fact that the edenpure heats the whole house. >> i have saved in the neighborhood of around at least $700 a year in terms of gas i haven't had to pay for because of the edenpure heater. >> and in this area, here at the farm, we heat with fuel oil, so i would say in a month, an edenpure heater is saving me $100 to $120 by not having the furnace go on and use the fuel oil. >> when i first started using the electric furnace, my largest bill was $160 a month, which is in the middle of the winter. and after the furnace went out-- the electrical furnace went out and i started using edenpure solely, my electric bills dropped at least one-third, down to below $100 per month, which, compared to my neighbors, was quite low. >> we not only guarantee the benefits of edenpure, we guarantee your satisfaction. so try it in your home for 60 days. if you don't agree with every good thing you've heard about edenpure today, simply return it for a full refund, no questions asked. [♪...] >> announcer: now you can get a risk-free 60-day trial of the all-new edenpure gen4 infrared portable heater in your own home. edenpure can cut your heating bills and that's just the beginning. edenpure may be the fastest, safest, healthiest heater that ever warmed your home. so fast, it heats a large room in minutes. the surface never gets hot so it's safe around children and pets. better still, edenpure gives you a soft, even heat from wall to wall, from floor to ceiling and it's healthier than other space heaters. look-- old energy-guzzling heaters actually burn the air. they suck out oxygen and moisture, then squander energy by sending hot currents up to heat the ceiling. what a waste! edenpure uses advanced infrared quartz technology to spread an even, soft heat that preserves health-giving oxygen and moisture and it warms an entire room in minutes. but best of all, you can be saving money like these happy edenpure owners. >> over heating oil, i would say i saved about $160 a month using the edenpure. >> woman: well, i was interested to see how effective the edenpure was in making my house more efficient and i actually calculated a $600 savings in my gas costs and the extra cost of the electric was very minimal. >> the first month that we had all three heaters on-line, our power bill dropped over $250 and we were just thrilled at that. >> i was amazed that the edenpure heater caused both my gas bill and my electric bill to go down and so i stopped using those energy-eating, i would say, space heaters. i put them down in the basement and i hope never to recall them anymore. [chuckles] >> announcer: in this special television offer, you can save up to $102 and have an edenpure gen4 delivered to your home for only $39. that's right-- we'll send you a brand-new model for $39 with free shipping. after that, simply make your four remaining monthly payments while enjoying the soft, even heat of your edenpure. after 60 days, if you're not completely satisfied, you can return the edenpure and receive your money back and we'll even cover your return shipping. visit epheatertv.com for details. >> try the new edenpure gen4 in your home for a risk-free, 60-day trial. you owe nothing if you're not totally delighted, so don't wait. call now. >> winters here in north pole are long and dark. our record this winter was 74-below. no wind-chill, that's the real temperature. the first few minutes i thought, "oh, i don't feel a lot of heat, i don't know if this thing's gonna be that good or not," and in just a matter of a few more minutes, i just, "wow." it was just, the whole house was just nice and warm and comfortable. the old furnace just shut down and that was the end of that one. [chuckles] >> welcome back. we'll be joining karl balla in a few seconds, but first, richard is on location and has some shocking news from the u.s. department of energy. >> thanks, jane. this report on home heating from the department of energy says that the average american home may be getting only half the heat you're paying for. now we're going to put the department of energy document number up on the screen so you folks at home can look it up online. but i'm quoting from the report now. and then it goes on to conclude that... >> jane: wow, richard, if that's the bad news, what's the good news? >> well, the good news is i'm here with a very special guest who is a certified home energy rater, meaning he's an expert in home heating efficiency. karl, thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure, richard. >> now, karl, i had a lot of fun playing a home improvement expert on tv, but you're the real deal. we've been trying to make sense of this report from the u.s. department of energy that says half of what people are spending on their home heating could be wasted. can you explain to us what this means? >> sure. the typical home has a furnace with forced-air system. heated air is delivered through metal ductwork to each room. the problem is that many homes have bare metal ducts that run along uninsulated outside walls or through cold attics. in those cases, the metal ducts themselves would be chilled to whatever the outside temperature is. when the furnace kicks on, it has to work to heat up the ducts before it can deliver any heat to the living area. it's the same principle people often see with their hot water in the winter. you turn on the shower, it has to run and run before the water gets hot at the shower head. that's because the pipes are cold and you have to heat them up before you get hot water in the shower. and of course, you pay for that wasted heat. but the problem is even worse with forced-air heating ducts because they are probably also leaking heated air into the crawlspaces. and you'd never know how bad that problem is without paying for an expensive pressure test of the whole system. >> oh, wow. well, now what about these newer furnaces that are supposed to be like, 90% efficient? >> well, that's true as far as it goes, but that only refers to the immediate output of the furnace. it does not refer to how much heat is lost through the ductwork. according to the department of energy, a high-efficiency furnace can give you 90 cents on the dollar for the fuel you pay for, but another 25 to 40 cents on the dollar can be lost through the ductwork. >> wow. so, what you're saying is by the time you heat the living area, the typical house really could be losing about half of what they're spending on heating. >> unfortunately that's true, whether you burn natural gas, heating oil, propane or have an electric furnace. as a matter of fact, i recently shot some video for a home improvement website. i'd like to share it with your viewers. >> sure. let's, let's take a look. >> i'm here with karl balla, who is a certified home energy rater. so, tell us, karl, what are we looking at here? >> well, tony, this is a typical home, 10 years old, forced-air furnace, standard metal ductwork. >> and what is that you're holding there? >> well, this is a special infrared camera. i use it to show my clients how their homes are wasting heat. >> well, why don't you show us all how it works? >> well, stand next to the furnace. we can see the basement is about 58 degrees, the furnace box is about 130 degrees and your skin temperature is right in the middle. >> so what can you tell us about this home's heating system? >> well, let's take a look at the main duct as it stretches away from the furnace. see how every joint in the ductwork is hotter than the duct itself? that tells me heat is escaping from these seams. >> and that's not because the ducts are damaged, it's the way they were designed. >> that's right; there's a little space in between. that way they don't pop and crack, especially when it expands when it gets hot or contracts as it gets cold. unfortunately, it also leaks heat. here, you see the joint to the vent to the floor above. you can see how much blowback heat is being thrown back into the cold basement. >> that's bad enough down here with all this cold concrete to soak the heat away. but what happens where the duct goes up an outside wall? >> well, let's go up and find out. ...here you can clearly see the heat being lost right through the siding of the house. and just look at that heat leakage at the top vent. >> that really tells a story. you know, now that you've pointed it out, i can actually feel the warmth right here on the wall. >> yeah, and this is about 30 degrees. can you picture the amount of heat being lost on a bitterly cold night? >> yes, i can, and there's no easy fix. to seal the duct or put an extringulation in, you'd have to tear the complete wall open. >> that's exactly right, tony. >> oh, man, karl. that's amazing. and that's a typical 10-year-old house. >> absolutely. it was a perfect example of how heat is lost in the average american home. >> now, you'll come back after the break, right? because i'm sure that our viewers would like to hear your advice on how to cut back on this wasted energy. >> i'd be happy to. >> great. actually, before we take a break, let's meet a man who thought he was going to save money when he bought a high-efficiency furnace. >> well, we had to replace our gas furnace two years ago. it was getting very old and the people that replaced it said we would be saving a lot of money with these new furnaces because they were so efficient. but with that $5,000 cost, we certainly didn't save any money on our gas bill that we have saved just in the last two months by having this edenpure heater. i just went through our bills, both electric as well as gas, and it was a considerable difference in what we had paid the year before. i had indicated over $180 difference in that one time period. [♪...] >> announcer: now you can get a risk-free 60-day trial of the all-new edenpure gen4 infrared portable heater in your own home. edenpure can cut your heating bills and that's just the beginning. edenpure may be the fastest, safest, healthiest heater that ever warmed your home. so fast, it heats a large room in minutes. the surface never gets hot so it's safe around children and pets. better still, edenpure gives you a soft, even heat from wall to wall, from floor to ceiling and it's healthier than other space heaters. look-- old energy-guzzling heaters actually burn the air. they suck out oxygen and moisture, then squander energy by sending hot currents up to heat the ceiling. what a waste! edenpure uses advanced infrared quartz technology to spread an even, soft heat that preserves health-giving oxygen and moisture and it warms an entire room in minutes. but best of all, you can be saving money like these happy edenpure owners. >> over for heating oil, i would say i saved about $160 a month using the edenpure. >> woman: well, i was interested to see how effective the edenpure was in making my house more efficient and i actually calculated a $600 savings in my gas costs and the extra cost of the electric was very minimal. >> the first month that we had all three heaters on-line, our power bill dropped over $250 and we were just thrilled at that. >> i was amazed that the edenpure heater caused both my gas bill and my electric bill to go down and so i stopped using those energy-eating, i would say, space heaters. i put them down in the basement and i hope never to recall them anymore. [chuckles] >> announcer: in this special television offer, you can save up to $102 and have an edenpure gen4 delivered to your home for only $39. that's right-- we'll send you a brand-new model for $39 with free shipping. after that, simply make your four remaining monthly payments while enjoying the soft, even heat of your edenpure. after 60 days, if you're not completely satisfied, you can return the edenpure and receive your money back and we'll even cover your return shipping. visit epheatertv.com for details. >> try the new edenpure gen4 in your home for a risk-free, 60-day trial. you owe nothing if you're not totally delighted, so don't wait. call now. >> welcome back. so far we've found out why the average homeowner is losing up to half the heat they pay for and we've learned how the edenpure quartz infrared heater has helped many thousands of american families cut their heating bills. >> that's right, jane. and as we're going to show, compared to the average inefficient furnace and duct system, the edenpure is virtually 100% efficient. you know, this really is the dirty little secret of the replacement furnace industry. oh, yeah, they'll sell you a so-called "high efficiency" furnace, but they may not mention the heat you lose in the ductwork. compare that with the edenpure. you get 100% of the warmth generated by the edenpure right where you need it, with nothing lost either up the flue or in the ductwork. >> but richard, even that's not the whole story. the edenpure also incorporates advanced technology that's far more efficient at generating heat from electricity than old-fashioned burning coil heaters. >> and that advanced technology is also why the edenpure is so safe to use and the choice of fire and safety professionals for their homes. let's go now to meet neil tyburk with the technical details on what makes edenpure's quartz infrared heating so efficient and so effective. >> this new fourth-generation edenpure has at its core another quantum leap in heating efficiency. edenpure worked with our technology partners at sylvania to yet again increase the efficiency of the edenpure system for turning electricity into safe and comfortable warmth. the heart of the system is this newly designed and patented infrared tube. this exclusive technology creates waves of infrared heat at a prescribed wavelength to be most efficiently absorbed by our specially designed, pure copper heat exchangers. these cured copper heat exchangers absorb this infrared heat and transfers it as ambient warmth to the air flow provided by our new edenflow air motion system. the filtered air is channeled along the outside of the copper heat exchanger and then routed back through the center of the chamber to effectively double the surface area of the heat transfer zone. our new edenflow system is contained and directed by a new interior housing which not only directs the highly-efficient air flow, it also acts as another safety barrier between the heating elements and the exterior casing. this is just another example of edenpure's working to be the safest heater you can buy for your home, as well as the most efficient. >> looking at alternative sources of heat for my home, when i ran across the edenpure the one thing i liked about it was that it didn't have any direct heat that would set a fire on your furniture, your pets, your family, anything like that. and being a fireman, we run into, several times a year, we run into these space heaters that create fires and burn homes down, cause life damage, property damage. and that was my big selling point on the edenpure, more than even the cost savings, was the safety issue of it. >> o.k., so karl, you've shown us how inefficient and wasteful a furnace and duct system can be. so what is it about the edenpure that makes it so much more efficient? >> well, there are two major reasons that adding edenpure can save money on home heating. first, because you use the edenpure exactly where you need the heat. virtually 100% of the heat you pay for is delivered directly to the living area. nothing's lost up the chimney, nothing's lost in either cold or leaky ducts. so right off the bat, you go from a system that might only be 50% efficient to a system that is virtually 100% efficient. to save the most money, many people also use their edenpure for zone heating, which is impossible with their existing furnace set-up. so they lower the whole house thermostat from 72 to 65 or 60 degrees and use the edenpure to create a comfort zone in the family room or the living room, wherever they live. when i was asked to evaluate the edenpure, i knew that it could save money on heating bills because i'm well aware of the benefits of zone heating. but i was afraid it was going to be just another cheap space heater, where you fry if you're sitting too close and you freeze if you're on the other side of the room. in fact, i was delighted to find that the edenpure does a great job of safely filling up to a thousand square-foot area with even, comfortable warmth. i would absolutely recommend the edenpure for the sake of comfort as well as the cost savings. >> well, great. thank you, karl. thank you very much for your time. >> my pleasure, richard. >> all right. well, let's meet a family now who knows something about comfort. >> the savings is really, really good, but that's not the first thing i say. i say the heat is really, really good. most people don't understand what an infrared heat feels like and i says it just warms your bones. i don't know how to put it any other way. >> richard, these testimonials are fantastic. it doesn't seem to matter whether our customers use natural gas, heating oil, propane or all electric. the edenpure is saving them money and keeping their families safe and warm. >> richard: and when you can see why the edenpure is so much more efficient and how zone heating with edenpure can cut your energy costs, the only question left is, how can i get a new edenpure gen4 for that risk-free, 60-day trial? >> thanks for joining us. we'll put that toll-free number up in just a second. >> but first, you gotta hear about this. john and sandy hopkins saved so much money on their gas bill that the gas company thought their meter was broken. >> we are on a budget with the gas company, so i have been watching our actual usage to see if we were saving money that way. in february, we had a $181 credit, and i was very happy because we've never had that in this house-- we have a... it's a very big house, and usually we don't come even or even have a credit until may-june. in march... march 13th, we received a letter stating, "we are trying to reach you regarding the consumption on your gas meter. it is inconsistent with normal usage at your address. please phone our office as soon as possible so that we can make arrangements to enter your home, in the event we need to change your meter." so we went from having a $181 credit to receiving this letter from the gas company... >> which i thought was pretty funny, 'cause, um... i guess they didn't want us to conserve. they tell us to, but they don't really want us to. ...all right, here's my brand shiny new gas meter from the columbia gas that they insisted i needed because i was using the edenpure heater, so i was obviously not using enough gas, so now i still have the edenpure heater and a shiny new gas meter. [♪...] >> announcer: now you can get a risk-free 60-day trial of the all-new edenpure gen4 infrared portable heater in your own home. edenpure can cut your heating bills and that's just the beginning. edenpure may be the fastest, safest, healthiest heater that ever warmed your home. so fast, it heats a large room in minutes. the surface never gets hot so it's safe around children and pets. better still, edenpure gives you a soft, even heat from wall to wall, from floor to ceiling and it's healthier than other space heaters. look-- old energy-guzzling heaters actually burn the air. they suck out oxygen and moisture, then squander energy by sending hot currents up to heat the ceiling. what a waste! edenpure uses advanced infrared quartz technology to spread an even, soft heat that preserves health-giving oxygen and moisture and it warms an entire room in minutes. but best of all, you can be saving money like these happy edenpure owners. >> over heating oil, i would say i saved about $160 a month using the edenpure. >> woman: well, i was interested to see how effective the edenpure was in making my house more efficient and i actually calculated a $600 savings in my gas costs and the extra cost of the electric was very minimal. >> the first month that we had all three heaters on-line, our power bill dropped over $250 and we were just thrilled at that. >> i was amazed that the edenpure heater caused both my gas bill and my electric bill to go down and so i stopped using those energy-eating, i would say, space heaters. i put them down in the basement and i hope never to recall them anymore. [chuckles] >> announcer: in this special television offer, you can save up to $102 and have an edenpure gen4 delivered to your home for only $39. that's right-- we'll send you a brand-new model for $39 with free shipping. after that, simply make your four remaining monthly payments while enjoying the soft, even heat of your edenpure. after 60 days, if you're not completely satisfied, you can return the edenpure and receive your money back and we'll even cover your return shipping. visit epheatertv.com for details. >> try the new edenpure gen4 in your home for a risk-free, 60-day trial. you owe nothing if you're not totally delighted, so don't wait. call now. >> announcer: the preceding was a paid presentation brought to you from edenpure. all of the testimonials were by actual edenpure customers who volunteered their stories and were given another edenpure heater in thanks for their participation. but now we can't . i've made more home made meals in the last two months than all the years combined before them. >> congratulations. you're learning to cook. >> it was like looking in a mirror. we were instant friends. i was seeing they're struggling and they're making it. and i can struggle and make it. >> ann has been networking and developing leads since the day she lost her job. >> you may want to do some self-exploration. >> sister carmen provided a resume coach free of charge to prepare her for job interviews. she has gone to several job fairs and in january interviewed for an administrative assistant position in denver. >> hello? >> the office supervisor calls her back with a job. it's a temporary three-month assignment with no benefits and a two-hour daily commute. but it could lead to a full-time position. >> seems like you're looking forward to retaining somebody permanently in that position and the company needs somebody that that position. great. i did feel that i had to take that job because that job is available now. i don't have the luxury of looking around any longer. i don't have the luxury of saying no. thank you for that opportunity. >> for ann, compromise is the word. ten months into her own job search, diane isn't ready to compromise yet. she still wants that executive title and the security it will bring. these days her mental break from the pressure is her monthly volunteer session at her church's soup kitchen. >> even in my difficult circumstance, i still have the ability to help other people, so i should do that. and i can. it gives me energy. it gives me hope. and i need lots of hope right now. >> for claim and payment status, press two. >> but suddenly a new crisis is brewing. >> the balance remaining on your claim is zero dollars. thank you for calling the colorado unemployment insurance offices. good-bye. >> diane's unemployment benefits have seemed to run out a month before expected. she calls the case manager. >> she says well, you've run out hun. she called me sweetie and was chomping on gum. she said you should have paid better attention to things. >> there's just one month left on the family's rental assistance. >> are you guys willing to consider an additional month or is that a no? >> i can't promise. more things are either going to have to be cut back or find other ways to supplement your income. with the unemployment running out. eight months of assistance have been, i think, a lot. and i haven't really seen as many changes for moving forward as i guess i expected. >> right. okay. >> our caseworker kind of confronted me and said you have to look at your budget more closely. you have to make cuts. you have to make more sacrifices. we've given you all this assistance and what has it gained you? >> i feel like at this point, might be living outside of your means a little bit. >> but i'm just one job away from normal, i said. and she said but that job hasn't come yet. >> no unemployment benefits, no rental assistance. at home jon runs the numbers. >> we would be in a deficit situation by -- yeah. probably $1500 to $1800. in the short-term we need to create income. >> jon thinks that now it is diane who has to step up and find a job. any job. their marriage therapist agrees. >> i think that's an underlying issue for you, diane. i think there's a reluctance on your part to do something that is beneath you. you're highly educated. you have a lot of experience. and i think there is a bit of inner snob in you. >> if you were to get a full-time job tomorrow that only paid what i'm earning at the running company, you know what? we would pay our bills. >> we would? >> we would pay our bills. >> for diane, jon's sudden assertiveness appears to be a wake up call. >> i was hoping that things would come together sooner. but they haven't. so here we sit. and, you know k, i have so growp and make some hard choices. >> hopefully it's very temporary. >> jon has taken on an additional part-time job with an office cleaning company. diane agrees to share the workload. her first shift is scheduled for the same evening as one of her professional networking meetings. it's not something diane ever imagined would happen. but come 6:00 p.m., the former executive turns into a cleaning lady. >> so i think that i'll be working for 7:00 -- around 7:00 until 2:00 in the morning. >> it's 4:00 a.m. when diane returns to her car. >> i don't know. it's kind of surreal. it just didn't feel like me. and it didn't feel like my life. i kept thinking there are people that are actually working jobs during the day in these offices when they're empty at night. i was thinking i'd like to be on the other side. i'd like to have a day job. it's disappointing for sure. for myself and i'm sure, you know, my parents, jon's parents, everyone. i feel like i'm letting a lot of people down. >> diane has hit rock bottom. she's angry at herself and angry that she and jon have let it come this far. >> working in these kind of positions that, you know, can't sustain our life. it feels like a black hole that we're going into and something that we can't climb out of again. >> in her anxiety, diane lashes out at jon who desperately calls their marriage therapist for advice. the therapist suggests a trial separation. and when diane shows up for an individual session a couple days later, the therapist has the papers ready. >> i was just in complete shock that it had come to that and that she had to offer that to me as a solution and that things had really gotten that bad. and it just hit me hard in the face. >> the papers sit on the night stand. >> right. i don't look at them. >> but you know they're sitting there. >> yes. >> constant reminder of where you are and where things could be? >> yeah. and what am i going to choose now? coming up, finally some good news. >> it gives me new encouragement, more energy. it gives me the drive that i need to continue on. >> when "america now: lost in suburbia" continues. ann three months at her denver job is almost up. and so far she has not received a full-time offer. >> hi, it's nice to meet you. >> so she continues to interview. including at the sister carmen community center. which has an opening for someone to manage its hundreds of volunteers. >> so we'll be in touch at the end of this week or early next. >> hello. >> hi, ann. it's suzanne crawford. how are you? >> hi, i'm fine. >> so i'm calling with a bit of good news. we would love to offer you the volunteer manager position. >> well, thank you very much. that's fantastic. >> do you want to get the two of you guys together? >> the job is part-time and the salary is not quite enough to overcome her financial troubles, but in ann's new normal, it's a positive step. >> i'm not out of the woods yet, but things do change. i'm planting seeds. >> more importantly, ann says, the job will give her a chance to give back to a place that has been her lifeline these past few months. >> here it comes. >> it's a bittersweet 50th birthday for ann. but it comes with a gift that cannot be measured with money. a new perspective on the importance of family, friendship, and a willingness to ask for help. >> i think that, you know, our humanity is what we show to each other. that's really how we connect. it's not necessarily about, hey, i've got this car. you've got that car. isn't that great. it's really more about are you kids fed? are they sleeping at night? and how are you doing? if you need help, i'm here for you. >> and that's the same motto that drives the staff of sister carmen and government officials like hhs's frank alexander as they struggle to manage. >> when we look at data we've seen an erosion of the middle class. and our hope for many families is they do transition back to some sort of self-sufficiency for themselves. >> how much can we afford? can we as a society continue to spend this type of money to catch people that when they're falling everywhere we look? >> i don't think we can afford to not invest in our communities. if we don't, we'll have a generation stuck in poverty. >> you are an excellent packer. check out you. >> with just a month left before they have to move out of their home, the welch family still has not found another place to live. joyce has stopped hiding her family's poverty and begrudgingly accepted she's just another victim in an economic crisis beyond her control. and that, she says, is nothing to be ashamed of. even if you live in superior, colorado. >> people like me are on food stamps. it's people who want to go to work and can't find work and don't have an alternative. this is the reality for more and more people in america. this is the face of food stamps. my children are the face of medicaid. this is the reality. >> the family can survive on rental assistance and unemployment for a few more months. and lincoln is still optimistic he can find a job and get his family back on their feet. >> do you ever fear in quiet moments that this is life as, you know, you're going to know it? >> i do fear that. and i think that that strengthens my resolve. i will fight whatever i have to fight. and i will not stay here. >> reality for jon and diane could be a life without one another. their therapist has suggested a trial separation. but they decide they are not ready to call it quits. >> i think it kind of brought us together a little bit, ironically. we started using the term we more. we said we can't do this. you know, there's too much at stake. we are stronger than that. we don't have to run away from it. so we're staying with each other. >> i think that that speaks volumes to your relationship and that you still -- you aren't done. you are pulling together. >> thanks. >> yeah, thank you. >> it was a wakeup call for sure. >> and there is one more thing. >> i'm very, very proud of you, diane, for getting out of your comfort zone. you know, jumping in and going back to work. >> yes, diane has found a job. not as a cleaning lady, but in a temporary administrative position at crocs an international shoe retailer. it's not an executive job. but for a suddenly energized diane, it's a start. >> the fact i'm actually out there working again, that's very symbolic. it gives me more encouragement, more energy. it gives me the drive that i need to continue on in my job search. >> diane and jon like joyce and lincoln like ann are determined to become self-sufficient once more. one step at a time. they owe it to themselves, they say, but most of all they owe it to their children. if this ends the way we all hope it does, it's a pretty good lesson in this for them. >> if t