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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Easy Changes Can Trim Your Other Gas Bill

By Alan Zelicoff
Science Consultant
      Although summer's heat is barely starting, it's already time to start thinking about winter energy use. In about 100 days, just as we're paying on credit cards for $5 gasoline burned for vacations and staring at electricity bills that will be about 20 percent higher than last year, we'll shortly be in for another shock: natural gas and propane, the heating and cooking fuels in most New Mexico households, will probably be 50 percent more expensive than last winter based on future market pricing for natural gas. Utilities in New Mexico pass on the cost of the commodity itself and add a fee for delivering gas to your home. With taxes included, 1 “therm” of gas — the amount a typical residential furnace burns in about 30 to 40 minutes — will, the markets tell us, be $1.50, compared to $1 on average last winter.
    The price rise in gas could be even greater if forecasts for higher-than-average summer temperatures across the country hold true. That's because natural gas is the most commonly used fuel for electricity generation when demand peaks in the middle of the day or sultry summer evenings. Supplies around the world are already tight because gas is also used to make fertilizer and countless industrial chemicals. Burgeoning demand in newly industrialized Asian economies combined with prodigious U.S. consumption could easily push prices nearer $2 per therm, just as has occurred with gasoline.
    The average New Mexico household uses about 700 therms for heating in the winter, so a 50 percent increase in costs means a lot: $350 per home and a great deal more for bigger houses or for those who depend on propane.
    But there are simple actions you can start to take now to mitigate the impact. The key to efficient use of all forms of energy is to recognize that our habits — routine, daily activities that we generally give little thought to — account for huge amounts of waste, but it takes a little time to change them. Think of energy efficiency as a game of inches: While there is no single item that will magically free you from spiraling costs, put a few new habits into action and they add up meaningfully. Here's how to start:
    First, have your furnace serviced. If it's old, while vents are cleaned and air filters changed, the gas guzzling pilot light can be shut off (don't do this yourself unless you know you can do so safely). In fact, if your furnace is old enough to have a pilot light, think about replacing it; the investment will recover the cost in fuel savings in from five to seven years. Just turning off the pilot light through the summer months will save about 100 therms (sparing your wallet $150 and the atmosphere nearly a ton of CO2.)
    Next, add to the insulation in your attic (and crawl space if you have one). My wife and I, hardly spry nor handy with home improvement, easily did this ourselves. The cost of the insulation, about $400 in our case, will be paid back in around two years, and you'll be more comfortable in the summer as well.
    Adjust the thermostat on your water heater so that the hot water coming out of your shower head doesn't scald you without having to mix in cold water. Any higher temperature merely wastes gas, and it adds up rapidly. For a family of four, just adjusting the hot water temperature downward will save 100 therms a year. Spend $5 on a low-flow showerhead and save even more in energy and water bills.
    Hang up a clothes line. New Mexico's abundant sunlight and low humidity means you can easily dry your clothes year 'round (we haven't used our clothes dryer in 15 years.) If you think it doesn't matter much, think again. Just drying three weekly loads of wet towels, jeans or other heavy materials will cost $70 a year and dump 1,000 pounds of CO2 into the air annually. (If you use an electric dryer, figure on $100 and 1,600 pounds of CO2). You can avoid it all by using the solar energy pouring into your backyard, no expensive panels required. If you use the clothes line to dry everything, your savings could easily double.
    When you cook, get in the habit of putting lids on pots and pans and use your microwave for heating water for a cup of tea or soup. While it may not sound like much, these little changes will easily save $75 a year and if you have an electric range, cost savings are even greater.
    Finally, look for cracks around window seals and doors and start fixing them now. It's much easier to do when the weather is nice and there's lots of light to see by. While you're at it, insulate any plugs or switches that are on outside walls as they're a source of heat loss in the winter (and even unwanted heat gain in the summer.)
    Doing these simple items slashed our gas bill by more than half, and based on my experiences with energy audits in residences all over the city, you'll be able to think of lots of other things to do. With the inexorable rise in natural gas prices the suggestions above will pay off starting right away and into the future.
    Alan Zelicoff is an Albuquerque physician, physicist and consultant and author of “More Harm than Good” (AMACOM).
   

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