Home Decoration & Real Estate

Posts Tagged ‘Winter’

With the price of oil so high this year, the threat of high home heating bills is something we are all concerned about. Whether you heat with propane, gas, oil or electric, there are steps you can take to help lower your heating bills and put some money back into your bank account.

Here are 10 things you can do right now to help lower your heat costs this winter:

1. Check Your Insulation. If you haven’t looked in your attic lately (or ever!) then get up there and take a look around to make sure the insulation is in good condition. Make sure there are enough air pockets to trap cold air. Old insulation can become brittle and ineffective so if your insulation is not doing the job it might be worth the time and energy to replace it.

2. Check Your Windows. You can lose a lot of heat through the cracks around your windows and the windows themselves. Check each window and make sure it is well sealed. You can buy kits that will help you test this. Be sure to caulk and seal around windows where you find leaks, and replace any interior seals that are damaged. If your windows are old, it might be worth the money in the long run to replace them with new triple pane replacement windows.

3. Weather Proof Your Entryways. Along with the windows, check your doors for drafts. Using wearther stripping around the doors will help keep your heat from leaking out and the cold from getting in.

4. Get a Ceiling Fan. Just like you learned in 4th grade – heat rises so you want to keep the warm air down in the room, especially if you have high ceilings. Most ceiling fans have a switch to reverse the direction so you can use them for cooling in the summer and pushing hot air down in the winter. Be sure you run it in the right direction or you might end up with cold air in the winter and warm in the summer!

5. Shut Off Unused Rooms. If you have a room or rooms that you don’t use, them keep the doors shut. Try to remember to shut doors if you will be in the room for a long time. Rooms which are used only sometimes will have the door fanned which allows cold air to escape into your others rooms. This, in turn, will make your furnace work harder and increase your heating costs.

6. Let The Sun Shine In. On sunny days, open your curtains and mini blinds but make sure you close them when darkness falls or on cloudy days. Getting insulated curtains can help keep out drafts from around the windows.

7. Get A Door Alignment. Over time, doors can sag and get out of alignment. Take a good look at your doors to see if they still fit in the casing properly. If they don’t then adjust them for a tight fit.

8. Have Your Furnace Checked. Spend the money to have a professional give your furnace a checkup to be sure it is working at peak performance. This is important not only from a cost perspective but also from a safety perspective. A system that is not running as efficiently as it can will cost you money in heating bills so the money to have it inspected will be well spent.

9. Air Filter. Air filters can get clogged with ends up costing you money in fuel – it causes your heating system to run inefficiently and can be a safety hazard. Changing out the filter once a year is a good idea and something you can do yourself with minimal cost.

10. Close Your House Vents. House vents allow circulation of air during the warmer months but it’s a good idea to close them at the end of fall before the real cold weather comes. Cold air seeping in can drive up heating costs and make your house feel drafty.

Taking the time to follow a few of these tips will result in lower heating bills. Also, talk to your energy provider to see if they have any suggestions. If you have oil or propane, sometimes you can get on a prebuy plan where you buy the product in summer at the price it is then which is usually lower than in the winter. This is a bit of a risk since if the price goes down you will be paying more for your heating then if you didn’t pre pay, but I don’t see much chance of the prices going down, do you?

Prices of oil have a domino effect on the prices of many major products worldwide. As oil prices go up, so does the price of food especially those that use oil in manufacturing them. Soon enough, prices of other commodities go up as well.

With high oil prices, many people regardless of their status in society are very much affected and worried. Homeowners who use fossil fuel in their heating systems are not exempted. It is because they will have to spend more this time to have their regular stock of fuel and this a major concern for them. The Federal government already foresees a 30 percent increase in the fuel expenditures of an average household that uses oil as its primary heating fuel compared to the 2007 winter season. Apart from oil, they will also have to deal with the high electricity rates which have gone up as well.

As of August 2008, the average cost of home heating oil is pegged at $3.13 per gallon. This is still considered quite steep despite the recent drop in the price of crude oil.

Home heating oil prices are affected by several factors including supply, demand, geography, weather conditions and politics. Prices have become very volatile in that they can change several times in a single day mainly because of a variety of world events. However, as weather is another major factor, it is typical for home heating oil prices of oil to increase during the winter season despite a drop in the price of crude oil.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency projects that for 2008 to 2009, the prices of residential heating oil during the regular heating season covering the months of October to March will average $4.34 per gallon. This is an increase of 31 percent from last year’s $3.31. Home heating natural gas prices are also seen to go up by 22 percent during the same heating period to an average of $15.58 per Mcf.

Because of a weak economy and high prices of crude oil and other products, a survey by the Energy Information Administration projected a decline on U.S. petroleum and other liquids consumption by about three percent. The first half of the year alone showed a drop in total consumption by an average of 930,000 barrels per day compared to the same period a year before. The decline is seen to continue for the rest of the year despite a rise in domestic and worldwide crude oil production.

Fortunately, some concerned legislators are taking steps to help provide relief to the situation. A move in the works is the expansion of the Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that is aimed at providing direct assistance to low-income families and the elderly people experiencing high home heating bills. A noteworthy action is the introduction of the “Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act” which would allot $2.53 billion in additional emergency LIHEAP funding for this 2008 winter.

Other lawmakers, in their own way, are offering tips to consumers that will help lower their energy bills ahead of the winter months.

Homes located in areas with very cold climate are never without a good heating system.   The system is a source of heat during the winter season to keep families warm and comfortable. As winter approaches, a home’s heating system will prove its worth once more amidst the reality of an energy crisis caused by the high oil prices around the world and a weak U.S. economy.

Homeowners, however, are experiencing a lot of anxiety this early worrying as to how they’re going to cope with the increasing prices of home heating oil. Compared to 2007, they will have to spend more this year in order to have their usual supply of fuel. This is in addition to the high heating bills they will have to deal with as a result of the increased electricity rates. Heating bills are expected to increase by an average of 20 percent making it probably the worst winter for low-income people.

Even with a decline in the price of crude oil, home heating oil prices normally go up during the winter months. And although prices of heating oil have actually fallen from their peak levels but they are still above the 2007 levels.

The ones to suffer most here are families with low income and the elderly. A survey of utility arrearages and shutoffs done by the National Energy Directors Association (NEADA) found that 15 million households including those occupied by the elderly are having difficulty paying arrearages from their heating bills last year. The figure is up by almost 10 percent compared to the same period last year. It also revealed that at least 1.2 million homes suffered disconnection from electric and natural gas service three months after getting shutoff notices.

The U.S. Department of Energy is expecting prices per gallon to go up by 25 percent resulting in an average cost for heating oil at more than $4 a gallon across the country. This translates to higher household expense of $720 this 2008 winter.

 On the other hand, the Energy Information Administration projects home electricity prices to hike up by three percent this year. People living in states undergoing market restructuring are seen to experience faster price hikes by as much as 50 percent due to the expiration of rate caps and as electric firms passing on to the consumers the high fuel costs.

With this looming energy crisis, more people are cutting on their expenditures. Another NEADA survey showed that 70 percent of low-income families have lowered their spending on food due to high gas and energy costs. Additionally, 31 percent have reduced their medicine purchases while 19 percent lessened their education expenses.

 It’s a good thing that some senators are exerting extra effort to help provide relief to the affected sectors. A new legislation known as the “Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act” has been introduced with a goal of providing $2.53 billion more emergency funding this winter for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The program gives direct help to families with low income, senior citizens and the disabled who are having a hard time paying their heating bills. 

Now is not too soon to be thinking about this years home heating oil costs. If your home uses heating or fuel oil as a primary heating energy source, you will no doubt be struggling with the huge increases in costs that are heading your way. Heating oil, like gasoline, are tied very closely together in price and we all know what the price of gas has done over the last few years.

The absolute best way to help insulate yourself from fnancial ruin due to rediculously high home heating bills this winter is to insulate your home instead. Imagine leaving a window open all winter long. The heat loss, cold drafts, and wasted energy would drive everyone crazy. If however you add up all the places where drafts and energy leaks occur in your home, it would probably be equal to leaving a window open all winter long. The reason why you don’t feel it so much is that instead of a big hole like an open window, you have a large number of very small leaks. This is analagous to having every faucent in your home dripping in relation to simply running the bathtub all the time. The result is the same. Water loss.

So back to the issue of energy and heat loss leakage from your home. Often overlooked, there are several major potential areas where you should check for heated air loss.

Fireplaces. These are a chimney or hole to the outside. Check and see if the damper is tight. Use glass window fireplace covers. And if you decide not to use the fireplace, consider getting some 2 inch rigid foam insulation from the hardware store and making a plug to close off the fireplace even better. To make a fireplace plug, measure the fireplace opening below the damper, cut a piece of foam insulation to fit and wedge it into place. A good safety idea is to attach a short piece of rope to the plug to not only help remove it when you are ready to use the fireplace but also as a safety device to make certain it’s remembered before the fireplcae is used. Make certain the short piece of rope or even ribbon is long enough to easily be seen. Mine touches the fireplace logs and acts as a reminder the plug is in place.

Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, and outside electrical outlets. A good way to seal the electric plugs is to pick up some plug gaskets and install on all outside electrica outlets. These are simply a thin rubber about the shape of the outlet cover that fits over the plug and seals around the outlet and the cover.

Doors are a special problem because you can’t simply seal it up. They need to opena and close regularly and seal. Weatherstripping around the perimeter of the door is a good way to seal out the leaks around ouside doors. Another suggestion is to take fabric material, cut 2 pieces about 3 inches wide and make it 6 inches longer than your door opening. So if the door is 46 inches, you want 2 pieces of fabric 3 inches by 42 inches. Sew the fabric together along the long sides and one small side. This will give you a pocket similar to a pillow case. Next turn the pocket inside out so the finished seams look good, and fill with any small material. Any cooking beans, rice, popcorn, even sand is a good material. You now have a bottom door seal that can be placed against the door sill at the bottom, keeping the cold air out but can also be removed during the day. This is also a great idea for rooms that have been closed off for the winter. Have a guest room that isn’t being heated? Make another bottom door seal and save energy. You can even purchase similar door seals from many stores because they’re so popular and every efficient.

While there’s nothing we can do about the high enrgy prices next winter, by being prepared, the bills can be dramatically lowered. The key is to keep the leaks down and the warmth inside your home.