One couple is building a foundation on energy efficiency. Inside and out, it looks like an average house. But for Sharon and Jim Fisher, their new home is also a message to consumers.

"What is our environmental impact in building a home?" asked homeowner James Fisher.

The Fisher's recently work on the most energy efficient home in the state of Missouri.

"Somewhere around 16 to 20 percent of the energy that's consumed in this country is consumed in individual residences," said Fisher.

Lights, fans, appliances, and even plant life, all play a part in the Fisher's energy conservation plan. To officially achieve the title of the most energy efficient home, the Fishers brought in Energy Star raters to test the home.

"We run a blower door, which is a device that goes in the front door and de-pressurizes the house, and we look to see how much total leakage is in the house from that test," explained Gary Freeze, a home energy rater. "We run a second test and that tests for leakage of the duct system."

How did the Fisher's do on the Home Energy Rating, or "HER?" index?

"Most of those homes are built to a 100 HER index. An Energy Star home is expected to be at 85 HER index or less. One home we tested today, we've actually pre-tested before, it is at a rating of 50 on the HER index," explained Freeze.

All of the technical talk boils down to one simple fact.

"It's 50 percent less energy usage than a standard home," said Freeze.

And the Fisher's give the credit to their contractor.

"It's actually almost of challenge to me. You know, how tight can I get the home? How low can I get the HER's rating?" asked Ryan McClullen, a contractor.

A low HER index isn't only easy on the environment, but on your pocketbook too.

"The house I just built, the utility bills on that will be half of what my house is. And I have about, oh, two-thirds the square footage," said McClullen. "Our energy savings estimate is somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 dollars a year."

But many aren't building new homes. That doesn't mean there isn't something you can do right now to go green, and save a little of it too. Try replacing a regular light bulb in your home with a compact fluorescent, and you could save as much as 45 dollars over the life of the bulb.

Other ways to save a little cash include: Turning out lights when you're not in the room, opening a window instead of using air conditioning when it is warm, and planting trees and shrubs that don't require a lot of watering.

The Fisher's main goal wasn't saving money, or earning a good rating.

"Think about what can be achieved if we would just educate everyone on how to be energy efficient," said Fisher.

And the education, can start at home.