So i just got my gas bill

[AlCzervik]

after i had this installed
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=287x1590

i was hoping i'd save some money and i actually did! I pulled last years GB from this same time period and my gas bill is now $70 less!!

[NMDemDist2]

1. excellent! and with winter heating prices going sky high, you moved

at the right time!

[AlCzervik]

2. i feel like my crappy sense of timing actually worked right this time

i was dreading opening that bill and when i did i breathed a giant sigh of relief.

[NMDemDist2]

3. i'll bet if you called your contractor right now, he's backed up for

weeks!

[AlCzervik]

4. ok i just got my second gas bill since the fireplace was installed

it's $88 for the month, thats actually $14 less than last month so i would say what the store claimed about saving $$$ was true--for once.

[Warpy]

5. I thought my bill would be sky high for the 6 weeks I was gone

but the bill for January was only $37. I was stunned, since the woodstove was cold while I was away. It was warm enough in here that the pipes didn't freeze, and some are on exterior walls. Wow.

The bill at my dad's house in Florida was $99 for December, which had been a fairly warm month. It was $75 for January, and I'd turned the heat down as soon as I got there, cold month and all.

My woodstove really supplements the gas furnace, though. People with similar houses in this neighborhood are paying $150-200 for gas per month this year.

I did notice that quite a few people in my dad's area had installed woodburners of one description or another. Now I know why.

[wildeyed]

6. We are doing ok.

In addition to keeping the thermostat set low, I replaced an old sliding door that broke with a more efficient model and we got a new, energy efficient furnace 'cause our old one died.

Also, I went around the house and insulated all the outlets and switch plates on outside walls and just generally plugged little holes here and there. The people who lived here before us did a good job increasing the insulation in the attic, so the only thing that really needs to be done is to insulate the floor. There is some insulation down there, but only what came with the house in 1962. It is a crawl space and I am not looking forward to that job. Gonna try to palm it off on my husband if I can :)