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Money For Nothing
Where is your heat going?
It’s not the most pleasant thing to do, what with the
potential of black widow spiders or other unsavory creatures
crawling down the back of your neck, but crawling under your
home may just save you a ton of money.
If you have a ducted heating system and the crawlspace under
your manufactured or stickbuilt is not sealed to prevent creatures
from getting in, you may not have your ducts in a row.
Cats, dogs, raccoons and others just love to get ahold of
that nice, soft, fluffy, warm insulation covering your ducts.
The more they tear into it, the more heat is released until
it’s cozier under your house than it is inside.
If you look into your heating register and see cat’s
eyes looking back at you... you may have a problem.
The particular ductwork pictured here was discovered under
a doublewide manufactured home. It’s call a “crossover
duct.” It essentially connects the furnace to the ductwork
on both sides of the home. It is very common for that duct
to become disengaged through improper installation or animal
activity. When that happens, very little heat, if any, is
going into your home. The thermostat is not satisfied and
the unit will cycle on much more often yielding no heat, but
increasing your electrical usage tremendously. An increase
in your usage directly relates to a very high energy bill.
Key Indicators
- Heat registers in your home have very little or
no heat coming out of them.
- Skirting around mobile home or foundation around
stick-built home has openings allowing animals to
get into crawl space.
- Quick look underneath shows cobwebs blowing in
the wind when system is operating.
- System runs more often than normal with little
warmth and comfort inside the home.
- Electric usage is abnormally high compared to past
history
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This particular situation resulted in an average of 105 kilowatt
hours per day. In dollars and cents, that totals $8.03. When
the furnace was turned off until repairs could be made, the
usage dropped to 23 kilowatt hours per day. That equates to
$1.76. Of course the usage will be somewhere in between when
the ductwork is repaired and the furnace is back in operation,
but most of that $6 difference will be eliminated.
Your monthly electric bill will always accurately reflect
either your usage or a problem such as a water leak, faulty
hot water heater, a faulty pressure switch in the pump house
or that space heater in the RV. These are items we find on
a fairly regular basis. If you would like some help identifying
your electrical usage, please call and ask for the Home Energy
Use Guide. In the meantime, take a few scary minutes and look
under your home. Finding a duct problem will save both time
and energy... personally and electrically speaking!
As always, please call us if you need our help!
541.673.6616 • 800.233.2733
Are You Ready For Old Man Winter?
and the higher energy use that comes with him?
It’s difficult to think about the cold season while
the days continue to be very warm, but we all know Old Man
Winter is right around the corner. He’ll come sneakin’
around again this year, trying to suck all the warmth and
comfort from your home.
If you’ve had it with high heating costs and little
comfort to show for it, now is the time to take advantage
of our weatherization incentive programs.
Stop the loss of valuable heat through leaky windows and
poorly insulated floors, ceilings and walls, by completely
weatherizing your home. We have a special arrangement with
Umpqua Bank for loans up to $7,500 at the very low annual
percentage rate of 5%. If you prefer, a 25% cash credit of
up to $500 is available instead of a loan. All Douglas Electric
members with electric heat are eligible. If you don’t
heat with electricity, we can provide you with information
about other helpful, energy conservation programs.
Call 673-6616 or go to our website and ask for the packet
of weatherization program details. Start increasing your comfort,
reducing your heating costs and improving the value of your
home today!
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