Let's Talk Energy

  I often write a blog as much for myself as anyone else as this is an easy way to research a subject without having to keep paper records or remember when I did something. This is one of those I'm writing mostly for myself.

 A few days ago I got an email that my electric bill was available online (I've dispensed with mailed bills). I about shocked when I saw the total: $556.50.

 I don't think I've ever had an energy bill that high. Consider that we keep the house (both floors) at 66°. I wouldn't say we're warm. It's tolerable but that's about it.

 I used 3211 kWh. The month's temperature averaged 32.1° which was 1.2° above  normal.
 A year ago I used 2399 kWh. The month averaged 5.5°  above normal.

 So that temperature dip accounts for some of the increase. But what's mostly responsible is the cost. When generation and delivery are added together and divided  by the kWh's used, last year's cost was 0.1226/kWh; this year's cost was 0.1761. That's a 43.6% increase  in just one year.

 I called my HVAC guy just to make sure the heat pump was  operating as efficiently as possible. He added two pounds of refrigerant. I suppose he was last year a couple of years ago. He thinks that will make some difference in the operating cost of the heat pump.

 I paid $220 for the service call and the refrigerant. He said his own furnace went out during the recent cold snap the night's low was -2° on 12/14 and -4° on 12/15) and his electric bill was $600. We live within a mile of one another. [He had to run his heat pump on AUX for some time  and electrical resistive heat is extremely expensive].

 Heating with electricity is certainly no longer economical. And while prices for electricity have risen, oil (and propane prices) have dropped.

 That led me to research our cost when we had a furnace that burnt fuel oil. In 1991  (the earliest bill I still  have), the cost per gallon of fuel oil was 0.885. By 2008 (the last bill we got before we switched to a heat pump) the price was 3.199. That's a 261.5% increase in those 17 years.

 Of course in those days, though we were heating with fuel oil, we were also paying for electricity for everything  else). But I can't easily figure a total energy cost because I don't know what the electricity cost then.

 But I can give an example. We had an oil delivery of 128 gallons on 12-10-91 (0.899) and had another  on 01-14-92 of 118 gallons (0.828). So that period - just over a month and comparable to the current month's electric bills (34 days) - cost just over $104.

 There's a big difference  between $104 and $565. But there's also a gap of 34 years when prices have skyrocketed. Even so, the historical figure doesn't include electricity so it's an apples and oranges comparison at best.

 Needless to say, for someone 76 years old who can remember the "distant" past, the costs are exorbitant nowadays. It makes me worry even more about the future. Someone making today's wages may not have as much reason to be concerned, but we who are retired were only making a fraction of today's pay. It makes us worry how long we can hold on.