ecoyear

The recommendations in this section are based on a British book, Chris Goodall's "How to Live a Low-Carbon Life". Each month, I will discuss one of the major items in the book.

For January, the item is the furnace we use to heat our house. The best type of furnace is natural gas, and one can judge efficiency according to the label on the furnace. Newer furnaces can be extremely efficient, converting 90% or more of natural gas into heat, vs. some old models that were only 75% efficient.

Here are some things to take into account.
- Energy efficiency is rated in AFUE %, between 78 and 97.
- More efficient units are more expensive, and would recoup costs over the life of the unit if you have a larger house that is difficult to insulate or has lots of windows, or if the cost of natural gas goes up significantly (these days, nothing is guaranteed...)
- A furnace usually lives 15-18 years, but if yours is very low efficiency, it may still make sense to replace it sooner. At any rate, have one picked out in case yours fails - always a bad time to shop
- you will need to trust a contractor with some calculations and advice, so choose well
- a furnace that is too large for your needs will cost more to operate, because it cycles on and off too much, leading to uncomfortable temperature fluctuations and inefficiency
- you should ask the contractor to calculate annual operating cost of a number of units, because you also have to pay for electricity to power fans, etc...
- the installation quote must take into account any new vents required by the unit
- you may need to ask about the repair reputation of the furnace you are considering

What to do this month if you will not be replacing your furnace:
- get on the XCel energy website and calculate the amount of energy your household uses compared to similar households in your neighborhood. You will need a few bills from last winter.
- insulate your house!
- consider heavy drapes on the windows (in the winter, I display my quilts on the bedroom windows, as I am only in there when it is dark out...)
- turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees. You save 6% of energy costs for every two degrees, and get to wear your favorite sweaters.
- Learn how to use your programmable thermostat - or buy one; Due to a quirk of our house, the bedrooms tend to stay at 58 F, even though the rest of the house is at 65 F. There are no complaints from me or the kids, but I wear warm pajamas to bed.