How much is to much for natural gas?

Have you looked at how Centerpoint Energy now charges you for your natural gas? Centerpoint has put in place a new rate structure that charges you more money per therm of gas the more you use. Centerpoint says this is to promote high gas users to find more efficient heating options and conserve gas. What I find strange is usually the more of something you buy the cost goes down. When you buy bulk at Costco you get a discount because the cost per transaction goes down when volume goes up. With the new plan a tier 3-5 customer will pay 25-48% above the cost of gas. Minnesota Attorney General is now investigating this program as they have found 42% of Centerpoint customers in MN top 10 highest poverty communities are paying the max tier 5 rates. These are the people that have old homes and heating systems that they can’t afford to improve the efficiency. So is it fair to charge them an inflated high price because of this? Especially knowing if one customer uses a lot of a product looking at a business side they should be paying the lowest rate. Comfort Matters is a huge supporter of helping our customers save money on energy use and we want people to come to us for answers. But why could a company just raise their rates like Centerpoint when a homeowner has no other option but buy gas from them? You can read the Fox News article about the Attorney General request to suspend the current rate structure here: http://ow.ly/58n89

Why day light savings time? Why not Arizona?

Did you ever wonder why there is daylight savings time?

Energy savings is the root to this all. Thank you to www.abc15.com Chris Kline for helping answer some of these questions. So as you will learn below saving energy in America is what started this, but as everything there is always a catch.

The history of daylight saving is tied to energy conservation. Switching to DST in the summer means more sunlight at night, which in turn means homes don't have to turn on lights as early.

According to the U.S. Government , that leads to energy and fuel savings.

Over the course of the last 100 years, the United States (including Arizona) has gone on Daylight Saving time in both World War 1 and World War 2, but then gone off after the wars were over.

In 1973, a more permanent federal law was enacted to help with the oil shortages of that time. But Arizona asked for – and was eventually granted an exemption. Unlike almost everywhere else, Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time (DST), and hasn't done so for the last 40 years.

According to an Arizona Republic editorial from 1969, the reason was the state's extreme heat. If Arizona were to observe Daylight Saving Time, the sun would stay out until 9 p.m. in the summer (instead of 8 p.m., like it does currently).

"[Data] clearly show that we must wait until about 9 p.m. DST to start any night-time activity such as drive-in movies, moonlight rides, convincing little children it’s bedtime, etc," the editorial stated. "And it’s still hot as blazes!"

Another Arizona Republic editorial from 1968 stated, "Drive-in theaters, the parents of small children, the bars, the farmers and those who do business with California" were against Daylight Saving time while "power companies, the evening golfers, the late risers, and the people with business interests on the Eastern seaboard" were for it.

But don't be fooled by Arizona's DST stance. Not every corner of Arizona is exempt from Daylight Saving Time today.

The Navajo Indian Reservation follows DST, but the reservation stretches across four different states.

If all of Arizona were to re-evaluate its stance and choose to observe DST, here's what would change.

Instead of sunrise at 5:30 a.m. during most of the summer, the sun would come up at 6:30 a.m. And at the end of the day, the sun would set at 9 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. Winter sunrise and sunset times would remain the same.

So what's the catch?

DST has many benefits on sporting, entertainment and other activities after work, but have had questionable effects on farming and other night time entertainment that is tied to sunlight.

A 2009 Michigan State University published by the American Psychological Association study showed that DST has adverse effects on the American workplace.

"Following [the start and end of DST], employees slept 40 min less, had 5.7% more workplace injuries, and lost 67.6% more work days because of injuries than on non phase change days," explained the study, which looked at mining injuries between 1983 and 2006 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

If you are feeling pretty board or just got that geeky urge like I did you can also find a lot of info on DST at Wikipedia.

Tap Water Scalds: Safety Alert

The temperature a water heater should be has multiple answers. Below is a document from the "U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission". 120 degrees has been a common answer. Homeowners that have electric off peak water heaters commonly need to keep water warmer. There has also been studies that say you need water to be 140-145 degrees to prevent bacteria growth. When you do set your water heater higher than 120 degrees you need to add a mixing valve. A mixing valve will allow you to have the tank temperature 140 degrees, but it will mix cold water with the outlet water lowering it to 120 degrees or what ever you set it at. Mixing valves are also called Anti-scald valves.



Document #5098

Each year, approximately 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths occur in the home due to scalding from excessively hot tap water. The majority of these accidents involve the elderly and children under the age of five. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges all users to lower their water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to preventing accidents, this decrease in temperature will conserve energy and save money.

Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150 degree water for two seconds. Burns will also occur with a six-second exposure to 140 degree water or with a thirty second exposure to 130 degree water. Even if the temperature is 120 degrees, a five minute exposure could result in third-degree burns.

Various procedures for lowering water temperature in the home exist, depending on the method of heating. Here are some suggestions:

Electric water heaters. Call your local electric company to adjust the thermostat. Some companies offer this service at no-charge. Hot water should not be used for at least two hours prior to setting. To make the adjustment yourself, start by shutting off current to the water heater, then turn off the circuit breaker to the heater or remove the fuse that serves the heater. Most electric water heaters have two thermostats, both of which must be set to a common temperature for proper operation. To reach these thermostats you must remove the upper and lower access panels. Adjust the thermostat following the instructions provided with the appliance. Hold a candy or meat thermometer under the faucet to check water temperature.

Gas water heaters. Because thermostats differ, call your local gas company for instructions. Where precise temperatures are not given, hold a candy or meat thermometer under faucet for most accurate reading first thing in the morning or at least two hours after water use. If reading is too high, adjust thermostat on heater, according to manufacturers instructions, and check again with thermometer.

Furnace heater. If you do not have an electric, gas, or oil-fired water heater, you probably have an on-line hot water system. Contact your fuel supplier to have the temperature lowered. If you live in an apartment, contact the building manager to discuss possible options for lowering your tap water temperature. Reducing water temperature will not affect the heating capacity of the furnace.

The CPSC notes that a thermostat setting of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) may be necessary for residential water heaters to reduce or eliminate the risk of most tap water scald injuries. Consumers should consider lowering the thermostat to the lowest settings that will satisfy hot water needs for all clothing and dish washing machines.
Never take hot water temperature for granted. Always hand-test before using, especially when bathing children and infants. Leaving a child unsupervised in the bathroom, even if only for a second, could cause serious injuries. Your presence at all times is the best defense against accidents and scaldings to infants and young children.




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When to change oil on your furnace.

When is the last time you changed the oil on your furnace? Ok, I got you thinking now. You are right, you don't change oil on a residential gas home heating furnace. But I bet you change oil on your car every 3,000-6,000 miles. It seams that everyone knows you need to change the oil on your car but we forget about the furnace that heats our home.

If you didn't change oil on your car it will still keep working for a long time. You may be able to drive 30, 40, maybe 60,000 miles without changing your oil. But the efficiency will go down, you will waste fuel, and the motor will definitly fail earlier than it should. Same goes for your furnace. If you never have a profesional HVAC company clean and inspect your furnace you will waste money on your heating bills and it will also fail early. Could you imagine living in Minnesota and going on vacation for a week in January when the average temperature is about 15 degrees and night can be -15 to -30 degrees and your furnace fails. Well it happens every day. If you lose heat in your home and you are away you could freeze the water pipes and flood your home.

Is freezing pipes worst case senoiro? Or is having a gas leak, carbon monoxide poisioning, or cold house with a 6 month old baby. All of these are bad and happen very commonly. But the most common problem by not having your furnace profesionally tuned up is wasting money every month on your gas bill and having to buy a new furnace 5-7 years earlier than needed.

Lets play some numbers. Pretend running an unefficient furnace waste $15/month. 6 month heating season equals $90/year. Next if a new furance install cost $3,500 and should last 20 years but now only last 12 years. That is like wasting another $116/year. So total waste is $206/year. That is $2,060 over 10 years. Well you can have a HVAC company do a quality inspection and cleaning for less money than $206/year typically.

So having a furnace tune up annually can save you money, drastically reduce chance of break down, save money on service, and provide a safer home for your family.

How to select a contractor.

There are many things to consider when selecting a contractor. This blog is around heating and cooling contractors, but the same principle applies if you are buying a furnace, deck, roof, kitchen, or a basement remodel.

• Check references: I can not stress this enough. If you are spending $2500 or $10,000 you must check the contractor references. A new furnace or a/c should last 20 years. But even more important is in Minnesota for example you will spend $26,000 over those 20 years on average to heat and cool your home. So ask for testimonials. If the contractor surveys there customers ask to see the surveys. If you want to make the best choice ask to talk to customer they have done work for. Make sure they will call you back on Saturday when it is -20 or 95 degrees outside if your heating or cooling doesn't work.
• Ask for copy of liability insurance certificate: Check to see what there coverage is. You want at minimum $1 million dollars coverage. Then if you really want to be safe call there insurance company to confirm there premiums are paid in full. To many companies can show a certificate but may not be late on payments. If something happens you the homeowner are responsible. If the contractor is not willing to give you this info "walk away".
• Confirm they have a current State Bond: In Minnesota for example contractors are required to have a state bond to help protect the homeowner in case the contractor goes out of business.
• Get Permits: Ask for copy of the local permit at time of installation. Note: some cities do not require permits so you can't in those cases. But call your city hall to confirm that is true.
• Back ground screened employees: Does the company criminally screen there employees. The people installing your new furnace or A/C have access to your home, make sure they are safe.
• Does the company work from home: Confirm they actually work from a office. Some contractors may office from home and do great work. But the majority of bad contractors also work from home. Don't base decision on this but it will help.

Don't worry about the brand of furnace or A/C you buy. If it is a Carrier, Goodman, Amana, Trane, Bryant, Chevy, Ford, or BMW it does not matter as much as who installs it. What matters is how well trained the installers are, will they be there for you if it fails, and will it save you money on your energy bills for the next 2 or 20 years. (BTW: no Chevy, Ford, or BMW don't make furnace and A/C)

The upfront cost of the installation will be determined by factors I listed above. Just because someone offers a lower installation you are not saving money. I have learned that lesson over the years. When the cost is lower the odds say something is missing.

Will 2-stage furnace save me money?

Will a 2-stage gas furnace save me money?

Well this is kind of a loaded question. For example I am going to use a 95% efficient gas furnace. The brand does not matter. If you buy a Trane, Bryant, Carrier, Goodman, or Lennox there is not a measurable amount of difference. The bigger difference will be by what company installs it. Majority of furnaces installed are 1-stage. Which means when the house gets cold 100% of the heat comes on. The problem is if it isn't very cold out the furnace may only run for 5 or 10 minutes then shut off. A furnace needs to run at least 10 minutes before you can even get it up to 95% efficient. When if first comes on it will be maybe 50%, then 60%, and keep going up as it runs longer until it reaches peak efficiency. It is like a car, if you drive stop and go traffic your gas mileage is low, but if you go on the highway for 60 miles and don't stop your gas mileage goes up.

So if your furnace turns on and off to often you will not ever get to save money because the furnace doesn't get to peak efficiency. So back to the installing company. If they install a furnace that is to large for your home it will turn on and off to many times during the day cost you money and making your gas company lots of money. So a very common problem is if the installing company selects a furnace that is to large it will run on low stage to often wasting energy. So it is possible to put in a new more efficient furnace but have it not save you any money.

Today we have 1-stage, 2-stage, 3-stage, and modulating furnaces. The advantage of multi stage furnaces is better comfort in the home. If the furnace runs longer it will get the temperature more even in your rooms. Plus the longer the furnace runs and less on/off cycles reliability does go up. So multi stage may help the furnace last longer which will save you money. But you may not be saving what you should be. Depending on model's the first stage (low heat) could be only 70-85% efficient, compared to high heat when it could be 95% efficient. A properly installed 1-stage or multi stage furnace will give you far better long term results. As time goes on gas will keep going up. A well installed furnace could last your 15-20 years. So why over pay each month on your gas bill. Be very careful on selecting your installing contractor because that can save you $1,000's of dollars over the next 15-20 years.

So the moral of the story is "just because your new furnace is 2-STAGE, that does not mean it will save you more money".

The "Post-It Note" of heating and cooling my home.

The Post-it note is known as a great American invention. Back in 1974 Arthur Fry came up with way to make an experimental glue famous while working for 3M in Minnesota. The Post-it note changed the world of paper. So as I was thinking about this I wondered what major innovation changed the way we heat and cool a home. There are many things that have changed the comfort we feel in a home today.

Early years we had a fireplace in our 1-room house. Now the average home has 2-3 bathrooms. In the early 1900's when coal fired furnaces were used a house could vary in temp 30-40 degrees easily depending on what room you were in because once you got the coal burning hot you couldn't just stop it.

Today people expect to be comfortable when they sleep, keep the babies room warm in the winter, but still save energy. Zoned Heating has been the technology that has allowed this. The average home has one thermostat in the hallway which tells the furnace to turn on or off. First who lives in the hallway, so why do we care what the temperature is there. Imagine if you only had one light switch in your whole house. Well that is what happens when you have one thermostat. Two story homes are a real problem because in the summer the upper level is hot and the basement is cold. The other advantage of zone systems is why do you want to cool your bedrooms to 74 degrees during the day when no one is in there. Or why do you want your living room to be cooled at 3 AM when you are in bed.

Zone systems allow a standard home to have multiple thermostats through out the house. So you can cool the bedrooms at night, but not waste energy cooling the living room. Or in the winter you can heat your basement over 65 degrees unlike the average home. People commonly spend well over $20k finishing a basement to use but then they freeze trying to watch TV down there. To get a better understanding how it works click HERE to see a short video.

Honeywell says you can see up to 30% savings on your heating and cooling bills by zoning your home. One major energy savings people experience, is in the summer. Homeowners will set there thermostat to 70-72 degrees on the main level so they can hopefully get the upstairs to 76-78. When you have zoning in your home you have a thermostat upstairs in your master bedroom for example and you set that thermostat to 75 degrees and you can leave the living room at 78 for example while you sleep.

One thing you have to be concerned about is the installation of a zone system is who is the company designing and installing it. It is important to research who you buy a zone system from because if it is improperly installed you can shorten the life of your furnace and A/C and have a noisy operating system. But a properly installed zone system is like a "Post-It Note" to me.