Porpane use is so expensive why?

Ha!...as a Florida resident I will tell you....just wait till summer and you get the air conditioning bill in like August!....but hey....winters are a joke here...take care, Ross

Do you know how many porpoises it takes to make a galon of porpane? And porpoises aren't cheap.

Lake Wales is still pretty inexpensive...unfortunately they had three hurricanes through there last year but the last time that happened was the early 60's and they are nothing like what hit Port Charlotte/Charley or Andrew in 92'....and they have lakes everywhere....Bass fishin' and skiing....but probably not in the summer...whew...it is warm and Lake Wales is only about an hour 15 from the attractions, if you enjoy them....Ross

Flipper could've heated a small town......

;-]

Hey, me too ...here in Lake County....it got down to the

We have summer and almost summer here in Florida...Summer is seriously warm and almost summer is a few cold days punctuated by fishing, golf and sunny days...The Sunshine State, you can't beat it.....Ross

Ahhhh....but it BBQ's so nicely!!!!.... Ross

unfortunately, homebuilders don't build homes for the comfort of buyers, they build for profit, and energy companies are also profit hungry upwards for the owners and officers (to the point of being criminal, do ken lay or enron ring a bell?)

thus, it is not unusual for new houses to be terribly underinsulated and drafty

some of the easier things you can do to increase your comfort:

1. make sure all wall plug outlets and light switches are sealed, foam gaskets are available to stop the wind from blowing right through fiberglass insulation (if that is what you have), through the wall, and through the plug outlet or wall switch into your home, enough leaks like this and you have a steady airflow, similar to leaving a window open, only if you have fiberglass insulation you also have fiberglass particles infecting your home and your health; the efficiency of the foam gaskets can be increased with silicone caulk
2. make sure all the exterior doors have properly working weather-stripping and sweeps
3. make sure all windows are properly caulked inside and outside, also that any siding is properly caulked (even new million dollar homes are commonly under caulked)
4. make sure any unused fireplace is sealed from the outside, covers with glass are available
5. make sure if there is a centrally located central air conditioner/furnace that the door from the inside of the house to that unit is sealed if it leads directly into the attic
6. doe (department of energy) publishes suggested insulation values for homes, you should probably have a minimum of r-49 in your area, if not more; wind goes right through fiberglass insulation and cools interior walls, whereas cellulose insulation stops wind and can be applied over fiberglass; wool is another alternative insulator to fiberglass
7. a major area of heat or air conditioning loss is windows, if you don't have double pane windows consider adding them or (less expensive) thermal drapes
8. one commonly overlooked item to insulate is attic access doors or openings, and they are also bad about leaking air/dust from the attic into the home, some even caulk them shut with a thin bead of silicone caulk to seal air flow, don't know if that would be against any building code in your area
9. add pipewrap foam to all hot and cold water pipes in the attic or other areas outside the house it is exposed (remember to wear a breathing mask and sealed eye protection/goggles, fiberglass particles are like tiny knives and can enter your body and will never leave it, causing cancer and other problems, and can effect vision after enough exposure)
10. an inexpensive way to test your home for drafts is to use lit incense sticks to test around doors, windows, wall plug outlets, light switches, recessed lights (replace with air tight recessed lights if yours aren't), plumbing entering the house under sinks, etc., test on a windy day, you will see the smoke moving horizontally away from leaks

here's a link to lowe's info on home sealing:

keeping a home at temperatures above 68 degrees in the winter costs exponentially more for each degree than keeping it at 68 degrees

if the lower level in your raised ranch house is unfinished it could be terribly underinsulated, compounding your problem

you might also consider things like heated electric floor mats and heating blankets

regards

It just cost me 1.75 a gallon to fill my tank in Pennsylvania. To give you some kind of reference.

Barry I

Propane has never been a very cheap wayto heat, and in the last few years has gotten to be fairly expensive. How much are you payimg per gallon? I am kinda surprised to hear about using propane in your area-- I thought most everybody there used oil if there was no natural gas available. $200-300 is probably normal for your climate if propane is close to $2.00/gallon. How does your usage compare with that of friends and neighbors in the area? Also, to compare with oil, figure that a gallon of oil contains right at 50% more BTUs than one of propane (not exactly, but close enough for approximating) Therefore, it will take 150 gallons of propane to get the same amount of heat as 100 gallons of oil, assuming the same efficiency of the equipment. Without seeing your house, or having any more info, it will be impossible to give you any more than guesses. Larry

- Jason -

- Nehmo - In Kansas City, Kansas, for 1,800 square feet of interior space, we're paying US$210/month average for January and December using natural gas. The house has no insulation (but not the same no-insulation house I talked about previously) and wall-attached space heaters. Yes, I know, I have to add insulation.

Advice: Get an electric blanket and bail some dogs out of the pound.

I only have propane as a backup to my 14 seer heat pump. Below

Barry