Here's hoping for a warm winter

[gerisullivan]

...an exceptionally warm winter.

I received my annual fuel oil budget statement in today's mail.

First, some history:

2004-05 heating season
Oil used: 782.1 gallons
Total price paid: $1,472.30
Average price per gallon: $1.88
Monthly budget payment: $133.00 -- I had a $167 credit at the end of the season

2005-06 heating season
Oil used: 715 gallons
Total price paid: $1,655.65
Average price per gallon: $2.32
Monthly budget payment: $133.00 -- I had a $148 credit at the end of the season

2006-07 heating season
Oil used: 734 gallons
Total price paid: $1,688.75
Average price per gallon: $2.30
Monthly budget payment: $169.00 -- I had a $366 credit at the end of the season

2007-08 heating season
Oil used: 844.2 gallons
Total price paid: $2,872.07
Average price per gallon: $3.40
Monthly budget payment: $134.00 -- +$1,000 at the end of the season -- first year I owed them money

2008-09 monthly budget payment: $342.00
Which tells me they're estimating in the $4.75-5.00/gallon range. Given that prices are currently $4.40 and what they've been doing over the past 1-2 years, I can say I blame them.

This Girl Homeowner hasn't a clue as to where another $200 is going to come from each month. All I know right now is that's $200/month that won't be going to pay down debt, and that's going to suck.

I was mentally ready for my budget to go up $100-135/month. You know, just a little 75-100% increase...

But no, I get a 155% increase. Lucky me. Maybe prices will come down and they'll drop the budget amount mid-season, but that's not the way to be.

Those paying close attention (as I am right now) will notice that my fuel consumption jumped way up last year. I attribute that to three factors:

1) I was home more than usual. No month-long February absence tending to a dying mother. That's why 2005-06 has the lowest consumption. Fewer road trips and long weekends away (with the heat turned downed).

2) Harsh winter. Long. Lots of cold. I haven't looked up the specifics, this is just how I remember it. I could be wrong.

3) I had set-back thermostats installed. Yes, they're supposed to save money rather than increase, but in my case, I think they did the opposite. I used to push the temperature to the lowest setting possible -- basically off -- downstairs, and left it there all winter upstairs. That's what led to the pipes freezing during a cold snap at the end of the 2006-07 heating season, so I was more cautious with my settings this last year.

If I had the money, I'd have new windows installed. I don't know how many gallons of oil that would save each year, but I'm confident it's in the high double digits and perhaps even triple digits as all but a couple of the windows here are single pane glass with no storm windows. Yes, that's insane. What's worse, the frames are such that standard window plastic is a profound annoyance to use and there are some places where it just plain won't seal at all. The thermal-lined Roman shades Susan made for me help cut down the drafts in my office, and I spent most of last winter bundled up in two layers of sweaters, but that clearly wasn't enough.

I'll have to figure out something. I'll simply have to.

I feel like I'm in an episode of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

And I feel like the rest of the country, and much of the world, is here with me.

Comments

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Blimey. That's something we don't have to think about out here, but I haven't forgotten. A peak oil alarmist told me some time ago that the rest of the country should be abandoned and we should all move to the Northeast, presumably because there's better public transit (not in your neck of the woods, I know). "This would be the same Northeast that's rocked by fuel oil bills each winter?" I wondered.

[(Anonymous)]

Ouch, that's a shame.

It is amazing how much a new furnace saves you. We use natural gas (so it's not as overpriced as oil), and we're only paying a little more in the new house than we did in the old. Our electric rate also just jumped, but "only" by about 15%.

[lauriemann.livejournal.com]

Well, I thought I was logged in...

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Jiminey, that's brutal! We're another natural gas household, so we've escaped this kind of price upswing so far. Also, the winters here are much milder than yours.

[sethb.livejournal.com]

How often do you get oil delivered? Can you get a delivery now, while the price is lower than they appear to be estimating? (It could be that $80 of the monthly charge is based on the $1000 underage from last year. Was that paid in a lump sum?)

[timill]

Any scope for growing your own wood and burning it?

[galtine1.livejournal.com]

Ways to "seal" windows...says the girl who's problem is the reverse: trying to keep the heat out and the cold in for the chillas.

(1) cardboard cut to just not fit and wedged into the windows of the rooms that you "close up" for the winter. These same windows also then get a layer of the celluose insulation cut just to fit as well. Should be rated R-30 and about 1.5" thick. You can also check into the RV supply stores for the "bubble wrap" window shades for RVs and cut them down to size as they are also rated at R-17 or higher. They also sell the bubble-wrap version of insulation for house building with "staple stipping" at 24" intervals if you can find it...but that's more expensive and may not be feasible.

(2)Now hang your "black out" curtains over that. You'll find that the walls will feel colder than the curtains.

(3) If you feel industrious enough...there's two schools of though on fabric wallpapering a room for insulation. You can build frames using slats and a medium or heavier tapestry (or lighter fabric and a light batting under it) ... best for renters ... or staplegun straight to the walls. This will give you an additional layer of insualtion, cover the micro-cracks in walls, and change the look of your home all at the same time.

(4) Jim and I have been without a propane furnace for 3 years now. We've taken to using an electric room space heater to heat just the room we are in when it's the little rooms. The big rooms, I use lots more blankets and occassionally the space heater directly at my feet. And even more rarely (aka illness) I use a heating pad to warm my core (abs/back).

(5) And candles. 3-wick monster pillars from PartyLite cost about $50 after tax/shipping and have about 200+ hours burn time (I've gotten ~250 hours). It's amazing the heat a few candle flames can generate.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

The tank is now full; I can't buy any more at this time without installing another tank and I'm not going that route.

I've paid the $1,000 shortfall from last year; none of it is included in next year's budget payment.

Good questions, though. Either one of them could easily have had a different answer and pointed out something I hadn't thought of yet, like Laurie's new furnace comment. I don't have money for one of those, either, but I should at least investigate costs and such compared to window costs, just to know which way to jump first if ever I can.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Good question. It's already grown. Worth considering.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thank you -- I'd been thinking of styrofoam inserts for the windows in the guest rooms. The layering effect you describe is even better.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Well, it won't help you get out of debt, but something I've been thinking about for our basement is a modern kachelofen or tile stove. The modern ones can be remarkably efficient and green, and it would be an alternative fuel source of heat. Not necessarily a full alternative to fuel oil, but possibly a way to keep your fuel oil consumption down. And way cleaner than going over to a coal-fired furnace...

[tesla-aldrich.livejournal.com]

If you haven't already done so, it may be to your advantage to use < href="http://homerepair.about.com/od/plumbingrepair/ss/thaw_frzn_pipe_5.htm">electric heating tape on the pipes that are prone to freezing; this should allow you to keep downstairs temperatures as low as you wish.

Also, I'm curious as to what algorithm the oil company uses to determine what temperatures will be like this winter. They might be overestimating in part because of your increased usage last year - they might be expecting another such increase. You may be able to negotiate this with them.

I do use plastic film over my (ancient, hard-to-seal) windows each winter, and even though there are always gaps, it seems to diminish heat loss considerably.

Good luck!

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Here's a better link for information about tile stoves. Some of the efficiency claims are a bit startling.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

My sympathies... You're right in that much of the country is with you. We certainly are, in that our budget is tight, our incomes are stagnant, and in the last year, costs have increased at a frightening rate. I'm not certain what we're going to do about it, but we're going to have to so something.

[timill]

In that case it probably needs cutting so it can dry out over the summer.

Got a place to burn it?

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Wow - yet another item to add to my list of reasons why I never want to live where there's winter! Those are startling figures. Our heating bills have gone up too but not nearly to that extent and we're in a much smaller place, of course.

Have you looked into whether there are any local, state, or federal grants that would help you insulate your place? I know that some energy companies offer rebates on some initiatives. Best of luck!

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

What galtine1 said. Also, if you can afford to replace windows in just one room, even that would help tremendously. I'm going through a similar process. I got rid of the last of the 1919 windows last year, and I'm now looking at possible prices for the 1970-era windows now.

But if you can't do that this year, at least look into the window-sealing stuff that you can find in the hardware store.

[galtine1.livejournal.com]

reason for cardboard first...if moisture gets in, it has somewhere to go and then dryout from. Just the insulation...then mold happens.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Ack. I hope you find ways to keep the oil use down!

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

There used to be lots of rebates and incentives to replace old furnaces with modern ones. Does your local utility company offer anything like that? Maybe switch to gas or even electric?

Is there any lumbering in your area? Saw mills sell their "chips" for cheap. That's how my mom heats her place, wood stove with baseboard electric to supplement if needed.

What's the difference between diesel and fuel oil, and if they are the same thing, is there a cheaper source?

Tesla's idea of wrapping the pipes is a good one. So are the ideas to insulate the windows.

K.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

I would suggest to your oil company that you can only afford a certain dollar amount at this time. Yes, home heating oil will certainly be $5/gal.; perhaps even more.

I was very fond of Mortite, a sort of putty that you can use to seal all sorts of cracks. It's fairly cheap and easy to use; use it around each window pane, plus the frame, then add on plastic, then seal the edges of that. Also, plastic on both sides couldn't hurt, though don't seal the bottom completely on the outside.

We only heat the room we're in, if we can, and use wood stoves. Don't be fooled by fireplaces: unless you have a glass insert, they can suck out more heat than they add. Firewood should be seasoned before burning, which means if you cut it now, you can't burn in for a year (and you need to stack it properly, too).

For $300/month, it might be cheaper to rent an apartment in Florida for 4 months of the year.

Flue

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

The whole issues with stoves is having a flue available for them.

Try an internal storm...

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

They're cheaper than replacing windows and reusable.

If you're going to have to work on heating/heat loss issues, it's a good idea to figure out where you can get the biggest bang for the least buck. If you approach it from a piecemeal process, everybody claims their piece saves the most meal, because they want your money -- not because it saves you the most money. See if any of your local utilities can do an energy audit.

Re: Flue

[(Anonymous)]

Sure. I was blithely assuming that there was already a fireplace existing, plus the flue the oil-burning furnace uses, but perhaps not.