But It's Not November...

Last week we had temperatures in the 80s. It was still feeling quite a bit like summer. They told us on the TV weather that it was going to cool down, but I don't think we really paid that much attention. I mean, the weather forecast is pretty much always wrong...

    - Are you wearing a hoodie, pants, socks?

    - Is it November?

    - Do you pay the gas bill?

Or maybe we just expected it to be a bit cooler - not a lot colder.  But we've had quite an extreme temperature change, and it's really starting to feel like fall now. It's been cool enough when we crawl into bed at night that I've wished quite a few times that I had put some warmer sheets on the bed last time I changed them - maybe not the flannels yet, but perhaps the t-shirt material ones instead of the regular cotton sheets. But, it was 80° when I changed those sheets, and I wasn't ready for warmer sheets...

Jeffrey's also mentioned at least once that maybe we should think about turning the furnace on. It's not bad during the day - I've even been able to open up the door to the sunroom the last few days and let the cats out there - but climbing out of bed in the early morning (while it's still dark. WHY is it still dark?) is a bit chilly. A little heat might be nice, but it's not even November yet! Like a date on the calendar really makes a difference.

Honestly, the most important question on the thermostat in the pic is - "Are you wearing a hoodie, pants, and socks?" If you're not dressed properly, you really can't complain about being cold. Or hot, for that matter. There used to be a commercial showing a guy in jeans, socks, and a long sleeve flannel shirt always trying to adjust the thermostat to make the air conditioning colder. Seriously, buddy? Dress for the weather!  Apparently, you can save quite a bit on your energy bill just by adjusting your thermostat a couple degrees up or down (depending on season).

So, now that the weather has cooled down, we're wearing the long pants and putting on socks - and holding out for November. How about you? Have you turned on the heat yet?

Natural Heat Sources for Your Home

In the last decade, more homeowners have become interested in heating their homes using something other than coal or fossil fuel as the source of power.  They do not want their homes to contribute to the depletion of the environment.

Thanks to technology that includes harvesting solar power, water, and geothermal heating Ottawa utility companies can now offer natural utility sources to people in the area.  You can decide if this technology is right for you by learning the benefits that may come from choosing this heating option.

Learning How Geothermal Energy Works

The premise of geothermal energy involves utilizing energy and heat generated by the earth.  As its name implies, the heat from the earth can be harvested and directed into your home, thus eliminating the need for coal, gasoline, propane, and other natural resources.

This way of heating your house calls for the technology to work with the earth rather than against it so that you get cleaner energy and a safer and warmer home.  You do not have to worry about paying for expensive monthly propane shipments, paying costly bills to the local coal-based energy company, or worrying that you are using more than your fair share of natural resources.

As appealing as this may sound to you, you might wonder if you can really afford to invest in it for your home.  How does it compare to coal-based power and does it heat better than gas or propane?

You can get answers to all of these questions and any others you think of when you visit the Porter's Refrigeration website (linked above).  They explain how the process works from drawing the heat from the earth to incorporating it into the system that heats your house.  There is plenty of information to help you decide whether geothermal heating is for you.

You can also get a free estimate from the company using the online form.  They can tell you what it will cost to invest in the system now and how soon it may pay itself off with cheaper utility bills and cleaner energy.  You can also find out if some or all of the costs may be covered by your homeowners' insurance policy. (wouldn't that be great? Or perhaps there are tax credits?)

Homeowners want to minimize the environmental impact that their homes have on the earth.  Once you've learned a bit about geothermal heating, what it is and what benefits it can offer, it may just be something you'd like to install in your house.

Is it Too Early for a Fire?

I know summer isn't quite finished, but I've been seeing signs of fall all over the place. Suddenly the leaves on the trees are starting to turn yellow and red and even falling to the ground. It won't be long until they're all brilliant and gorgeous like this picture from last year. Mornings are cool, and I need to wear a long sleeved shirt when I go for my morning walks.

It seems like it happened overnight. One day it was summer and the next fall had arrived. (Let's just ignore the fact that the temperature is supposed to be in the 80s by the weekend)

These cool evenings have me pulling out the cozy flannel pants and wondering if it's too early for a fire in the fireplace.  Our fireplace isn't really a source of heat, but it's just enjoyable to have a fire going. We enjoy a fire many evenings when the weather turns cool. Since it's a gas fireplace, it's fairly easy to get a fire going, and put it out at the end of the night.

When I was growing up we heated our house with a wood stove, and I use that term 'heated' very loosely because we really only tried to heat a couple rooms in the house while the rest of the house was closed off and very cold at times. I still appreciate being able to get warm when I go to bed at night and not waking up with snow on my pillow some mornings. But we did survive, and I guess we have memories and stories to tell because of it.

I did not have much responsibility for the fire except for carrying in wood quite often after school. The boys may have played with the fire a bit more. Isn't that a guy thing? I remember one time us kids were home alone and the chimney behind the stove started getting hot, and the cover in the next room started turning black. We were terrified that the house was going to burn down and ended up calling the fire department. Everything turned out fine, but it was very scary. I think it was something as simple as the damper on the stove not being closed so all the heat from the stove was going up the chimney instead of staying in the stove where it belonged. I know it could have been a lot worse.

I've been reading about how birds' nests and other debris like weeds, twigs, and grass can accumulate in a chimney during the summer when the fireplace or wood stove isn't being used, meaning that the first fire of the season could inadvertently spark a blaze that could spread to the rooftop. It sounds like it's not a bad idea to hire a DC chimney sweep, or general handyman to inspect and clean the chimney and roof before that first fire of the season.

Unless you want to climb up there yourself, which isn't exactly the best idea because it can be nearly impossible for the typical homeowner to figure out how to sweep out the chimney.  It also takes special equipment long enough to reach past the stack at the very top and vacuum hoses that can extend far enough down the chute to reach everything embedded inside. Professional sweeps come to your home with all of this equipment on hand and ready to use.  Before they get started, they inspect the chimney to make sure live creatures like squirrels or raccoons are removed safely.  They can then start removing nests, grass, weeds, and other debris from inside the chimney.

I don't think we ever had any such thing done to our old farmhouse in the country. Thankfully, we survived to tell the stories anyway.

It's Cold Outside

We had below zero temperatures this morning.  It was sunny and looked like a nice day, but it was cold.  Now, normally I walk every morning unless the wind chill is colder than 20 below zero, but I didn't even go outside today.  I just believed the thermometer!  Actually, I was going to go walking, but Jason spent the night with us last night, and about the time I woke up this morning and was thinking I should get up, get dressed, and go for my walk, Jason woke up.  So I just didn't end up going.

Instead we stayed in, had our coffee, and enjoyed our grandson.  We also enjoyed the fact that we have a nice snug house and a working furnace.  It certainly wouldn't do to get to the coldest day of the year (so far) and have furnace problems and have to call for furnace services hamilton or something like that.  The power was out for a couple hours last night, and it started to get a bit cold in the house.  It was enough to make us appreciate the furnace when the power came back on and the heat kicked in.  Sometimes we tend to take these things for granted instead of always realizing how good we have it.

Speaking of taking things for granted, it might not be a bad idea to think about a service like furnace cleaning hamilton just to get the furnace and everything associated with it checked over - sometime when we're not really depending on it.  They say maintaining the furnace, whether by checking and cleaning the filters regularly or by getting a professional check-up and cleaning, will help it run more efficiently and save on energy bills.

Heat in an Emergency

After reading Misty's account of their ice storm experiences and lack of heat due to the power outage, I'm wondering if there is some kind of heater we could get to prepare for such a thing. We lucked out last week and got more snow than ice, but such things can happen here, too. If the weather is really cold and the power goes out, what will we do? My parents heat their home with a wood stove, but we don't have anything like that. We either need to hurry up and get a fireplace, or we need to find a heater that doesn't rely on outside electric power.

I found some natural gas room heaters on the Desa Online Outlet website that do not require electricity to operate. Exactly what we would need - even if only one room was warm. We could all camp out around the heater, until the power comes back on. Family togetherness is good.

These heaters might even be good for regular use, considering how high our electric bill was last winter when we had the electric baseboard heat turned on in the basement. It might be worth changing them out just to save some money on the power bill. They say you can save 15% on home heating this winter.

They also have gas garage heaters that would make it more comfortable for Jeffrey to work out in the garage - even in the winter.

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