Know Your Heating System Operation Costs

Ongoing Costs of Operation Are Just As Important as the Upfront Costs of Purchase and Installation

Buying a new home heating system is an important investment. The right heating system for your home will not only keep you and your family warm and safe, it will also run smoothly with minimal problems. It could significantly lower your monthly heating costs, and it can even enhance the value of your home. And, since this is an investment you’ll probably live with for years to come, you’ll want to invest wisely.

When shopping for a new heating system, you need to compare not only the initial cost to buy and install the system, but also how much it will cost you, on average, to operate your system.

Make sure you know the energy efficiency of the heating system you are getting. Older, conventional furnaces or boilers can often have an energy efficiency lower than 65%. Today’s more efficient heating systems have efficiency ratings that range from 78% to 97% for forced air systems and 80% to 95% for hot water systems. That’s why upgrading to a new, more efficient heating system has the potential for reducing your monthly heating bills by 20-40%.

The extra money you spend for a high-efficiency heater or heating system will pay you back in energy savings in a relatively short time. For example, suppose you are choosing between a heating system with an efficiency rating of 78% and one with a rating of 93%. The higher-efficiency heating system will cost $500 more, but will probably save you, on average, about $137 each year in operating costs. So you will recover the $500 additional upfront cost in less than five years. That's a big saving.

If you are not planning to stay in the home long enough to reach the payback point, you may wish to choose a lower-priced heating system. But remember, a high-efficiency heating system can be a good selling point when it comes time to sell your home.

Our Recommendation: Schedule a FREE In-Home Comfort Analysis from Horizon Services. One of our experienced Comfort Consultants will come to your home, study your house from top to bottom, get a sense of your heating requirements, then give you a complete report with recommendations on a heating system that is just right for your situation, as well as assist you in determining how much you can actually expect to save in monthly heating costs by upgrading to a more efficient heating system.

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Cabbage Dosa ~ No fermentation, spicy dosa

At first, cabbage in a dosa did not appeal to me. I have seen many blog posts featuring the cabbage dosa, a famous Konkani recipe. My husband's aunt Malathi is a great cook and she loves to cook and feed too. When she is serving, she keeps filling your plate and you will be too full that one will need support to get up from the chair.  M aunt's husband is very choosy when it comes to food. He will have only oil free food and don't eat onions. M aunt will cook the same curry in two ways, with ease. Also sometimes she will cook different menus to satisfy all. And she puts together the meal at super speed. And in many ways, she reminds me of my mother.  That way, I have always felt that I am staying at my home when I go there. She has never treated me as daughter-in-law. I am literally pampered there.  After we shifted to Pune, I had to visit my hometown and I stayed at aunt's house. She made this dosa for breakfast. I was simply hooked to it and understood a recipe cannot be judged by its ingredients alone.  And then it is a regular at my home.

This dos is almost an instant kind since no fermentation is required here. Tamarind is added to the batter and it takes care of the slight sourness to the batter. If you remember to soak the rice and dal the previous night, then the breakfast for the day is ready in 15 minutes including the grinding and chopping time. So if the cabbage in the recipe has put you off, do try it once and you will be proven wrong.

You need

• Parboiled rice - 1 cup
• Chana dal - 2 tblspn
• Tuvar dal - 1 tblspn
• Red chillies - 6-8 nos
• Tamarind - Gooseberry sized
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
• Hing - 1/4 tspn
• Salt to taste
• Finely chopped cabbage - 1 cup

Method
Soak rice and dal together overnight.

Soak tamarind and red chillies in warm water for 10 minutes. Soaking in warm water makes the tamarind soft. Grind the soaked tamarind, red chillies, hing , turmeric and salt along with few tablespoons of rice. Grind it to smooth paste and then add the rest of rice+dal mix. Grind it coarsely. To the batter, stir in the chopped cabbage. The batter will be thick like that of adai.

Heat dosa tawa and when it is hot, spread a ladle of  the batter. The batter is not easily spreadable like dosa. Using the ladle lightly spread the batter to a circle. Don't try to spread thin. This is a fairly thick dosa. Drizzle oil around the dosa. When the bottom is cooked, flip and cook on the other side.

The dosa can be had on its own since it has tamarind and red chillies to add spice. A side of coconut chuntney or sambhar is also good. Serve it hot.

Strawberry Iced Tea

Iced tea is a great alternative to the carbonated beverages carrying just sugar and empty calories. I opted for my favorite Strawberry and it came out very well with a light and pretty pink color. Loved it and I am gonna make it more often. 


Ingredients:
Tea bags - 2 (May use Black or Green Tea. I used Green) ~ 2 tsp
Water - 600 ml
Strawberries - about 8-10
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar/Honey - 3 tsp