Staying Warm

By James C. Benfield, Executive Director, Campaign for Home Energy Assistance
January 15, 2001

With high fuel costs and the potential for a "normal" winter, it's time to review ways to keep the heat we've paid for in our homes and apartments.

For low income families who face the "heat or eat" dilemma, using energy wisely is a necessity. For others, energy conservation is merely the choice between having money for a nice vacation next summer or watching your savings go up in flames -- the ones in your furnace.

Many tips to save energy are well known: Tune up the furnace or replace it with a high-efficiency unit, install double glazed windows, calk doors and windows, install more insulation, wrap the water heater, and computerize your thermostat for time-of-day temperature control. Over the next few years, you'll save money. It's a terrific plan if you have the bucks.

Now, let's look at some ideas that cost nothing or cost a little and have a very high payback in benefits.

When taking a shower, plug the bath tub to capture the hot water, and let it drain only after it has reached room temperature. This is the equivalent of several radiators of heat, and it helps to get the house rewarmed if you've turned down the thermostat before going to bed.

Next to poor insulation, most heat loss occurs when entering and leaving the house. Those trips to retrieve a newspaper, take out the trash or get another log for the fire let in oceans of cold air if the door is not tightly closed while you are outside. If your kids doubt this, have them lie on the floor and feel the cold air poor into the house within moments of opening the door. Close the door quickly!

Tape clear plastic over as many windows as possible, including those in the basement. This is a little bit of work, but the payback is extraordinary. Cracks in walls or foundations can let in huge amounts of cold air just as a dripping faucet can add up to a thousand gallons of water a month. At a minimum, cover the cracks with duct tape.

Weather stripping is best for poorly fitted doors, but shoving a rug up against the door will help a lot.

Comfort is very subjective, but it can be conditioned. With the exception of households with infants or elderly, 65 degrees is an acceptable level of heat. And 55 degrees at night works. What makes the low night-time setting possible, in my opinion, is keeping one's head warm. To our 19th century great grandparents, a nightcap was not an alcoholic drink before bedtime, but a covering for the head. My nightcap is a dark T-shirt, which doubles as an eye cover when my wife decides to read late into the night. Even colder temperatures can be tolerated by using an electric blanket.

Finally, don't forget about electricity usage. Turn out the lights when not occupying a room. Use florescent lighting when possible, even in lamps. They use a fraction of the electricity and last for years, whereas incandescent bulbs last only months. And try something really bold. Put the TV in the basement and play cards and backgammon with the kids, listen to the radio or CDs, read books and play the piano. In some areas, less can be better.

Even if all these suggestions are taken, millions of families still will be cold this winter. Many families may not know that they qualify for assistance. Relatives, friends and churches need to reach out to low income families to encourage them to apply for LIHEAP at local community action programs. Everyone must take responsibility to assure that no one does without heat this winter.

This op-ed article, which was sent to hundreds of newspapers by the Campaign, may be reproduced in whole or part without attribution.