TUNE UP THEHEAT
If each U.S. household
lowered its average heating temperatures by 6 degrees F. over a 24‑hour Period, we'd save
the energy equivalent of 500,000 barrels of oil every day.
BACKGROUND. How important is it for you to heat
your home efficiently? An expert from the American Council for an Energy
Efficient Economy puts it this way: "The single most important thing
people can do to save energy in their homes is to make sure their furnaces are
running efficiently. More. energy is used for heating than for any other
purpose in American apartments and houses."
FURNACE FACTS
According to Worldwatch, home heating is
responsible for spew ing 350 million tons of
carbon into the atmosphere every year
which means over a billion tons of the most prevalent greenhouse gas, C02. 9 About
12% of U.S. emissions of sulfur oxide and nitrogen ox~ ide‑both key causes of acid
rain‑‑come from home heating.
An estimated 40% of the energy you use in your
home is for heat.
If your heating system is running inefficiently,
30‑50% of the energy it
uses is wasted.
SIMPLE THINGS TO DO
Get a Furnace Tune‑Up:
This means testing it (for combustion efficiency
and pollutants), cleaning it (e.g., dirt on the nozzle, sediment in the boiler,
soot in the combustion chamber), and adjusting it (calibrating thermo stats, etc.) –
Gas furnaces should be tuned every two years,
oil furnaces should be tuned up annually.
The easiest way to get a tune up is to call a
heating technician. He or she should do the whole job for around $40 $60. 9 If
you want to do it yourself or just want to know more about the process, write
to the Massachusetts Aububon Society to order the superb booklet listed below.
It's extremely informative.
RESULTS
A simple tune‑up can increase a furnace's heating efficiency by 5 degrees
F with a corresponding reduction in destructive emissions.
In a gas furnace, a 5% rise in efficiency means
an annual savings of 8,000 cubic feet of gas. So if 100,000 families‑only a tenth of a percent
of U.S. households‑‑get tune‑ups, we'll save over
half a billion cubic feet a year.
For an oil furnace: the annual savings is about
60 gallons of oil per tune‑up.
If only 100,000 families get tune‑ups, it's a savings of about 6 million gallons.
A FEW HEATING TIPS If You Have a Forced‑Air System: Insulate
ducts wherever they pass through unheated spaces.
During heating season, change your air filters
once a month. Your heater uses more energy when the filters get full of dust. 9
Common myth: Many people believe it's better to keep the furnace running at an
even temperature than to lower it drastically when no one's around. Not true.
Even if you go out of a room for a little while, it's better to turn down the
heat.
If You Have an Electric Resistance Heating
System: Consider installing a heat pump, which "uses thermal energy from
outside air for both heating and cooling." Initial cost may seem high (as
much as $2,000 for a whole,house unit, about $400 for a single room), but it
can cut your heating bill by 60% a year.
If You Have a Hot Water
/ Steam System:
Put a reflector behind your radiator (you can
buy one or make it by taping aluminum foil on cardboard). This saves energy and
cash by throwing back heat you'd normally lose through the wall.
SOURCES * The best booklet we've found is called
"Heating Systems." It's available from: Educational Resources,
Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, MA 01773. Write for info on ordering
it.