Maine Home Heating Fuels (% of household use)
Oil    79%
Propane and Natural Gas     9%
Wood     7%
Electricity     5%

As my favorite philosopher, Yogi Berra, once said, “I'm not good with predictions, especially about the future,” but I suspect that it is to safe to say that the future of all energy prices is generally upward.  With the added concerns about global warming (yes, I hear you ostriches groaning), the only way to save your bank account (and the world's environment) is to reduce the number of BTU's your home uses per year.  To save money, you have to use less-period; end of story.

Total Household Energy Use in the Northeast (Heat and Electrical Use)
Space Heating    65%
Water Heating    16%
Lighting and other Appliances    15%
Refrigeration     4%

To put your home's energy usage into perspective, it represents about 1/3 of your personal carbon footprint, with transportation and consumption of food and goods completing the other 2/3.  There is always a time lag in the food chain, but I think you can bank on continuing escalation of your grocery and other shopping bills from energy induced inflation.

All things considered, there are just a few ways to reduce that pile of BTU's and moving south is not one of them. (Homes in the southern half of the US actually consume MORE energy, mostly electricity for cooling, than here in the northeast.)  Each has its pros and cons.  Some are free and some can cost a lot. The trick is getting the biggest bang for your buck.

First and possibly foremost, reduce the amount of space that you heat.  This can be as simple as closing off lesser used rooms for the winter, or only heating them when they are in use.  Many homes have uninsulated floors over a cold basement or crawlspace because of concerns about frozen pipes below.  In most cases, insulating the outer basement/crawlspace walls and the floor will keep the pipes above freezing, keep your toes toasty, and give big energy saving.  In most cases, saving energy is not a hardship, but rather will improve comfort and quality of life.

When it comes to saving space heating BTUs around your home, think envelope/box/bubble.  Imagine, if you will, that your home is a big box, bubble, or envelope that holds all those heat BTU's you need to stay warm per heating season.  The more effectively your house's envelope retains those BTU's, the less you will need and the more you will save.  Remember that the box/bubble/ envelope analogy works best if every exterior surface of your heated space is considered including basement, crawlspace, slab, walls, windows, doors, and ceiling/roof.  The effectiveness of your envelope is an average of all those surfaces' ability to hold in the heat or R value. 

As a greatly simplified example, consider a 30 X 30 ft. home before and after retrofit of added ceiling insulation only:

                                                                                                Before        After Retrofit
900 sq. ft. of ceiling                                                        R 30               R 60
1600 sq. ft. of wall surface                                          R 20               same
100 square feet of windows and doors              R  3                  same
900 sq. ft. floor area                                                       R20                 same
Envelope average R                                                      R 22                R 30
Est.Yearly Heating Cost                                               $4000          $2600

Like many of our homes, this example has easily accessible extra attic space and we blow in another 10 inches of insulation to the ceiling with an estimated cost of $1400.  This raises the average R value of the envelope to R 30 (a whopping 36%), and would lower heating costs by $1400, so in one year we've paid back our investment. 

Oh, if it were only so easy.  The bad news: it's not.  Houses are most often very complex creatures with many different factors to be considered.  The good news is that the science and technology of home energy management has grown and is now available to help homeowners figure out the best bang for their insulating dollar.  Using cutting edge technology (blower doors, infrared cameras, computer modeling programs), home energy audits, costing $300-500, are now widely available and can help you choose the most cost effective actions and avoid costly mistakes.  For a list of local Home Energy Auditors try www.maine homeperformance.org, or send me an email and I'll forward you a list. 

More good news!  The state of Maine has low interest Home Energy Improvement Loans (HELP) available for very low interest rates.  These loans require an audit beforehand and will roll the cost of the audit into the loan.  For more info, call Maine Housing Authority at (800) 452-4668.

Al Heath was a carpenter/builder in the Bath area for 12 years.  Four years ago he and his wife designed and built a super-insulated, passive solar home with an active solar hot water system.  He now works as a Nurse Practitioner in the ER and Family Practice and has a part-time business consulting with builders and homeowners on energy efficiency practices.  Please contact with your ideas and comments at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .