This commentary is by state Rep. Mike Mrowicki, D-Putney; his district also includes Dummerston.
“Highest heating costs in years strains New Englanders,” read the headline in January.
For many Vermonters, the shock of home heating price increases is still setting in. The prices of oil, gas, even wood are nearly out of reach. Who knows what next year will bring? Is this a hamster wheel you want to keep spinning on?
Not me. Our family walked away from heating price volatility and uncertainty and you can too.
We burned five cords of wood each winter since we built our house in 1989. A house that is well insulated with 2×6 framing and efficient windows. We burned wood because that’s what we could afford. Every year with some sweat, a chainsaw, and a splitting maul, we proved the old adage that wood heats you twice (or more).
However, putting up five cords a year isn’t as easy as it used to be, and we started buying wood some years ago — even as wood prices have risen, along with other heating costs.
So, we bought a heat pump (on a three-year payment plan at $83/month). Yes, it’s a clean source of heat but primarily we were looking to a future when using five cords was more than my back was up to.
Turns out the economics of it have worked out even better than we hoped. At this year’s cost of wood, it could’ve cost us about $1,500 this year to heat the house. Our heating costs with the pump, now that it’s paid off? About $900 per year.
In comparison, a friend whose oil bill for 800 gallons was $1,800 last year has seen it rise to over $3,000 this year as the heating season winds down. Is that the status quo you want to maintain?
Bottom line for us: Less cost, cleaner heat. That’s what the Affordable Heat Act can do for you, too. Save money, as we slowly evolve the heating sector and build the bridge to a cleaner, less costly heating future. (Which is why the bill includes biomass and blended methane/ natural gas. They’re needed right now, as “bridge fuels.”)
The Affordable Heat Act (S.5) can save Vermonters money as well as stabilize their home heating costs. There’s many options to do that, from tightening up your house through weatherization to more efficient 21st-century heating technology. This bill is going to save Vermonters money, despite the misinformation campaign to the contrary from fuel dealers.
The excuses for inaction just don’t hold up. Neither do the claims that this bill “forces” people to change how they currently choose to heat their homes.. Not true. This bill is all about choice.
The Affordable Heat Act is about stable costs and cleaner heat. Sounds like a good deal.
