Utilities Question

Jenny Gump · 12-03-2005, 02:09 PM

My gas bill was outrageous this month. So I have a question. If I close the heating exchanges in the rooms I don't use very much, will that make my furnace work harder...thus make my bill higher?

I need some advice.

Thanks in advance.

ferrarispider95 · 12-03-2005, 02:12 PM

no should have to work less, if it has less rooms to heat

**Bwana** · 12-03-2005, 02:14 PM

It should help Jenny. A lot of it depends where your thermostat is located. Just be careful not to close off areas with water pipes if it gets really cold or your house could look like a bass pond.

**Bugeater** · 12-03-2005, 02:48 PM

Not good, it wasn't even cold last month. It's kind of rare, but some homes have dampers in the ducts. If your basement isn't finished, look for small handles on the bottom of the ducts where they split off to the rooms. That's a more effective way to shut off a room if you're lucky enough to have them.

jspchief · 12-03-2005, 03:43 PM

Go ahead and close the the vents i nthe rooms you don't use. That should get more warm air to the rooms you do use, which in turn should alllow you to turn the thermostat down.

Consider doing some things to winterize your home. Make sure your storm windows are closed, and then put plastic over the windows. It may not be the most attractive, but it's a cheap way to improve the efficiency of bad windows.

JBucc · 12-03-2005, 04:41 PM

All I know is if you own one, it's 4 times the roll, and if you own both, it's 10 times the roll

**Rain Man** · 12-03-2005, 04:52 PM

The key is to keep the room with the thermostat warm. Furnaces tend to be pretty singleminded about that sort of thing.

Chiefs_Mike_Topeka · 12-03-2005, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

My front door is standing wide open right now.

It's sunny... and I'm guessing in the seventies.

jspchief · 12-03-2005, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

My front door is standing wide open right now.

It's sunny... and I'm guessing in the seventies.

I should really be outside working on my deck....

I just got done snowblowing my driveway, and the pictures in the three day forecast have igloos in them.

**Bugeater** · 12-03-2005, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

My front door is standing wide open right now.

It's sunny... and I'm guessing in the seventies.

I should really be outside working on my deck....

Yes, and it's over 100 degrees from May to September there. I'll take the snow.

**Skip Towne** · 12-03-2005, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

My front door is standing wide open right now.

It's sunny... and I'm guessing in the seventies.

I should really be outside working on my deck....

That should make up for some of those days when your mail box was so hot you couldn't touch it.

12-03-2005, 02:09 PM	Topic Starter
Jenny Gump Feloniously Restrained Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: MO Casino cash: $10004900	Utilities Question My gas bill was outrageous this month. So I have a question. If I close the heating exchanges in the rooms I don't use very much, will that make my furnace work harder...thus make my bill higher? I need some advice. Thanks in advance.
Posts: 5,171

12-03-2005, 02:12 PM	#2
ferrarispider95 She reads at a sophomore level Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: KANSAS Casino cash: $10004945	no should have to work less, if it has less rooms to heat __________________ www.steerplanet.com Show Steers Directory and Forum www.emporiaks.org Free Emporia, KS Apartment Rental Listings
Posts: 1,493

12-03-2005, 02:14 PM	#3
Bwana It's Five O'Clock Somewhere Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Billings, Montana Casino cash: $2139523647	It should help Jenny. A lot of it depends where your thermostat is located. Just be careful not to close off areas with water pipes if it gets really cold or your house could look like a bass pond.
Posts: 69,743

12-03-2005, 02:48 PM	#4
Bugeater The Maintenance Guy Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Renovated Bugeater Estate Casino cash: $6252680	Not good, it wasn't even cold last month. It's kind of rare, but some homes have dampers in the ducts. If your basement isn't finished, look for small handles on the bottom of the ducts where they split off to the rooms. That's a more effective way to shut off a room if you're lucky enough to have them.
Posts: 70,443

12-03-2005, 03:43 PM	#5
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	Go ahead and close the the vents i nthe rooms you don't use. That should get more warm air to the rooms you do use, which in turn should alllow you to turn the thermostat down. Consider doing some things to winterize your home. Make sure your storm windows are closed, and then put plastic over the windows. It may not be the most attractive, but it's a cheap way to improve the efficiency of bad windows. __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207

12-03-2005, 04:41 PM	#6
JBucc MVP Join Date: Oct 2005 Casino cash: $10004952	All I know is if you own one, it's 4 times the roll, and if you own both, it's 10 times the roll
Posts: 12,016

12-03-2005, 04:52 PM	#7
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3298491 VARSITY	The key is to keep the room with the thermostat warm. Furnaces tend to be pretty singleminded about that sort of thing. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,448