Got a few thousand dollars a year to waste?  If so, congratulations!  But, if you're like the many of us, and every dollar counts, pay attention. 

A Northampton County homeowner could save you a ton of money.

Call it "Extreme Makeover: Home ENERGY Edition."

Holly Tsihlis of Bangor, Northampton County, has three kids and a house that was costing her way too much money.

"Spending tons of money on heating bills," she said.

"She was using a lot of fuel oil and she was using a lot of electricity," said Jim Phelps of Performance Systems Development, a company that helped organize the home makeover.

Tsihlis was wasting so much energy that her power company, Met Ed, picked her out of 400 applicants for a whole home makeover.

Starting on the outside, the gutters had to go.  They were sending water toward the home's foundation, making the basement musty.

"This home wasn't shedding water very well," said Phelps.  "It had gutters in disrepair."

Inside, from the basement to the attic, new, more modern insulation will literally cut Holly's energy bill in half.  Closed-cell foam prevents most air from passing through it.  Like a thermos, it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold.

"This stuff requires no maintenance," said Chris Schwartz with Pennsylvania Spray Foam Insulation.  "After it's been sprayed, you're done.  You never have to deal with it again."

In all, Holly got about $10,000 worth of improvements, but before you get sticker shock, you can actually get paid to do many of these things on your own home.  Most utilities provide rebates to get a certified energy audit.

"They can get a rebate on the initial energy audit up to $150," said Phelps.

You can also get money for repairs.  Call your power company for details.  Met Ed's Whole House Program offers up to $1,200 in incentives.  Click here for details.  

Holly's already seeing the results.

"The air is a lot warmer than it was before, because of all the heat loss that occurred," she said.