Monthly Energy Costs

The numbers for December have come in, and we've compiled Rural Way's monthly energy data for 2011.  There is some good news and some bad news.  First, the good news.  In contrast to the past two years, we were not stunned by our December energy costs.  For 2011, December energy costs were just under $120; in 2009 they were nearly $203.  We also managed to eliminate most of the August spike which was such a problem last year (about $90 in 2011 instead of $118 in 2010).  The bad news is that our average monthly energy spending has not budged very much over the years.  For 2009, the average was $109/month; for 2010, the average was $109/month; for 2011, the average was about $104/month.  I guess we saved about $60 last year when compared to 2009 and 2010.  On the other hand, we invested approximately $1,000 in four small (10,000 btu) natural gas space heaters during 2011.  They are much more efficient than electric heaters, but, by my calculations, our monthly energy cost savings will take 17 years to pay for the new heaters.

Of course, one of the benefits of the capital investment is a much higher comfort level.  Before the small gas heaters arrived, morning kitchen temperatures during the winter would generally be in the high 30s and low 40s.  Now they are at least 10 degrees warmer right off the bat.  In addition, we now have heat in both the office and the studio, which is new.  So, we have added winter comfort to an additional 300 square feet of indoor space.  Probably a better way to calculate this would be to figure out our costs per square foot of area heated.  We'd see a much bigger savings that way.  One other piece of interesting news is that Questar, our natural gas provider, puts out data comparing the gas consumption rates around the neighborhood.  For December 2011, the average consumption of our nearest 100 neighbors was 9.6 decatherms.  We used 4 decatherms.  As regards our carbon footprint, I guess we've earned the right to feel smug and self-righteous.  Regrettably, instead of being righteous at Rural Ways we're just cheap.  I'd rather have the $120 back.