From the outside, Peter Wirth’s house may look like a somewhat average home. However, he has worked years to make the home so energy efficient that his energy bill is only $17 a month.

When it comes to saving money and energy, the 73-year-old has mastered it from the inside to the outside of his home.

“LED lights are highly energy efficient and they also last for years. The old-fashioned incandescent lightbulb, 100 watts, you can get the same amount of light out of an LED lightbulb that maybe used 12 to 15 watts,” said Wirth, the vice president of Climate Change Awareness and Action.

And when it comes to driving, Wirth uses less energy.

“It uses just regular 110 voltage, and we plug it in overnight," he said. "It gives us a range of about 50 miles, so all of our day-to-day driving around town is done on electric.”

Wirth installed solar panels 10 years ago so his appliances and car get energy resources from them.

“The first set of panels have paid for themselves with the savings on our electric bill. They are guaranteed to be like 95 percent efficient after 25 years, so we’ll get 15 years of free electricity out of it,” Wirth said.

He said the objective is protecting the environment, as well as saving money.

“Our electric bill every month is $17, and that’s just the hookup fee because we are connected to the grid. If you add in gas and electric, they probably average about $60 a month,” Wirth said.