10/05/05

There’s a lot of talk about heat pumps these days. With the price of natural and propane gas (along with gasoline and other oil products) expected to continue to rise, there’s no wonder. If you use gas to heat your home, experts say you can look to spend up to 70%-plus for keeping warm this year. Supplies were already running behind and then Katrina struck and interrupted some major pipelines and accesses for natural gas.

Locally, reports are that TVA will increase their electric rates about 7%. Heat pumps are becoming very attractive as a result of these developments, and have brought out many questions that we’re happy to answer.

Here are some of those.

How does the TVA heat Pump Program work?

It’s a financing program in which TVA will secure loans for the installation of heat pumps. (Ripley P&L does the same thing, but finances their own program) These are loans with very reasonable rates and terms longer than most loans of this size. If you’re interested, simply contact your local power company for more information, or call us. People tell me that a heat pump won’t warm the house well…is that true? No. It’s a common misconception. Heat pumps deliver even heating throughout the house. The inside temperature is 65 to 75 degrees in most homes and the air coming from the heat pump is at 95 degrees or higher. That means the heat pump is working. If a central system is installed properly, the people in the home should never be in the air stream, anyway. Be sure to change your filters regularly and if you have any questions about your home comfort system, please call us at 635-3452 or visit out website at www.qualityserviceinc.com.

10/12/05

One thing that seems to be on everyone’s mind these days is the cost of heating for this winter. Most are aware that it’s going up, but it leads to today’s first question: How high are heating prices going to go this winter? If we could answer that one accurately, we could get rich. The fact is, no one can. But, we can share some factors that will have an impact. Here goes:

Natural gas, LP (bottled gas), heating oil, and anything petroleum based are forecast to go up considerably. They were on their way up anyway, AND THEN Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck. Not only did that interrupt production of these valuable energy sources, but also disrupted the distribution of these products. It has been at least a “double whammy” on petroleum products and we will be (and are) paying for that. Currently, we hear that natural gas prices will rise from 40% to 70%. Will the cost of electricity go up, too? Around here we all use electric energy supplied by TVA. It may come from different power companies, but locally, it all comes from TVA.

They have said they expect the cost of electric power to go up about 7% this year. How can I cut my heating costs? There are tons of answers to this question. Programmable thermostats, heat pumps, insulation, weather-stripping, and good old-fashioned conservation are all wonderful ways to lessen the blow. If you’d like more information on any of these please call us at 635-3452. We’ll be happy to answer any questions and give you an estimate on any new systems you may be interested in. You can also visit us on our website at www.qualityserviceinc.com. Remember to change your filters, and we’ll be back next week.

10/26/05

You’ve heard all the forecasters discussing the predicted huge rise in heating costs this season. The Department of Energy, manufacturers, wholesalers, and dealers have all been warning about the increases, especially increases in petroleum-based heating sources. Everyone has questions and wants to know how high those prices are going. Even the experts cannot provide exact numbers, but we hear up to 70% higher on natural gas, around 50% on LP, and even gas prices, according to TVA will rise around 7%. We have also been answering a lot of questions about alternative heating sources. Requests for information about heat pumps and the TVA financing program have increased a great deal, too, and this seems to be the one method considered most by people in our area looking to get away from the natural gas heat source. Besides heat pumps, the most common alternative to gas heat in these parts is wood burning. It’s a workable alternative, but poses some unique hazards and risks of its own. There are at least 14 separate cancer causing chemicals in wood smoke, not to mention the carbon monoxide threat and fire hazards. If used safely and vented properly, wood can provide adequate area heating. It can be fun to sit by the fire, but the chopping, stacking, drying, hauling, burning, smoke, cleaning, and ash disposal can be a challenge.

Whether you want to check into alternatives to your natural gas heat, or just learn more about ways to use less natural gas this heating season, we’ll be glad to help in any way we can. Just call us at 635-3452.

As always remember to change your filters, and listen for “Ask Mike” Saturday mornings on WTRB.