Photo by Erin FredrichsTribune

Tribune

Joe Ortega (right) leans out of the way as Joey Apodaca removes glass in a Northeast Heights home from a single-pane window in the home of Alejandro Porath. The two men, both of Central New Mexico Housing Corp., were helping install energy-efficient windows as part of a makeover to reduce energy use.

Photo by Erin FredrichsTribune

Tribune

Energy auditor Linda Cecil of Concept One Home Warranties & Inspections, measures the Porath home at 420 Martha St. N.E. "I'm assessing the quality of what is here," Cecil said.

Photo by Erin FredrichsTribune

Tribune

Homeowner Alejandro Porath, 76, dances in his son's bedroom to show Sara Eatman of Build Green New Mexico how happy he is to feel the effects of new insulation in his home. The family has spent many nights this winter in front of the fireplace because they couldn't keep the rest of the house warm.

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Standing indoors, shivering in two coats and a knit cap, Alejandro Porath said he'd just about given up on his house ever being warm again.

The 76-year-old had tried some of his own repairs, but his 60-year-old house in the Northeast Heights remained too drafty to capture much heat for more than a few minutes at a time.

He couldn't afford more serious repairs with his $500 monthly Social Security checks, but the heating bills were adding up - at $300 to $400 a month.

He tried to keep his fireplace going constantly, but even that heat quickly flowed out through his walls and ceiling.

"I got so cold I had to go to the senior center to warm up," Porath said.

During one trip to the senior center, he found his lucky break. He saw a flier from the Alliance to Save Energy, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit that was looking for three homeowners across the country to use as models for energy-efficient home makeovers.

He filled it out, hoping for the best.

This week, a few months later, Porath is reaping the benefits, as insulation experts, environmentally friendly builders and water-use experts have descended on his house - with the goal of finding the best ways to keep it warm and sealed.

The alliance chose his home along with one in Washington, D.C., and another in Minneapolis.

The goal is to educate people about easy ways to save energy, said Kateri Callahan, president of the nonprofit.

"There's a number of things people can do that are low-cost or no-cost items," Callahan said. "For instance, for every one degree you lower the thermostat, you save about 5 percent of your heating bill. Switching to cold water washing? That can save the average family of four $63 a year."

The upgrades to Porath's home will be featured on the alliance's Web site at www.sixdegreechallenge.org by Saturday, Callahan said.

Educating the public is the main goal, but by using Porath's home, the alliance also gets to help a family in need by upgrading the home for free, Callahan said.

For Porath, it all just seems like a miracle, he said.

As workers wandered through his house he happily followed them, calling them "angels" on several occasions.

"I can't believe it," Porath said. "God is good to me."

On Tuesday morning, a team came by and blew a new layer of insulation into his ceiling.

Standing at the far end of his living room, usually a very cold spot, Porath said he could already feel the difference.

"It's kind of warm over here," he said, grinning.

He's thrilled because he, his wife and 16-year-old son have spent many nights this winter sleeping in the living room next to the fireplace to keep warm.

The cold also drove off his 22-year-old daughter a few months ago, he said.

"She moved out because it's too cold," Porath said with a guilty sigh.

Circling the home, poking at windows, doors and walls, Linda Cecil, an inspector with Concept One Home Warranties & Inspections, said she could see how so much heat has escaped.

A few soft spots on the roof, single-pane windows, a lack of caulking and air seeping out through holes around outlets are all areas where heat has leaked out of Porath's house, she said.

The problems are not uncommon in many of Albuquerque's older homes, especially those constructed when building codes weren't as strict.

"Clearly, as we've gone on homes have gotten better," Cecil said. "Older houses are going to be leakier, newer houses are going to be tighter."

Audits, which generally range from $150 to $250, can help homeowners target where to focus their efforts when trying to save energy costs, she said.

"People don't believe this, but windows only lose about 5 percent of the heat in a home," Cecil said. "Less than 10 percent goes through the walls. Most of the heat generally escapes through your attic."

Any insulation will help, although blown insulation is often better than rolled insulation.

In the bathroom, Steve Hale, owner of Hale & Sun Construction, retrofitted Porath's shower with a low-water-use head.

New technology has created shower heads that save water but don't make you feel like your showering under a weak drip, Hale said.

"Retrofitting is going to be a huge industry in the future - doing stuff just like this," Hale said, testing the new shower head and twisting it to check out the massage spray.

Power outlets and light switches are also places where homes lose energy quickly, Hale said, waving his hand over the bathroom light switch.

A light flow of cold air blew out around the edges, he noted.

In Porath's garage office, Sara Eatman, administrator of Build Green New Mexico, was addressing that problem.

Fixing the leaks is as simple as buying precut foam insulation packs at the hardware store and installing them under the outlet plate, she said.

"Even something as simple as changing your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs can save a lot of energy," she said.

A big energy waster in many homes is something very simple, a dirty air filter, said Andell Edwards, of Ancae Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing. He didn't find one in Porath's.

"Keep the filters clean - once a month," Edwards chided. "When the filter gets dirty, the motor has to work harder to pull air through the rooms. That actually makes your gas and electricity bill go up. It's like an air filter on a car."

Edwards came to install a programmable thermostat, which will save energy by powering down the heat late at night and when the family isn't in the house, he said.

Beyond that, Porath is also getting two-pane storm windows and a new water heater that turns on only when hot water is needed, rather than keeping water constantly hot.

Helping the Porath family is nice, but people should also know that by fixing up their own homes and saving energy, they help everyone in the community, the nation and the world, Callahan said.

"By saving energy, they're polluting less," Callahan said. "They're helping us as a country be more energy efficient. And that, in turn, helps national security."

Still, for Porath, the help hits on a much more personal level. He says he can't wait to sleep in his own bed again - to end the cold family nights huddled by the fire.

"I'm so excited," Porath said.

Who knows, maybe his daughter will even come back, he said, adding that he doesn't blame her.

"I was ready to run away from here," Porath said.