It is getting cooler here in New England, but not too much. I only had the heat on a few times. As for jig-saw puzzles, I don't have the room anymore in my small condo. I will admit, I am also too addicted to TV !
It was in the mid-40s and raining today, and tomorrow is supposed to be much the same. A lot of our snow has melted.
We have had our fair share of snow and we also had some colder weather.. For the coming week or so, we are going into our January thaw which means daytime temperatures will be above freezing every day..
We have actually moved some of the flowers back outside for the next week or so, since the weather is supposed to be as warm as in the 70's, and then dropping down to the 50's by the end of this month. As long as it is this warm, it will be good for the plants to be outside and get some sunshine and fresh rain instead of being in the house. Every year, it is the project of spring and fall to put the plants outside for the summer, and then bring them back inside before it gets too cold in the fall. I imagine we will have more of the cold weather before winter ends; but at least now , the weather is great.
I thought we were pretty well ready for this winter and, overall, we've done okay. However, with the past few days being the coldest of the season, I guess I wasn't prepared for the amount of heating oil we'd be using up all at once. Last night, I found that the oil gauge was near empty, but once it gets near the empty mark we usually still have a few days, only I didn't know how long it had been on empty. It costs $60 extra to get someone to bring heating oil (kerosene actually, in the winter) at night or on weekends, so I thought I'd just put a few cans of kerosene in over the weekend and call them here at the regular price on Monday. I got up early (for me) this morning, a little before seven. The boiler was running so we still had heating oil then. I drove the the gas station to buy ten gallons of kerosene, put that in, then went back for ten more. After putting that in, I found that the boiler wasn't lit. It must have run out while I was getting the first load of kerosene, and before I returned with it. Once our boiler runs out, it's hard to get it going again. In fact, in the seventeen years that I have been here I think I've been able to successfully start it only once. Of course, we don't let it run out on a regular basis, but we have run out before and I usually have to get someone from the oil company to start it up for me. Plus, once it runs out, it usually requires more than a few cans of kerosene to get it going again. When it runs out, it gets air in the line, and I think it's hard to bleed the line while the tank remains low. So we had to have them deliver a load of oil today, although I really hate paying the extra $60 for a weekend delivery. Tomorrow, we're going to get set up on a plan that they have where we pay a specified amount each month and they keep track of our oil levels, and keep it filled. We've done that before and it's a comfortable feeling. However, if oil prices go down after I have signed on for a year, it can cost more than if I just bought it as I needed it. On the other hand, if oil prices go up, it can save me money.
The better choice between the two is to safe than to be sorry. I had to make that decision a few months back and I value my peace of mind so I paid more to keep it that way.
Most of the year, we use heating oil but in the winter, we switch to kerosene because it's not as likely to freeze. Our oil tank is outdoors. Our boiler will burn either one.
I e never used heating oil either....just always had a furnace, usually in the basement but here my furnace is in my attic...I've never seen it. It's a system with my A/C. The water heater is bolted to a corner in the garage...it's the law, in case of earthquake.
This is what my system looks like in Fresno. This summer I had the A/C unit replaced for $5,000. To replace the furnace and everything else to a more efficient system would have cost $14,000! Didn't do that, I can't live without A/C but could without heat if I had to.
Heating is sort of a matter of life or death here, and our electricity costs are high. Despite the fact that many of our rivers are dammed for hydroelectricity, most of them are owned by Canadian companies who sell the electricity generated to Canada. We have a hydroelectric dam within a couple of miles from us but we have to buy our electricity from Bangor, with added transport costs.
That sucks! Gas and electric isn't cheap here either...costs are always rising...plus we live in a state that you really don't have to use it all the time. My winter bills are low..spring and fall also low but summer is a killer. I paid $100 last month for gas and electric...my daughter paid $900! Last time I was there, I didn't turn on the gas fireplace for Pickles in the morning. People are complaining in the neighborhood app about PG&E and they're also complaining about solar...something going on with that but I don't understand....For some reason that seems to be tied in with PG&E And solar isn't cheaper.
Days of old, each utility only offered one choice with which to purchase their product. Now, there are several companies to choose from for each utility necessary to run a household. There is no Houston Lighting and Power Co. anymore, but I have about five different companies vying for my money, and clogging up my mailbox every day. Remember Ma Bell? I can't even tell you how many phone services are out there nowadays. So much for the Paper Reduction Act, and yes I have a large mailbox at the edge of the road. In today's world, in this this country, to be able to live off the grid, you better have some money, or be willing to live in conditions of 100 years ago.
Well the company that installed my New A/C unit just left after doing their free maintenance check up and changing my filter...I get one more free visit. These two were included in with the price of the unit. After that it's $168 a year for 2 checkups....anybody know if this is a fair price? I just also found out that they also do plumbing, I need a plumber because my garbage disposal quit working, so I'll call them instead of my another plumbing company I've used. I also just finished writing a good review on Yelp for them...they were really nice guys. Dave just started a week ago and his wife is expecting a baby next week. He said he liked my house
We have the best of both words as far as cooling and heating goes. We put in a whole-house A/C system a few years ago and for a few dollars more, we upgraded to a heat pump system with a digital thermostat. Nothing very exotic about it, just an ordinary A/C unit outside with a small accessory unit installed inside our existing high-efficiency gas furnace. When I select cooling the A/C unit comes on and the heater fan circulates cooled air. When I select heating the A/C unit reverses and collects heat from the outside air and the heater fan circulates it throughout the house. This system works well down to 20F but isn't very efficient below 35F. In cold weather we just use straight natural gas heat. Five years ago we used the heat pump a lot for heating in cool weather because our electricity rares were absurdly low and natural gas prices were high. Our situation is reversed now; natural gas prices are low and electricity rates are much higher so we use gas.