Unbelievable how the time flies!
I started this blog on February 20th 2005, and here we are still at it six years later.
A lot has changed in the intervening years: Mostly as a result of the depression in the construction/remodeling industry caused by our housing market crash. That slow motion train wreck really started in the Fall of 2007, came to crescendo with the stock market disintegration in 2008, and continues with the seemingly never ending parade of housing foreclosures.
2005 was when housing prices and the refinancing and remodeling delirium surrounding them were at their most feverish pitch. Fast forward to today and everyone left in the Industry, and anything connected to housing, is struggling to stay afloat.
Contractors have it bad...really, really bad. Many have gone out of business or retired. The ones who remain are glad to have any sort of work. Kitchen and bath retailers with showrooms have been very hard hit. Most have fairly large overhead. Only those who socked away money for that proverbial rainy day and cut staff have survived.
Many other retailers whose businesses were built around furnishing and decorating homes have gone under, as well as building materials suppliers (those few that were left after the Big Box stores decimated their numbers).
Many businesses that I have known and sent my clients to for decades are now, sadly, gone.
It's a gloomy time. That's for sure! The only bright spot is the ultra high-end. Seems like those folks just never run out of money!
The middle-class continues to struggle with joblessness, under-employment and homes that are too expensive for their reduced incomes. Worse, many have already lost those homes they invested so heavily upon.
About the only thing you can say about the future few years is that we have nowhere to go but up. I think it will be a long and slow haul though. Living within our means does not come easily to Americans.
Good luck everybody. Here's hoping that my seventh year anniversary post is back to ebullient and optimistic.
Peggy
Monday, February 21, 2011
Know Your Heating System Operation Costs
Ongoing Costs of Operation Are Just As Important as the Upfront Costs of Purchase and InstallationBuying 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.
Related Heating System Installation Information...
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.
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.
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