Cold Days Put the Heat on Energy Costs
February 04, 2014Old man winter must not have gotten the memo about global warming since we’ve seen the coldest month of the century this January. Many cities saw recordbreaking subzero temperatures and as the temperature dropped outside, propane gas prices were rising, in some cases rising by 50%. For families that rely on propane for their home heating, this blast of cold air has burned a hole in their budget.
This situation hit home when a frantic neighbor called my husband about her heat not working. Since Dave works in the HVAC industry, he’s the go-to guy in the neighborhood whenever any of our neighbors are having issues with their heat or A/C. Even though it was in the middle of the Sunday play-offs, he threw on his coat and headed out in the snow to try to identify the problem.
It was easy enough. Her propane tank was obviously showing empty on the pressure gauge. She broke down in tears because she didn’t have the money to buy the minimum required 150 gallon purchase from our local propane delivery company. Feeling bad for her and feeling fortunate that he was in the position to to help someone in need, he made the decision to order her a delivery under our account so her kids wouldn’t freeze. Luckily for us, we had a locked in price of $2.90 for the season and the propane company honored that price for our neighbor’s order.
Since my neighbor is a recently divorced single mom and she’s been out of work for the past few months, I recommended she get in contact with LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. This government program provides grants to assist low-income households in reducing household energy burdens. In our state of PA, LIHEAP can provide crisis funding for the following situations:
- “Broken heating equipment or leaking lines that must be fixed or replaced
- Lack of fuel
- Termination of utility service
- Danger of being without fuel (less than a 15 day supply) or of having utility service terminated (received a notice that service will be shut off within the next 60 days)”
There are income limits for LIHEAP eligibility and limited government funding but my neighbor did find out she qualified to receive $250 in assistance on her next propane order in February. Meanwhile, she’ll be keeping the thermostat down and layering on sweaters and blankets to conserve her energy costs.
My own solution to these cold days and high heating bills is to fire up my old-fashioned wood stove in the living room, which gets the house up to a toasty 72 degrees after burning for a few hours. It’s messy and time-consuming, but we’ve got years worth of wood supply in the forest behind my home and the bonus is that Dave gets his exercise every fall by dragging and splitting logs. How are you planning to stay warm while keeping your energy bills low this winter?