Baby It's Cold Outside!

Who would have thought it would be so cold outside during this day in May that I would have to put my windows down because the heat came on!

That is exactly what happened to me today! Here in Philly the temperatures were in the 50's - hard to believe but it got so chilly inside that the heat started to come on so I had to put down all the windows. Don't want a big heating bill anytime soon!

I'm sure the weather will get warmer tomorrow but for now my windows are closed and the heat is on!

$187 Heating Bill!

Don't get me wrong - I love my house - but oh the heating bill!

It's been colder than usual the past 2 months and my heating bill is surely reflecting that!

My home is an older home and the windows - I believe - are still the original windows. There is one window in particular upstairs where I can definitely feel a draft when it is cold and windy outside but I have yet to repair that window! The other windows are still working fine and the doors have those thingies on them - meaning a flap-like plastic that goes on the bottom of the door to keep the wind out.

I have already had my home assessed as to how to help save on my heating bill and I did recive a new boiler heating system courtesy of one of those government grants programs. I don't know if I'll get my home re-evaluated again because nothing has really changed as far as any improvements or repairs to the house is concerned.

I have a gas heater and my stove also runs on gas as well. Now when my home was assessed for energy efficiency I remember the man telling me that using the oven uses a lot of gas and to try and use it as less as possible but I just can't see not enjoying the use of my stove from time to time! I mean what's the point in having a stove if you don't use it?

During the summer I can't complain because my heating bill is sometimes less than $20! It's just during the winter months when the heating bill is much higher (much, much higher!)

I am grateful though to even be able to HAVE heat and it's such a nice feeling to be able to come into a warm house after being out in the cold!

I just have to compromise! I work at home so that gives me some "leeway" as far as my income is concerned - meaning that I don't have a fixed salary and I can earn as much as I want (and am able to). I just have to earn more money and budget my heating expenses!

I like coming home to a warm house!

By the way, I'm still working on that fireplace!

I Can Feel The Chilliness Of The Air!

I can't believe that it is getting so much more chillier than what seemed only a few days ago! The first official start of the autumn / fall season is next week but I just wasn't prepared for it to be coming so soon! Time is going by so quickly!

Once I found out that the temperature would drop to the 60's during the night I wondered about my thermostat! If the temperature dropped to the 60's then it would definitely come on and that would mark the first time that the thermostat would be coming on since last spring!

Of course I worry about my heating bill being too high (something I have to work on!) and I didn't want the heat to "kick" on too soon! But then again I don't want to freeze in my own house either!

Keeping in mind past records of my heating bills, the winter months are the most expensive - as my heating bill has been as high as $300! (There was a grant program that I applied for last year and got.) So I just want to delay the heat kicking in for as long as I can!

But this is the perfect time to do some reflecting though because after seeing the devastation that has occurred in Texas over Hurricane Gustav, I realize that I have a lot to be grateful for!

And I VOW to become a Millionaire!

There Is Definitely A Chill In The Air!

Silly me! I thought that once I opened my windows that the weather would stay warm enough to keep them up. Not so tonight!

I thought it was a little bit chilly but I thought that it was just me! But then I felt the heat coming from the radiators and I knew that it was cold enough in the house for the heating system to kick on!

So I closed the windows and I'm thinking about drinking a nice hot cup of hot chocolate!

Spring is still here with all of its varying temperatures!

Heating Emergency!

Yesterday I noticed that it was a bit cold in the house! Not unusual because the kitchen is always cold (I have to have the whole kitchen insultated). But then I noticed that it was cold throughout the entire house. The upstairs is usually warmer than the downstairs but not yesterday!

It felt like there was a window or door open somewhere (the temps are in the 30's to low 40's range) so I'm checking doors and windows - even the ones in the basement. They were all closed and secure. Okay so the next thing was to check the thermostat - which is set to 69 degrees. The temperature of the house was 65 degrees. So I'm thinking to myself that maybe it just hadn't "kicked" in yet to warm up to 69 degrees. So I go upstairs for the night.

I notice that it is getting colder. The air feels cold and everything - like the furniture is cold to the touch. (Do you know how it feels to have to sit on a cold toilet seat - LOL!) I thought maybe the problem could be with the radiators so I decided to "bleed" one - a lot of air did come out but after that nothing because it remained cold to the touch.

I look at the thermostate (actually its a thermoter-like thing that's shaped like a clock) and it says 60 degrees!

So now I go down into the basement to check the boiler. It looks alright to me. I thought that it could be a simple case of the pilot light being out - but the pilot light wasn't out.

Since by then it was around 9:30 at night I couldn't call the people that installed the boiler (which I was able to get with a grant and didn't have to pay a thing for them to come out and look at it) so I had to wait for the next day. (Note here: I am so grateful that this occured on a weekday instead of the weekend!)

I called the people up and they sent a guy out that looked at it.

Guess what the problem was?

It seemed that the guys that installed the heater put a mismatched connector to one of the lines! The new guy replaced the connecter and now the house is slowly but surely warming up!

Thank Goodness!

Does Anyone Else Have This Problem?

I can't figure out why its so cold in the kitchen!

During the summertime when it was warmer it didn't matter because when its warm outside then its warm inside - including the kitchen.

But earlier this afternoon as I was in the kitchen eating dinner it occurred to me just how cold the kitchen was. The temperature outside was in the 40's plus its a very windy day today.

The kitchen it seems is the coldest room in the house and I really can't figure out why. I thought it may have had something to do with the insultaion around the back door and window but it just seems that there's not enough open airspaces in the kitchen that would warrant it being so cold.

Now if I'm cooking in the kitchen it gets quite warm and I'm wondering if that has anything to do with why it would be cold otherwise.

I mean are kitchens meant to be so cold?

I have seen pictures of kitchens with fireplaces in them and I'm thinking about adding one to mine. The only problem is where would the fireplace go? The only place where I could fit a fireplace in the kitchen is where the refridgerator is standing right now and I need a refridgerator - LOL!

But I would be interested in knowing if others have this same problem or is this the way that it is meant to be - and if it is - why?

Ambience Versus The Heating Bill?

I managed to get an energy audit for my home from my local utility company. The woman on the phone said that it appeared that my gas usage was "a little bit high". I found out where this "a little bit high" came from.

You see my stove is a gas stove and I do use it a lot! I like to slowly boil water in my tea kettle for things like when I want some tea (and now that the weather is getting colder - hot chocolate) or when I'm making a stew. So it seems that that is where the "a little high" gas usage is coming from. The man that came and did the energy audit mentioned to me that he uses things like a crock pot which is plugged in to the electric as opposed to using the stove when he makes something like stew.

So now it seems I have this little dilemna about ambience versus the heating bill. I like the way that the house smells when food is slowly cooking and I also like knowing that I have hot water boiling for my tea or hot chocolate. It just doesn't seem the same having a crock pot versus having the food/stew slowly cooking on the stove. So heating bill be damned!

There's always something that needs to be repaired.....

I mentioned before in some previous posts about how I was having trouble with my heating system now that the weather is turning colder.

It was working perfectly fine last year around this time and I thought that as the weather got colder the heat would automatically "click" on. When it didn't the first thing I thought was wrong was that I didn't "bleed" the radiators - so that's what I did. Still no heat!

So the next thing I did was call the people that installed it. They said that it was probably something simple like the pilot light being out. So I checked that! The pilot light was on.

Since they charge $69 for a service call I decided that since I got the heating system with a grant maybe they wouldn't charge me anything for looking at it to see why the heating system wasn't working.

I had to wait a few weeks in order to get in touch with them since their program didn't start again for the year yet but then it was relatively warm outside and my need wasn't immediate.

Well the weather got colder and so did the house and subsequently so did I! I finally got in touch with them and explained the situation and they sent someone out to look at it. He came to the conclusion that the problem with the heating system was the thermostat - because the heater itself was only two years old. So he noted the problem and told me that a contractor would be doing the work.

Well the contractor came out and guess what the problem was?

It seems the chimney is collapsing and it was collapsing into the chute resulting in a lot of dust gathering thus clogging up the chute meaning that the heater was working overtime and it just overworked itself!

How about that!????? I mean I know that I have a chimney but you know it never occurred to me that the chimney would collapse. I mean the house is over 50 years old and I don't remember any repairs being done to the chimney for at least 20 years so I'm sure that its not in the best of conditions!

But it never occurred to me once that the problem had to do with the chimney!

Pilot Light? - Dilema!

Okay so its finally getting colder after days of high humidity and heat. As a matter of fact its quite breezy outside which makes it feel even colder!

So that means its time for the inside of the house to get warmer.

I kind of thought that the colder temperature inside the house would make the heater (actually its called a boiler) come on automatically - but it didn't. So I go through my its-starting-to-get-cold routine that has to be gone through at the start of fall each year by "bleeding" the radiators. I hear the water circulating in the radiators and thought that everything was ok. So I turn up the thermostat to a higher temperature (around 75 degrees) thinking that it would warm the house up sooner - it didn't! So now I'm wondering what's wrong. I know it can't be the condition of the boiler because its only a year (if that) old. So I call the company that installed it and the guy on the phone says that it sounds as if the pilot light is out. Ok, I know WHAT a pilot light is but that is about it.

So he tells me that it should be a simple fix and that all I really have to do is light the pilot light and that the instructions for doing so should be there on the boiler itself (it is). Fear comes over me! I don't know what to do! So I go into the basement and find the instructions that are on the boiler. Now first of all there is a piece of the boiler that is partially blocking the instructions which makes it hard to read them and the "piece" is not removable! So one of the first things that I see in the instructions is that the controls should be visible but if they are not then the control panel should be removed - the what? I took a piece off but what was inside didn't look like the picture on the instructions. Plus there is this warning that if the instructions are followed exactly then serious harm could result! So now I have pictures in my mind of me blowing up the house (along with myself included).

Since I don't know what to do I have to wait until the company sends somebody out. They charge $69 for that but I'm hoping since I got the boiler with a grant that they will look at it and not charge me. I just don't want to do anything wrong (or explosive - if you catch my meaning)

Just in case you're curious, this is a picture of what my boiler looks like. Small isn't it? But last winter it kept my house toasty warm! The brand name is Peerless. It seems that my old boiler was so old that the company had went out of business a long time ago!

The Cost Of Heating Is Expected To Rise!

Here is a link to an article that talks about how the heating costs will rise this winter.

I'm really not surprised by this news - just a little disappointed.

It's getting harder and harder for people to make ends meet! And I'm sure that this is not welcomed news for them!

Fortunately for me I was able to get a new heating system with the help of a grant that Rose help me find.

I am also on a monthly "budget" plan that my utility company offers where you pay the same amount each month and it balances out your bill payments for the year.

In the winter time I have seen my heating bill be as much as $300!

Just in case you're wondering what kind of heating sytem I have it's a boiler system that is in the basement and it brings heat to the radiators that are in every room.

*** Article: Every Day That The Furnace Works Is A Good Day – By AlanDetwiler ***

"The things that make our lives better -- our homes, food, clothing, andour families -- should make us feel good by just knowing we have them. Butthose important things likely have been a part of our lives for a longtime. Human nature turns our attention away from the familiar. So weseldom feel very happy about what we have. But if something important tous is taken away and then is somehow recovered, we feel joy andappreciation.Too bad we humans can't feel so fortunate about things before they aretaken away. How great we would feel about our health, our abilities tomove around, our mental abilities to reason and remember, and the numerousother things that are out of our minds just because we take them forgranted. Shouldn't we make 'asset awareness' a higher priority in ourlives? What better way is there to get more out of life? That little bitof wisdom would make us happier if we could just get ourselves to put itinto practice.My furnace stopped working late one evening last winter when thetemperature outside was heading toward the lower twenties overnight. Therewould not be a furnace repair shop open at that time of day. I have quitea few tools, am mechanically inclined, and have some knowledge of how thefurnace works. So I went down into the basement and started removing thepump/blower assembly from the oil-burning furnace so it could beinspected. When the mounting bolts were removed and the assembly takenout, several small pieces of shattered plastic could be seen lying at thebottom of the combustion chamber. The plastic shaft linking the motor tothe oil pump had shattered into many small pieces. There would be no heatin the house overnight and probably a good part of the next day.The temperature in the house had dropped into the lower 60s around 8 p.m.when I noticed the furnace was not coming on, as it should. By 10 p.m.when I had discovered the root cause, it was in the mid 50s. Fortunately,I have a lot of extra blankets. I took three, folded each in half for atotal of six extra layers and put them on the bed. I put on a coat, asecond pair of pants, heavy socks, a knit hat, and knit gloves and went tobed.I was quite comfortable that night. The next morning, the temperature inthe house was 48 degrees F. I was dressed warmly and was reasonablycomfortable as long as I kept moving quickly and didn't slow down. Theurge to stay warm felt like an overpowering concern. A call to the nearestfurnace repair shop (about 10 miles away) gave me the good news that areplacement part was in stock. The $12 price seemed like a real bargain toget back a heated home again. Just after noon I had completed the repairjust in time to eat lunch as the house warmed up to the balmy 68 degreeswhere the thermostat was set. What luxury!We have so much. We heat our homes. We provide ourselves with food andother necessities. We have many luxuries and creature comforts. Every oneof those good things should be celebrated and enjoyed. All of what we haveis special -- the newly acquired, the familiar, the big/important things,and the little things. It is special to be able to prepare a plate of foodfor supper, take it out into the yard, and sit down in the sun and eat it.If that doesn't seem special, visit a nursing home (most of us will livein one some day). Most of the residents there are wheelchair bound. Theyeat in their rooms or in a large dining hall with other residents. Thoseare their only two choices.When I walk out onto my lawn with my plate of food, I am going to enjoyit. I hope I always remember -- every day that the furnace works is a goodday.

About the Author: Alan Detwiler writes about things to do to have fun.

His website is http://www.leisureideas.com

Well the heater came on for the first time this season

I still had the windows up!

For some reason I just walked by the radiator and felt that it was warm. The heater hasn't been on since - I believe - May. The temps are supposed to go down into the 40's tonight and I'm sure that the heater will kick back on again.

Like they say the seasons are changing!

I Can't Believe that the boiler is leaking!

Remember I mentioned that I was able to get a new boiler.  It was from a grant program that provided free repair or replacement and my boiler was in such bad - or should I say that it was just old - condition that they replaced it free of charge!  But when I went down to the basement (for something else) I noticed that there was water on the basement floor - something I thought that I would never see again.  Well I was a little bit rattled by that but I should be grateful that I was even able to get the darned thing for free.

At first, after seeing the puddle of water I kind of panicked wondering if something was going to "blow up" but I do remember the previous boiler when it leaked (and man did it leak!).  But just to be on the safe side I'm going to call the place and ask if there is something that can be done.  This boiler is only a few months old and I surely don't want anything to be wrong with it!

It's not only cold but its windy too!

One of the problems with living in an older house is that you can feel it when the winds are blowing strong!  Right next to me I can feel the cold air from the window.  Of course the window does have a crack in it that should really get fixed and that would probable help my heating bill as well.

The Grant Came Through!

The heater was replaced with a brand new one!  And best of all I didn't have to pay ANYTHING!  The men came and examined the old heater and determined that it was too old and too damaged (water was leaking from it everywhere!) to repair so I got a brand new one!  They had a heck of a time getting it down the narrow steps of my basement (remember its an older house) but they managed to do it with the help of a long rope!

So now it sits in my basement humming along while outside the temps are in the low 30's with snow (and ice) on the ground and more snow is expected (1 to 3 inches!).  I am soooooooo glad to have this because I've been told that this kind of job might cost upwards of $2,000.00 or more - money which I sorely did not have! 

What a very wonderful (early) Christmas gift!