/emissions reduction equal to what's produced by 11 million vehicles

2001: $7 billion savings in utility bills/13 million vehicles

2002: $8 billion savings in utility bills/16 million vehicles

2003: $9 billion savings in utility bills/18 million vehicles

2004: $10 billion savings in utility bills/20 million vehicles

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)