how hard are you going to get hit this winter

[Van]

With weather events coupled with global terrorism and now reports of a slowing economy we are going to be hit from all sides by higher costs of living each day. Heating prices are reportedly going up as much as %70 in some area's, milk is $3.19 a gallon where I live, gas has dropped to about $2.65 for regular unleaded, and other daily items are on the rise so my grocery bill is going up each time I go shopping. How hard are some of you getting hit now as the weather is changing and the prices are going up, what are you doing to minimize these higher cost's, and what are you sacrificing from your daily life?

 

[Purogamer]

The economy is strong, heh heh heh...It's growing slowly, but it is growing, heh heh heh

<grins like a retard>

Anyways, drink less milk. That'll save money, turn the heat down a little bit (you won't notice...), etc...Little things, that's all you can do man, that's all you can do...

 

[hdtvtechno]

Do a Home energy audit
Clauk up ever little hole in the house, and outside
Replace your windows and doors, heating systems.
Install more insulation in the walls and attic
Double roof your home roof.


It all helps alot

 

[Mark_AR]

Prepaid my heating bill back in July. I am set 'this winter'. Now if the fuel co. doesn't go belly up...

Closing off 2 rooms I don't use.

Next year will be a different story. I will be getting a new heating/cooling system. Mine is 20+ years old and new standards are 93% efficiency. With equipment costs -vs- energy savings, I can recoup my costs in 5-7 years max.

Gasoline: Nothing. I still drive and gripe. $2.499 today in nearby town! Woot!

I paid 2.559 yesterday near Little Rock.

When gas hit $1.75 I was going to get a 200 gallon tank buried in my back yard... Shoulda did it.. *sigh*

 

[Van]

Well Im in a rental so Im trying to get my landlord to add some insulation to the attic and some batting to the crawl space. The windows are from wwll but Im using a removable sealer to seal all the seams and crevices, the furnace was put in 3 years ago right after we moved in. Im thinking of closing up the kids bedroom wich would save about 1/4 on the heating bill because that room gets cold easily from the attic entrance being in that room. Gas prices are down to $2.49 here and Im doing a tune up this weekend to get my mileage back up some, combined city and highway averages my fuel economy to 20.7mpg when both are factored in together. Groceries will now become the store brands and the lesser named brands and some serious bargain shopping. Next year I will be moving to a newer place either in montana or in tenesse unless dish decides to open a dns in the nola region but north of it.

 

[raymo721]

Van, go to Home Depot or Lowes and get the plastic kit to put over your windows. They have kits for indoor or outdoor use, and for patio doors also. They're the kind that you use a hair dryer to get the wrinkles out and it shrinks the plasic so you can still see clearly out the window. You'd be surprised how much draft is cut by this stuff. I use it every winter and it really helps.---Ray

 

[cdru]

Next year will be a different story. I will be getting a new heating/cooling system. Mine is 20+ years old and new standards are 93% efficiency. With equipment costs -vs- energy savings, I can recoup my costs in 5-7 years max.

If you can, at least purchase the outdoor AC condenser before the end of the year. Government efficient ratings are going up. All condensers must have a minimum seer rating of 13 after this year. You can get some steals on 10 or 12 seers now until the end of the year. After the end of the year, manufacturers can't sell them.

 

[swimwivsquid]

Whatever you do don't move to UK. Gas is $8-9 a gallon. Heating costs are through the roof and going up again! Our economy is growing acording to our government (but only for financial institutions & lawyers) I think I'm going to get a boat and head south
Regards SWS

 

[Frank Jr.]

Milk down here is over 5 dollars a gallon. Been this way for a good while. S.C. Electric and Gas Co. wants to raise rates about 66%. Our public service commission which is our regulatory agency votes on it today for approval. Pretty much a rubber stamp. Not so funny thing though my electric company is owned by the Scanna Corp. that also owns the company that they buy there gas from. A few years ago they were granted what they called a weather normalization fee(price increase) because we had a mild winter and didn't sell as much gas as they thought they would. Heres the American Dream. Work hard buy a nice house and a car. Freeze in the winter burn up in the summer and can't afford to drive. We will make it some how,always do. My family and I will just bundle up, huddle up, run the fire place a lot and watch our satellite tv. One thing though they have said there is a shortage of natural gas. Everytime I see a oil rig on tv I see that flame going out the top. That is natural gas they burn off to reduce pressure on the oil well.

 

[Neutron]

TXU around here has already announced they are seeking a 24% hike in rates. The gas company around here is even worse. They are seeking a 60-90% increase.

Thankfully we have our choice of electric companies around here.

 

[Frank Jr.]

We'll heat are houses with the heat given off of our dvr's.

 

[riffjim4069]

We pre-purchased $2000 worth of propane at $1.99 - the wife always over buys...even though I keep the temp between 63-65. We use a heat pump for the upstairs...electricity went up 28%. Have two fireplaces (one propane, one wood burning), but neither one is very efficient. I was going to install a wood burning stove a couple years ago, but never got around to it....really regretting this decision since we have a ready supply of free firewood.

 

[StevenD]

Im thinking that the way things are going, we wont even need to turn on the heat this winter. Almost 100 degree days in October is just crazy!

 

[Neutron]

Im thinking that the way things are going, we wont even need to turn on the heat this winter. Almost 100 degree days in October is just crazy!

Tell me about it!! I'm still having to use the A/C in both our car and our apartment.

 

[Van]

Texas here I come. Gas dropped to $2.35 a gallon here in metro detroit yesterday so thats a plus, I wont be able to use the cello window kits as some of the windows have the blinds outside of the frame and others have them inside the frame area and dont allow for the use of these types of winterizers. If I cant get the landlord to pop for some crawl space batting then Im going to buy some straw bales and pack them around the foundation on the outside to cut down on heat loss and drafts. Ive already done a patch job on the inner door frame to the crawl space and covered the bottom lip of the door with sand, only other spot thats a problem is the crawlspace venting blockunder the gas meter wich I will be sealing up for the winter here shortly.

The attic has that raw processed cottin type of insulation stuff and it barely fills the cieling rafter spaces in most of the house. The window a/c unit is getting wrapped in an old blanket and then in plastic sheeting on the outside while the inside will be plastic covered as well.

Ive been looking at alternative housing materials for building my own home and Im leaning heavily towards either strawbale home construction, earth bag construction, or tire/compressed earth construction. I wont be doing any of these here in michigan because the state is not alternative materials friendly and the cost of land has become absurd.

 

[Neutron]

I told my wife once we get a house again I will be changing the HVAC system to a heat pump.

I'll also invest in some solar panels and a solar water heater.

 

[Van]

I think the other thing Im going to look into is recessed earth building where you build the home into a hill side. I also remember a show from some years ago where a family purchased an old missile silo and bunker from the goverment for $40,000 and spent another $40,000 or so renovating it to be more liveable. Its not a bad idea considering the thickness of the cement used to protect these locations, biggest bill you would have is your electric and if you are into renewable energy you can go solar and wind and be set after a few years.

Ive heard about a woman on npr a few years back also who purchased and retired airliner body and had it shipped to her property minus the wings. She had it converted over to be liveable including plumbing and wiring. You have to figure that these planes have to be well insulated for high altitudes and theyr very sound proof so doing what she did may seem crazy but its an idea.