EnergyMiser101

Get A Monthly Gas Meter Reading

     We recently received a gas bill from our local utility, PSE&G,  that was surprisingly high. That's because we weren't home when the professional meter reader was in our neighborhood, and the utility estimated our gas usage for that month. We got a bill for over $300 in estimated gas usage, when our normal amount might be closer to $50!

     After a frantic phone call to the utility, we found out the estimate was based on the company's formula which is a follows:  They take the highest reading for that particular month over that past three years and then apply a premium. (We weren't told what that premium is.)

Why Gasoline Prices Are Falling

     U.S. average gasoline prices fell sharply for the week ended July 13, this time by 8 cents to an average of $2.53 per gallon. There was little news to support prices. US jobless claims rose again and the University of Michigan's measurement of consumer confidence in the economy showed another decline. These developments canceled any optimistic sentiment seen in earlier weeks. Basically, US demand for all fuels, as measured by the Deportment of Energy, is down and inventories are up. Analysts are saying there is no reason other than trading hysteria to support prices.

How We Cut Our Heating-Oil Usage

     It's July and we're celebrating last winter's heating season. Why? Because we just got our final delivery of heating oil and we learned that for the winter of 2008-2009 we used 53 gallons less than last year! And to make victory even sweeter, this winter was about 8 percent colder than the previous one.

     We're very pleased with our conservation efforts! We've been on a nine-year quest to lower our heating-oil usage, and through a variety of techniques—some expensive and some less so, we've cut our consumption of the fuel by more than half.

     Get a load of these numbers: In the winter of 2000-2001 we used 1,500 gallons of heating oil. This  past winter we used 667. How did we manage to get our oil consumption so low? Let's take a quick walk down memory lane.