Smart
Energy Choices for the Winter Months
Al Ritter
At the risk of sounding like Chicken Little and claim
the sky is falling, one has to prepare for the winter months ahead. The media
is calling for a massive increase of energy prices and one has to be prepared
rather than scared.
Let’s look at all the energy prices to see what we
have to deal with.
They are saying massive increases in natural gas, fuel
oil, and electricity.
Shall we investigate each on their respective
levels? Natural gas: please understand
that natural gas coming into your house is priced on a monthly basis, you have
no way to renegotiate its cost on a monthly basis.
However, although propane is not as efficient as
natural gas based on its BTU output, the amount of money you’ll be able to
store in your bottle may offset the inefficiency between the two gas prices.
I also have a fuel oil fired hot water heating system.
I have already topped it off, and that will be one of my reserve systems. The
275 gallon tank will last me all season. If you use this type of heat as your
primary source and have to refill multiple times a winter, it may be in your
best interest to install additional tanks. The savings by doing this could be
substantial, because the fuel oil is always cheapest in the fall, not during
the season.
Now let’s view electric power, although you may have
locked down a price per kWH for the year, it’s still high. Hedging your cost
for electric may be based on solar power production, if you can afford it. Now
I’m not talking about one of those leased systems, but rather one you purchase
outright. Please don’t even consider a leased system because the leasing
companies steals not only your government rebates but also your SREC sales.
Just don’t DO it! My solar system is called an on grid system and the way it
works is simple. If my panels produce more electric than what I am using, the
meter runs backwards. By running backwards it creates a “bank account” if you
will that you can use during the winter months when your solar production isn’t
as much. At the end of the year the electric company settles up with you if you
still have electricity in your so called bank account. I have solar on my house
and my electric bill is $9 a month year round. The $9 is a transmission fee.
Now the next idea is for heat pumps, depending on your
electric source is solar this could be the most cost effective way to heat your home as
it is with mine. In the last year I installed two Mr. Cool units in my house, a
12K unit on the base floor and a 12K unit upstairs. I have been amazed at what
these units can do vs the energy consumption. My house is just 1700 sq. ft. though.
I installed the first unit last fall and the second
unit in the spring. They say that these units are not very efficient as heat
units, but I was totally blown away how little energy it used in the
fall/winter era, even on days where the temperature was in the single digits.
Because the SEER rating for the A/C mode was far more efficient
I installed a second unit in the spring, so now this is the system I will fall
back onto in the late fall/early spring.
Let’s look at wood/coal stoves. Depending on how you
get firewood and if you have to pay someone for it, this could be very cheap
for you to use. Don’t forget to factor in the gasoline to power your chainsaw, wood splitter, and chimney though. Last year I had just about given up on coal because
of the cost, so this year I will have to figure out if an increase would make
it worthwhile, I've heard price already at close to $700 a ton. Pellet stoves although useful are plagued with additional
problems. If your electric goes out, you would have to find another electric
source or the stove wouldn’t function. Storage and cost of the pellets is yet
another drawback. The wood/coal stoves don’t have the problem with electricity.
What do you do when the electric goes out? That is a
very real concern in the freezing months. This summer my electric went out 3
times for a total of 58 hours. My on grid system doesn’t produce when the
electric goes out. It was a real headache for sure and I made a decision to
finally purchase an Inverter Generator. I am in the process of wiring a manual
cutoff switch panel to power up the essentials during a future outage.
I also have an off-grid solar system that I use when
burning my coal/wood stove to circulate hot water to heat my basement.
It pays to have redundant systems in the winter to
heat your house. The unprepared will suffer this winter, me….not so much.
Very informative video from last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLtCRS75YNU&feature=youtu.be
Another comparison on fuel costs:
https://coalpail.com/fuel-comparison-calculator-home-heating
