Ways to save fuel oil.....

**SewCrafty** · 06-30-2006, 01:41 PM

While I know we are in the summer months now, I just found these ways to save on your heating bills:

http://www.citizenactionny.org/cafg/...ng%20bill.html

NEWS

Take the chill out of your heating bill
Your heating bill could go up at least $360 this winter, and possibly hundreds more. But you're not powerless to curb the blow. With those skyrocketing costs, here are some ways you can ...

Tuesday, Nov 1, 2005

Cassaundra Baber
Observer-Dispatch

Kelly Marshall, a single mother of three, is looking for a second job.

She has to, she said, or she won't be able to heat her New Hartford home.

"I need to make $80 to $120 extra a week so that I can afford my oil," she said.

Last winter, Marshall paid $1,200 for oil to heat her home. This season, she's expecting to pay $2,000.

"As a New Hartford resident, trying to make a living, raising three kids, it's unbelievable," she said.

But there are several money-saving options available for Marshall and thousands of other Mohawk Valley residents like her who face a boost in their total winter-season heating bills ranging from an average of about $360 for natural gas customers to an average of about $600 for oil customers.

Those are big increases for people in places such as Utica, where the median income is roughly $25,000.

Steps to save money include some that are obvious. Install more insulation. Buy modern windows. And take one of the most important steps a homeowner to save on heating costs: Get the furnace maintained yearly. After all, the furnace is the engine that disperses heat throughout your house.

But some homeowners are finding savings by going in new directions. Some are converting to alternative fuels such as pellets. And for some financially challenged families, heating aid is available.

Blankets and bundling up

Take the Cavarettas, a family of three from Schuyler that saw monthly heating bills of about $220 last winter but received help from the Home Energy Assistance Program. This year, the Cavarettas are preparing for monthly heating bills of almost $300 — about $1,800 for the season. They have applied for another heating-assistance grant that, if approved, would decrease their seasonal bill to about $1,450 — still hundreds more than last year.

"Basically, we keep the heat off for as long as we can," Leonard Cavaretta said. "Right now, we have the thermostat at 60. We use more blankets and bundle up."

The Caverattas' bill and that of all local residents is dependent mainly on two things, said Roy Kass, a statistician with the U.S. Energy Information Administration: the price per unit of gas and how cold it is. Last year, the nation experienced a relatively warm winter but forecasters are expecting harsher weather this time around.

"If you look at your bill, you'll probably see there's a cost associated with the gas itself and a whole bunch of other costs. Those costs are fairly constant, no matter what the price of gas is," Kass said.

National Grid spokesman Al Bianchetti said the price of gas is beyond the control of the company. National Grid is the new name of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.

"We do control the cost of delivering natural gas," Bianchetti said. "Those prices have been unchanged from 1996. We're seeing a dramatic increase from the commodity itself. That was anticipated to begin with because of tightness of supply and was made worse by Katrina, which damaged infrastructure on the Gulf Coast."

The most obvious way to save money is to keep the thermostat a few degrees cooler than normal, and to lower the temperature during hours when people aren't present.

Here are several other ways residents could save as much as $940, and possibly much more, once initial investments are made.

•Windows — $168

Patrice Conigilaro has worked for Adirondack Window Products in Utica for nine years and has never seen such a frenzy. She said customers are coming into her store ready to pay $10,000 for windows because they're so afraid of how much it's going to cost to heat their homes.

"People are running scared at this point," she said.

But, she says, windows aren't the complete answer.

"You can put in windows, and it might save you 50 percent on your bill, but if you're losing heat out of your walls, it's not going to matter," Conigilaro said.

National Grid's Bianchetti said customers who replace old windows can save up to $28 a month on their monthly heating bills.

•Insulation — $108

You'll never be able to get a house warm without insulation, said Bill Potoczny, owner of Weather-Tite Insulation in New Hartford.

"It's basic convections," he said. "Heat is attracted to cold areas. Heat flows toward the coldest source."

Potoczny said he insulated a small two-story home last December. He said the customer saved $60 the first month, but in a bigger house could have saved as much as $100 a month. The cost of the insulation was about $1,500.

"It would take about 3 to 3 1/2 years to get that money back, and then you're going to pocket that," he said.

Bianchetti said customers who insulate their homes can save up to $18 on their monthly heating bills.

•Alternative heating

Since September, business has doubled for Tom Salanco, owner of Herkimer Home and Leisure in Herkimer. Salanco sells alternative heating sources, such as wood stoves, gas stoves, pellet stoves and coal-burning stoves.

People are in a panic, he said.

"Something that we don't want to see, and I've seen it happen, people will jump and make a snap decision and a year later, they'll come back and want to trade (the stove) in," Salanco said. "It's no different than buying a car you didn't really want."

Salanco said the purchase of an alternative heating source should be used as a supplement, not as a main heating unit. A coal-burning stove can cost anywhere from $1,200 to $1,800. Pellet, gas or wood stoves can range from $3,000 to $4,000. These stoves have a life expectancy of 20 to 25 years.

Salanco said he has seen customers save up to 50 percent on their heating bills through such measures.

Nancy McCaw of the town of Ohio in northern Herkimer County has had her pellet stove for two years. She uses the stove in her mobile home, in addition to a propane-fueled furnace.

•Furnace — $60

People who rely on a furnace to heat their homes should maintain regular service to ensure its most efficient use. Tara Jackson-Patrick, operations manager of Patrick Heating Inc., of Rome likens furnace maintenance to car maintenance.

"If you don't bring your car in for service, it'll break down sooner or later," she said. "It's the same with a heating unit. Especially in Upstate New York, the winters are brutal on them."

Patrick Heating charges $80 to check the entire heating system. Jackson-Patrick also recommends upgrading older furnaces to mid-efficient or high-efficient units.

Bianchetti said regular furnace maintenance can save customers $10 on their monthly bills.

•Programs — up to $400

The Home Energy Assistance Program is a federal program that offers grants to income-eligible applicants.

"We are expecting an influx of people looking for assistance because of the increase in gas (prices)," said Arline Beaty, director of income maintenance for the Oneida County Department of Social Services.

Beaty said eligibility is based on gross income and household size. For example, a household of one cannot have gross income of more than $1,803 per month in order to receive assistance under the program. A household of three cannot earn more than $2,913 a month.

Such income limits are high enough that numerous "middle-class" families might be eligible for assistance.

Cavaretta said it would have been very difficult for his family to get by last winter without a $350 grant.

"Every little bit helps," he said.

For an application, visit the program office at 800 Charlotte St. in Utica or 230 W. Dominick St. in Rome.

•Action Fuel Group program — up to $200

Citizen Action Fuel Group, an 18-year-old, nonprofit fuel-buying group, offers another solution for budget-strapped New Yorkers who use oil or kerosene to heat their homes.

"We're like a buyer's club," said Kizzi Casale, manager of the group. "We contract with one dealer in each of our coverage areas. We do that by sending out bids, asking them to serve our members. We take the lowest price and offer that to our members."

Casale said the fuel price can range anywhere from 5 cents to 20 cents a gallon below retail.

Standard members pay a yearly fee of $25. Members ages 55 and older pay $20 per year. Members who receive HEAP assistance or Social Security disability pay a one-time startup fee of $5.

For information, call (800) 559-4645 or visit www.cafg.org.

We have belonged to the Citizen Action Fuel Group in NYS since we moved here 18 years ago and it has helped our fuel bill immensely! I found their info in the telephone book in the yellow pages under Oils-Fuel Check yours out to see if your state offers anything like this. It is really a co-op of members and because we are so many can get fuel oil quite a bit lower priced than others that don't belong. We pay a nominal fee of $20 per year to get these cut prices. When hubby was working they always sent our check back every year because he was a union member.

Hope this helps someone.