Got Our Utility Bill Today

Our utility company bills us in periods of two months. Finally received the bill from 11/27 to 1/31 and it came to $550.47. My wife and I keep different schedules as she is a nurse on the overnight shift so the house is occupied at all times as opposed to my neighbors who keep regular 9-5 schedules. Out of curiosity I asked my neighbor who happen to come over to bring us some pies (sweet pies & chicken pot pie) that she had baked (to keep the house warm I might add) she tells me that their bill for the same period was $890 and they were very glad that it was under a grand. I will also add that they keep their house at 62 and 58 the latter being the overnight temps. My wife will divorce if it even thought about keeping this house that cold, she starts to complain when the house is at 75. I overheard my boss on Friday talking to one of my coworkers and he was complaining that his bill was $767, his billing period is monthly and he keeps the house at 68 and 62. So all being similar, my house, my neighbors and my boss all are heated with gas, similar in size and similar insulation my bill will probably be close to $1500 should we keep our house at our temps using gas, that's probably on the conservative side. I say all that to say that Wood and Pellets not only keep us warm but it saves us some money that can be used for better things like college funds or vacations. Or TAXES. Up to recently I would scrounge Craigslist for free wood but I got rid of the truck as it was starting to breakdown too often. I figure the $500 a year insurance for the truck gets me 3 cords which is more than what I burn a year. Not to mention gas and plates. I found myself only using the truck for wood related purposes and the rare occasion i needed to go to the Depot for that I can just rent one as needed.
Your Thoughts please and if you'd care to share some of your anecdotes are appreciated.
warmest wishes from the great state of NY

Franklin

 

Smart man you married an RN just like I did and you have a biomass burner to keep you and your honey toasty warm and save $$ at the same time well done

 

Thoughts... Well I'd have a heart attack to see a gas bill like that!

By gas do you mean propane? ($$$$)

 

I've done the BTU conversion and to heat this place with natty gas in a "normal" winter would run us about $200/month if I remember correctly.
Heating with wood runs about 1/10th of that for me. If you're using gas/elec., pellets, and wood.....well...
Not a condemnation, just wonderment how folks can afford that.

 

natural gas. And yes, it is a lot to heat.

 

yes Will, very smart. lol. Shes a good egg.

 

Sound like you did pretty good when comparing to your neighbors.

Have you though about an energy audit, see if there's some home improvements
that could increase the home's efficiency

Winter might start being a cold & snowy event for a few years. (climate change)
+ upgrades help to keep the cool in in the summer too.
An upgrade here & there could pay you back big annual dividends

 

Gotta' remember Ray, all those machines aren't used solely for firewood.
But yeah, ain't nuttin' free.

 

Yeah my tractor was pricey but it is my mower, wheel barrow, snow plow, firewood skidder, and bush hog ..... Etc.... I would own the tractor whether i did firewood or not as I need it. Have $800 in the splitter and $1100 in chainsaws and I would own my truck whether I did fire wood or not so I really don't have that much vested in my dedicated wood equipment when you divide that out by 10 years.

 

Have to burn wood
to save money for the toys needed
to burn wood .


The chain saw guys have said it.
CAD.

Not my money being spent, so I don't spend any time worrying about some one else spending money.
Nor justifying it or jealousy.

(well some jealousy maybe LOL )
Am told "It's good for the economy "

I like seeing the pictures of everyones wood cutting process.

 

I am an Energy Specialist for 2 school districts. I audit them for their energy usage and track the bills. In December National grid charged .09 a kWh for supply, in January they charged .20 a kWh for supply. My one small school district had a total electric bill of 29k$ just for January.

 

What building upgrades have you recommended they do to save on energy cost?

 

I agree I have CAD...... Darn all of you that started me down this path

I cut wood for years with just one saw and could still get away with it but in the grand scheme of things the money I have spent on saws is nothing compared to the $3,000 a year in savings from using propane. Plus the majority of the saws could be sold for a total loss of maybe $300 at this point. You are right though its a hobby

 

Much much worse additions out there.
This one pays you back & keeps you out of trouble,

 

A small trailer (read under 3000 lbs. gross weight) is a good alternative to owning a truck.
No inspection or insurance needed.
Very little upkeep.
Low initial investment.
Keeps you from beating your truck up.
Not as hard to load and unload with low deck height.
In Pa over 3000 lbs needs trailer brakes and inspection.(still not too expensive)

 

Personal trailers are inspected ?
One more reason I like to come back, just for visits.
Maybe it was like that when I was there,
joined military shortly after high school.

Remember dad getting all the lights working on the old 51 ford P/U so
it would pas inspection & roll down the cracked windows

 

I sat down one day and did the math for all of the wood stove related toys and it was in excess of $6000. This is including truck, stove, saws, axes, gloves, firestarters, etc. Still I wouldn't change a thing other than selling the truck. I really enjoy the hobby, even if its delivered wood at $150 per cord, I enjoy re-splitting and stacking. It takes me away from being a techie, in its essence processing wood is one of the farthest things from what I do all week long. I just figured the truck was not needed and it was more of an expense. I took the money after selling the truck and figured I can heat for over 13 years if i go through 2.5 to 3 cords a year. Not too mention my back thanks me for not abusing it. lol.