I did the analysis on a house I owned many years ago, and setback was marginal economically. I nonetheless turn the heat down when going to bed, for comfort, so maybe I save a little. A clock thermostat wouldn't really work, because bedtime isn't that predictable.
But by far the most effective thing one can do to save on heating expense is to hunt down and plug all air leaks, and this can be done quite cheaply, so the return on investment is immense.
Joe Gwinn
Yes, Type R was a favorite in the high temp (2200 F to 3000+ F) Vacuum heat treating furnaces. But we still used C/A (type K) in the workhorse machines---- 1800F to 2300F vacuum furnaces. Of course we didn't have the corrosion problems unless we were experimenting with partial pressures of various gases.
Pete Stanaitis
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Spehro Pefhany wrote:
And I have yet another data point to throw in this mix. Bigger is better. Three years ago I broke down and bought a 1,000 gal propane tank. It's a sub grade install. We're saving up to buy a 2nd one. Up here in the PNW, propane prices seem to vary wildly between Summer and Winter rates. With this much capacity I can buy low and make it over a year for the house. The additional 1,000 gal tank will be for my shop.
Two winters ago propane prices in the late fall were near $4.00 per gal. I'd filled it that Summer for less than $2.00 per gal. By next Spring the 1st tank will have paid for itself. The additional capacity with the 2nd tank will allow me to fine tune my buying timing. Figure that one can remain 1/2 empty to allow unforseen bargains.
Our goal is to have enough propane capacity to go totally off-grid, if need be, for over two years. In the meantime saving between 30-50% on our past three years heating bills works for me.
Newb
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