Wth? $380 for gas and electric?

Ten years ago, paying attention to the Rocky Mountain Institute, uncommon sense and others, I retrofitted our 2300 sq ft home in central California. A tile roof, a R-100 ceiling, dual and triple pane windows, dual pane glass vestibule front porch, SERP Whirlpool refrigedeezer, 50-year caulking everywhere, gaskets behind every switch and outlet plate, compact flourescent bulbs, ceramic tile floor (thermal mass), insulated pipes; I gutted and insulated the garage, including the walls and roof - all with the goal of conservation. Break even point: 2.5 years, compared to surrounding single family residences that pay $200 to $500 per month for natural gas and electricity. Two water heaters at opposite ends of the house each have four insulating blankets. Our monthly bill averages less than $30 year round. I have complete records back to October 1989.

The house has an Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) of 1.0 or less - in a semiarid climate with about 4600 heating and cooling degree days each year. If EEI is greater than 20, house is designed and operated to waste energy in attempts to heat and cool the outside. If EEI is between 10 and 20 there are usually several cost effective things you can do to make the house more energy efficient. If EEI is less than 10, house is reasonably efficient and there are a few things you can do to be more efficient.

The basic concept is that it is cheaper to hold onto what you already have, vs. "go get more." When we do turn on the HVAC, it only runs a short time and the house holds warmth or coolth for a very long time. Added bonus: interior of house is very quiet (good for reading, sleeping, talking).

When it comes time to sell, the house will command a higher price because the house costs less to operate. Our monthly utility bill is less than 10% of similar single family residences ($30 vs. $300 or more).

You drive a Prius to be more cost effective, reach greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions. Do the same for your house. Want to cut your monthly utility cost by one-half? Double your home's efficiency (and thereby cut the monthly operating cost).

 

Builders have had no interest at all in building energy-efficient houses. Vaulted ceilings may look good but it's a lot of useless space and the heated air goes right up in to that vaulted ceiling and seeps out in to the winter air. I don't care how much insulation they put in. All that warm air is going to waste up in those wonderful ceilings. If you want or need to get your heating bill down eventually, you'll need to block off all that useless space with a drop ceiling. It won't look as good but it'll be more energy efficient. Another stupid thing that builders do is put in slabs and have the heating ducts up high. That means that the space close to the floor (where your feet are, where you are) never gets any heat. Just because it's a relatively new house doesn't mean that it's what it needs to be.

Builders slap those things together real fast and cut corners by putting in windows that aren't that good at holding heat in. A windows installer that I've talked to says that the people with new houses get new windows put in quite often because they've found the OEM windows to be too cheaply made.

 

I just got my propane tank filled... I use it for heat (H/W Baseboard) and cooking. Paid $3.43 a gallon!!!!!

The irony is if I used more gas, my price would be lower because I saved so much by lowering the thermostat to 60 at night. 65 during the day that I fell below the usage need to get the 'cheaper price' (I used less than 800 gallons last 12 months)

I'll have to sharpen the pencil and see if I should use more gas to get a cheaper per gallon price or use less and get charged more, but use less...

 

Our energy company, Xcel, puts out one of those 60 ways to lower yer bill pamphlets. Probably every utility does. They recommend the blinds thing and we do that during the winter. It works well. We're also in Colorado where the sunlight is intense if the sun is out regardless of the season. Check your water heater's temp setting. Should be set at around 120 deg. Anything above that is just a waste. Good windows and doors are a plus. Weather stipping the doors is a good idea. Just this winter I noticed that we had a significant draft coming through the front door. A trip to home depot solved that.

Natural gas prices are not going to come down. The supply is too tight. Even without the 'Canes this summer/fall prices would have probably gone up. NG prices have a lot of upward pressure on them because a lot of the new power generating capacity in this country is NG fired. This is especially true of the peaking plants used to supply extra electricity during the summer.

If you're in a sunny area you might want to look into a solar thermal solution to easy your gas bill. You'll pay a premium up front, but after that you're earning it all back. As prices continue to climb your ROI will come to you faster and faster.