Here in the Mid-Atlantic, we are expecting a 50 degree (F) temperature drop over an 18 hour period from this afternoon's high near 69, to tomorrow morning's 10 with wind.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Been like this for weeks.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Here it was 49F yesterday, now its 26, and tonight it will be -3F. Fun stuff. It also snowing, about 3" so far, on top of ice.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Good year to be in the HHO business.

Depends on where. Almost no HHO users around here overall....most use Nat Gas or Propane (if in the boonies) at this point. I have nat gas. Considering how cold it has been the bills have not been bad at all thanks to a 93% efficiency furnace. I can only wonder what people with old draft 50-55% furances are forking out though. Not only are they 40%+ less efficient but that draft uses indoor air, thus pulling even more cold air in every crack in the house while its running..... $$$$$ Doubling the bill would not be pretty.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I had the highest monthly gas bill ever last month 176.00 +/-.
I bought that new Trane package unit 2-3 years ago and the Tstat drops to 62 from 8am till 6pm. & 10pm to 6am. all you can do is all you can do... then BOHICA.

That system sounds interesting. Ive got a 2 year old natural gas furnace running steam radiators, and the combination of a sick father in law, and a wife who gets cold fast has my bill topping out at past 350 bucks a month a few times this year. 176 seems damn cheap to me.

If I can afford it this year, im looking into some new windows, 80 year old drafty single pane is breaking the bank

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I am slowly replacing my house's storm windows with very high efficiency weathertight ones with Low-E glass. In the rooms I have completed so far it makes a huge difference...its just about as good as modern windows but you get to keep the nice original to the house wood single pane type.

I guess my gas bill averaging $145-175 this winter is pretty good considering I keep the t-stat for the house at 69F 24/7....my garage is partially heated (to about 55F) and the water entering my normal-type water heater is about 35 degrees this time of year.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Not to kick a healthy horse...but the next lil cold snap just starting up looks to be a spring version of polar vortex - 20* below normal for a few days followed by not up to normal for a long time.

Folks, brace yourself for more Detroit Free Press coverage

Energy costs will in generally increase for many factors. The prime one is it basically is a captive market.

Any one segment of the various forms of energy increases the others play catch up. I cannot say greed is rampant but what the market will bear is a more serious consideration by suppliers than ever.

The low average heating bills quoted so far would be appreciated up here in eastern Canada by many. One hundred and seventy dollars a month is a common electrical bill for houses with no electric heating today here. So forget electric baseboard or radiant heating.

The same house on oil if reasonably efficient may burn 500.00 a month in heating oil. Natural gas has had five price increase this winter. Air to air heat pumps are selling like crazy.

The average winter temperature is probably not much lower than many areas of the northern states either. Perhaps quite a bit warmer than some. The temperature is moderated by so much water surrounding the area. I have no ideal how the average person with modest income is bearing up with all the relatively new increases in essential costs. They have to feel like they are going backward because they are.

A word of warning from an older retiree. You should plan for this scenario where possible. Straight pensions may just Keep you alive basically. Do what is required to make retirement more comforatable earlier than later.

You cannot use todays costs as a yardstick for tomorrow. Yet the practice prevails I believe. We understand a percentage of older people cannot even afford to stop working at retirement age now.

Our personal costs of living are very low in comparison to many. This did not happen accidentally. As a result we have a healthy ongoing surplus. We have been blessed with good coincidence for a long time as a couple. I have no idea of why we are or have been deserving of this. I do have some unproven suspicions though. It seems to persist whatever the reason is though so far.

This winter is a good wake up call to make your house more 'energy efficient'.

Sealing air leaks, especially in top floor ceilings around plumbing stacks, electrical fixtures and chimneys, and around the main floor rim joist in the basement will save the most energy. Most American houses waste about 1/3 of the heating energy in uncontrolled air leaks that also make the house dry, uncomfortable and unhealthy. The ideal winter indoor humidity is 35-40%. Another major leakage area is around windows and doors between the frame and the wall stud. Spray foam is the best material for airsealing.

The next best way to reduce wasted energy is to make the heating system more efficient. Have burners tuned for maximum efficiency. If you heat with oil consider upgrading to a high efficiency [85-87%] 'retention head' burner like a Riello. If you heat with gas then a high efficiency [92-95%] condensing furnace or boiler is a very good investment.

Insulation upgrades should always start with the least insulated components. Exposed concrete basement walls are a huge heat loss, especially above grade to 2ft below grade. The best insulation in this case is rigid foam board on the outside. Animals have their fur on the outside for good reason.

These recommendations come from the experience of hundreds of energy audits in Canada's cold northern climate.

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“Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

this is a seriously good post by someone who has been doing an excellent impersonation of a troll in every other thread I have seen him populate.

My only disagreement is in using spray foam instead of fiberglass. The expansion and contraction of the wood will create cracks in the insulation or in the wood frame IMHO so the flexible fiberglass stuffed in cracks around the door frame is the way to go.

Everything else is right on the money.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The spray foam we use doesn't break down or shrink. Fiberglass, unless it's packed in very tightly, just acts as a filter. One cheap and effective material for that application is twisted plastic bread bags or vegetable bags. They expand to fill the space as they untwist slightly. The other material we use around door and window frames is called 'backer rod'; it's a foam plastic 'rope' that comes in various diameters. The building supply stores here sell it by the foot.


as for comments, I give back what I get.

.

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“Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

We are snowless here in Pittsburgh for a couple weeks. Friend wanting to take advantage of the 50 deg 'spikes' decided to till her garden beds with one of those Tee handle twisty tools and found out about 4" down its still frozen.

We've noticed here that the frost is the deepest late in winter/spring when the top layer of soil is thawed. It's common to see a bottom-of-frost depth of 12 feet on bare ground with no snow cover; and that's in a normal year.

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“Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” ― Robert A. Heinlein