Add another layer!

Friday, 10:36 am

By Kate

Oct

21

2005

Holy mackerel. I got my October gas bill today. It was enough to shock my socks off. I have *not* turned on the furnace yet this season so all the use is from the hot water heater and cooking, which are more or less fixed usage amounts every month. (If I had it to do over again, I’d go back to last year and purchase one of these on-demand hot water heaters instead of the tank variety with the pilot light.)

In any case, my current bill is $51 for a measly 24 therms. Last year at this time, I also used 24 therms for a total bill of $32. Last year I was charged 68 cents per therm. On this bill it was $1.45.

I came real close to turning on the furnace for a few minutes last night. It was around 36 degrees outside and the inside temp fell to around 62 degrees. It was unpleasantly chilly, but we just layered up instead. I even thought about starting a fire in the stove, but I want to save the wood for as late in the season as possible. I dunno. I might cave in and burn some of the small stuff during the next couple of evenings if the nights don’t warm up a little.

Yes, I’m obsessive about heat and energy use. Can’t help it.

But the fact is, gas costs are very high this month, and they’ll probably be higher next month. Those people who use gas for heating are going to be in a state of shock!