Mar
26
Looking for Home Energy Alternatives – Heat?
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Last year my heating oil bills were pretty high, despite using an oil cooperative. Just reading about oil prices in the paper are making me crazy – what environment and $ friendly alteratives should I be thinking about? Maybe I am wrong but I don’t think switching to gas is the answer. I live in the suburbs and my house is maybe 1200 square feet. Thanks for your help!
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5 Comments
March 26th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Wear sweaters and turn the heat down.
Let as much direct sunlight through your windows into your home as possible.
Consider improving your insulation.
Good luck.
March 26th, 2010 at 4:43 am
try heating with solar panels
March 26th, 2010 at 5:38 am
Go for the easy things first–they’re the most cost-effective and will pay off quickly because they will reduce your heating load. Ask your utility company to perform an energy audit. That will probably uncover some relatively inexpensive upgrades such as:
1) Weatherstrip your doors:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skill-builder/0,,20162488,00.html?xid=yahoo-answers&partner=yes
2) Weatherstrip your windows:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1120083,00.html?xid=yahoo-answers&partner=yes
3) Ask the company that maintains your furnace about ways to improve its performance. You might be able to replace a standard pilot light with electronic ignition or seal the joints in your ductwork.
In some cases, a big expense (replacing your furnace) may be worthwhile. Here’s how to consider that decision, according to This Old House plumbing and heating contractor Richard Trethewey:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,1172040,00.html?xid=yahoo-answers&partner=yes
March 26th, 2010 at 5:53 am
My first option would be solar but we’re not there yet.
We were given a pellet stove (was my sister’s). I was hesitant at first because the fan has to run all the time the stove is in use and I thought it would increase our power bill.
I was very pleased to see our bill has decreased. Last winter our power bill was averaging $130.00 a month and we were using a wood stove – no other heat and lots of work for hubby!
This winter our bill never was higher than $80. Granted, there was the cost for pellets.
Considering the efficiency of the stove it turns out that it’s cheaper overall and my hubby isn’t working his hoo haws off trying to keep us all warm!
Another plus is that it’s environmentally friendly.
March 26th, 2010 at 6:17 am
You are smart to think this through now instead of in the fall. Everyone had great insight for you. What we did was change our lifestyle a bit. I started baking in the morning. Sure, it’s using resources, but we ate muffins, banana bread, etc…. and stayed warm while keeping the house heat at 60 degrees. I also used a slow cook option with the oven (cooking food for a long time at 200 degrees—making what I would have made in the crockpot. Also, we opened our curtains in the morning (east end) and gathered as much sun as possible. Ditto in the afternoon for the west. The biggest thing was buying mattress warmers—–they are just like mattress covers but heat up the mattress. Once we were in bed we turned them down/off. It was wonderful to get into a warm bed, however, without heating the room. Also, we drank a lot of hot tea, coffee, cocoa………and of course wore warmer clothing.