"There are a million consumers out there who would drink more wine" if sweet wine was more socially acceptable, Mr. Hanni said. "We need to remove the idea that a sweet wine is not appropriate with a steak or that you're a moron for liking it."
2.05.2011
What's wrong with sweet wine?
I couldn't agree with this article more...what's wrong with sweet wine? Way, way too much emphasis and trendiness associated with drinking dry wines. I used to drink dry wine...until I discovered how good sweet wine is. And now people think I'm an idiot. haha
Natural Gas Consumption
Just as an FYI, I thought this was interesting:
In December, I used 20.1 (thousand) cubic feet of natural gas (units correct?) and the bill was a total of $208. This was based on a gas company actual meter reading (as opposed to estimated).
In early January, I installed a programmable thermostat that my Dad harvested from my old house up in Interlochen. I programmed it to (1) drop to 58 degrees during the day while I'm at work; (2) drop to 62 degrees at night (after 10pm, before 5am); (3) 69 degrees at all other times.
December wasn't NEARLY as cold as January, and I was expecting my January gas bill to approach $300+.
INSTEAD, in January my gas bill was $248 - BUT this was based on an ESTIMATED consumption of 24.2 (thousand) cubic feet. My ACTUAL consumption, based on a meter reading I just took myself (the gas company estimated my meter reading two days ago), was 20.5 (thousand) cubic feet - meaning my consumption in January is BARELY more than it was in December, even though it has been much colder than December. Furthermore, the gas company estimated my consumption based on the history for this address (my assumption), and it was done two days ago which means my actual consumption was probably slightly less than December.
Based on my calculations of what my bill SHOULD be based on ACTUAL consumption over 30 days, somewhere around $200 is what I come up with.
So, with that all being said, and based on one month of observation, it PAYS to get a 5x2 programmable thermostat (programmable for 5 days during the week, and the two days of the weekend), AND it pays to let the daytime temperature drop to 58 degrees if you're not home. A lot of people hum and haw and argue that the gas used to reheat the house back to living temp outweighs the gas saved by letting the temp drop to 58. I've actually timed how long it takes to reheat the house, and it's somewhere around an hour. What you have to ask yourself is how many times and for how long does the furnace run during the day to maintain "living temp" when you're not home (if you don't have the thermostat drop the temp for you)? My guess is that it's way more than an hour.
Anyway, I can't wait to see what next month's bill is...two months of positive data is better than one. My guess is that the thermostat saves me somewhere between 20-30% off my gas bill.
In December, I used 20.1 (thousand) cubic feet of natural gas (units correct?) and the bill was a total of $208. This was based on a gas company actual meter reading (as opposed to estimated).
In early January, I installed a programmable thermostat that my Dad harvested from my old house up in Interlochen. I programmed it to (1) drop to 58 degrees during the day while I'm at work; (2) drop to 62 degrees at night (after 10pm, before 5am); (3) 69 degrees at all other times.
December wasn't NEARLY as cold as January, and I was expecting my January gas bill to approach $300+.
INSTEAD, in January my gas bill was $248 - BUT this was based on an ESTIMATED consumption of 24.2 (thousand) cubic feet. My ACTUAL consumption, based on a meter reading I just took myself (the gas company estimated my meter reading two days ago), was 20.5 (thousand) cubic feet - meaning my consumption in January is BARELY more than it was in December, even though it has been much colder than December. Furthermore, the gas company estimated my consumption based on the history for this address (my assumption), and it was done two days ago which means my actual consumption was probably slightly less than December.
Based on my calculations of what my bill SHOULD be based on ACTUAL consumption over 30 days, somewhere around $200 is what I come up with.
So, with that all being said, and based on one month of observation, it PAYS to get a 5x2 programmable thermostat (programmable for 5 days during the week, and the two days of the weekend), AND it pays to let the daytime temperature drop to 58 degrees if you're not home. A lot of people hum and haw and argue that the gas used to reheat the house back to living temp outweighs the gas saved by letting the temp drop to 58. I've actually timed how long it takes to reheat the house, and it's somewhere around an hour. What you have to ask yourself is how many times and for how long does the furnace run during the day to maintain "living temp" when you're not home (if you don't have the thermostat drop the temp for you)? My guess is that it's way more than an hour.
Anyway, I can't wait to see what next month's bill is...two months of positive data is better than one. My guess is that the thermostat saves me somewhere between 20-30% off my gas bill.
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