Well, folks, it's time to draw on your collective wisdom. As we all know, oil prices are high and will probably continue to go higher. If you've ever been to our home in the winter, you also know that we keep the temperature pretty low (59°F/15°C) and our house is small.
So... I'm sitting here with a $400 oil bill in my hands, which pretty much covers just the hot water we've used for showers and dishes since the end of March. (The heat would barely have been on since the last fill, and we don't have a washing machine or dishwasher. Our hot water heater is oil-fired.)
We're not in a financial position to switch over our heating system right now (ha!), but I would love to hear any and all ideas about what we can do to keep the bill as low as possible... or maybe about what you are planning to do this winter. HELP!
7 comments:
you can get some of that stuff that you put over windows. it looks like saran wrap and you just use a hair dryer to seal it to the window.
Hi
This is off subject but last year(ish) you posted a Bean and Orzo soup on your old blog. It was so yummy but since you moved to a new spot my bookmark for the recipe doesn't work. Can you email the recipe? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE? Or post it again? Please please please!
Thanks
myhappilyeverafter06(at)gmail(dot)com
Hello Family,
I sooooooo understand your postion with the cost of heating, for I too, am in the same situation. My heating costs almost doubled from the previous year. It is too scary to think about what this year will bring. I am considering purchasing a pellet stove. The initial cost of that purchase won't be cheap, but in the long run, I know I will save. They are relativly easy to install ( requires only one pipe etc.), and give off a tremendous amount of heat( of course there are settings). The pellets would probably run apx. $100.00 a month, as opposed to double or triple that for what I burn in oil now. So.... off to the bank I go I go, Maybe!
Rachel - We've done that at previous apartments. It was hard to tell whether or not it made a difference, but we'll put it on our list of things to try for this year. Thanks for the reminder!
Adymommy - Nice to hear from you! It has been a long while since you've commented. Glad you enjoy that soup! I will also email it to you, but here is the link to the recipe:
http://andmimsymakesfive.blogspot.com/
2008/03/bean-and-orzo-minestrone.html
Mom - Hmmmmm... a pellet stove. The projected savings seem to be worth the initial investment, huh?
Hey hey,
Back to work for me. Does your hot water heater have a thermal blanket. Sometimes these can make your water heater a little more efficent. Might be something to look into. We have looked at the pellet stove idea too. We opted not to do it this year, but I think its worth it. Lyanne has looked into this more extensively then I did though. You can get some very nice stoves. Anyways I hope the water heater blanket comment helps. In case I didn't explain myself here is a link to a pic of one on the canadian tire site.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396675800&bmUID=1218456077254&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443294683&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true
NB Power will sometimes do conversions and give you a low interest loan, natural gas might do it too. Or look into any way you can do insulation, ie attic. If you want, I can look up more details on insulating as well as any manual labour for no charge.
Ryan - Thanks for the tip. That seems like a way we could make at least a small difference.
Ben - Awwwww, aren't you a sweetheart? No wonder Rachel snatched you up! Our home is already double insulated, including the attic and under the main floor, so I'm not sure how much more we could stuff in here... but thanks for the offer!
So you know what NB Power supports in terms of conversions?
Post a Comment