The same kind of thinking needs to be applied to home purchases. Smart homebuyers, for example, take soaring utility costs into account when looking at houses, knowing what the true cost of owning that home will be.

Smart mortgage companies are doing the same thing. For more than a decade, mortgage lenders in the United States have offered energy- efficient mortgages, and now these programs are being expanded to more lenders.

The principle behind them is simple: If you buy an energy- efficient house that will have lower utility bills or you install energy-saving improvements in your home, you'll have more money in your pocket. That money can be taken into account when you buy the house, letting you qualify for a bigger home with a higher mortgage.

Many of the country's leading lenders offer some type of energy- efficient mortgage. The Federal Housing Administration, for example, offers programs with higher loan limits and no additional down payment. It also has rehabilitation loans that let buyers get one loan to cover the property cost and major home improvements.

Department of Veterans Affairs mortgages for energy improvements let you include the cost of upgrades in the financing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have programs that allow homebuyers to have higher debt-to-income ratios. This means that a bigger percentage of your monthly income can be applied to the mortgage payment, allowing you to qualify for a bigger mortgage based on your income.

And many other lenders have their own packages of energy- efficient mortgages that can get the homebuyer into a more expensive home than he or she might have qualified for -- often meaning a larger home, one in a better location or one in better condition.

One of the best things about these programs is that you can usually include the cost of energy improvements in the initial mortgage, meaning that in most cases, the energy savings from your improvements will be greater than the purchase price included in the mortgage. You start saving money from your first month in the house.

Studies have shown that the average homeowner spends about $1,300 each year on utility bills. Making your home energy-efficient can cut this cost by as much as 50 percent.

One of the keys to getting an energy-efficient mortgage is having a certified home energy rater conduct an energy audit of your home before your financing is approved. This verifies for the lender that the home is efficient or notes areas that need improvement to save money on monthly energy bills. The cost of these improvements then can be added to the mortgage.

If you're buying a new home, you should check out the Energy Star Home program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is a partnership with homebuilders whose homes are 30 percent more efficient than the model energy-code requirements. An Energy Star mortgage offers various benefits, including a lower interest rate, discount on fees and a debt-to-income ratio stretch of up to 4 percent.

For more information, contact your state energy office for energy- efficient programs offered in your area. You also can find details on energy-efficient mortgages from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at www.hud.gov/buying/insured.cfm . For details on Energy Star homes, go to yosemite1.epa.gov/estar/homes.nsf/ HomePage?OpenForm.

The state also has a database on energy-efficient mortgages at natresnet.org/dir/lenders/default.htm, and general information from the Florida Solar Energy Center at www.fsec.ucf.edu.

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(Ken Sheinkopf is associate director for the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, Fla. For more information on energy efficiency and renewable energy, visit the center's Web site at www.fsec.ucf.edu.)