GreenYour.com

Does it seem like you're feeding your furnace bushels of money every heating season? The average American homeowner pays $1,900 a year in energy bills, half of which goes to heating and cooling.[1] Those who live in colder parts of the US spend about two-thirds of their energy dollars on home heating.[2] In the Northeast, where more homes heat with oil than in other parts of the country, oil prices have topped $3 per gallon in some areas. In Maine, for example, homes relying on oil use an average of 860 gallons per year.[3]

Heating your home with fossil fuels not only results in a high cost to you, it also comes at a high cost to the environment. The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed the ecological impact of the most common consumer actions and products and ranked "home heating, air conditioning, and water heating" fourth in its list of the "seven most harmful human activities" [to the environment].[4]

The carbon connection

In 2006, human activity pumped 32 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.[5] Although the US makes up only 5 percent of the world's population, Americans are responsible for 25 percent of these CO₂ emissions.[6] US home heating systems alone pollute the air with more than a billion tons of CO₂ every year, as well as about 12 percent of the nation's emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.[2]

Carbon dioxide is a small part of our atmosphere—measured in parts per million (p.p.m.)—but it regulates the earth's temperature.[7] High levels of carbon dioxide create a greenhouse effect—the CO₂ acting like a pane of glass in a greenhouse, which lets solar heat in, but not back out. Because carbon dioxide is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, too much or too little upsets the earth's delicate balance.[8]

During the last ice age, the atmosphere contained too little carbon dioxide (180 p.p.m.) and the earth's temperatures plummeted. As it rebounded to a comfortable 280 parts per mission, a stable climate returned. During the last century and a half, however—since the use of fossil fuels began during the Industrial Revolution—carbon dioxide levels have risen to over 381 p.p.m. The result of this global warming? Nineteen of the 20 hottest years on record have occurred since the 1980s.[7] Other global warming effects include rising ocean levels, flooding of low-lying areas, increase in severe storm activity, droughts, increasing desert areas, and loss of animal species as habitats and food sources are compromised.[8]

How can your home heating choices affect global warming? Switching from electric to gas or oil heat would save 23 or 19 tons of CO₂ per year, respectively. If the 40 million households in climates with large heating requirements boosted the efficiency of their furnace or boiler from 70 to 90 percent, about 45 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be saved every year—equivalent to the annual emissions of 3.9 million US households.[9][10]

Eco-alternatives

Heating with wood is making a comeback, with woodstoves certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and new options such as pellet stoves and wood-fired furnaces. Although burning wood releases carbon dioxide, growing trees sequesters more CO₂ than is released during burning, so wood is considered carbon neutral.

Electric heat generated by hydro, solar, and wind power essentially produce no emissions, and are all renewable fuels. Geothermal, biodiesel, and passive solar are other earth-smart home heating options.

Tax breaks and subsidies

The installation of a new alternative energy heating system can be expensive, but government subsidies and tax incentives are available in many states. Check out the Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency for information on whether your state provides incentives for installing a renewable energy heating system.

In addition to tax incentives and subsidies focused solely on encouraging the use of alternative energy, the federal government, and many states, offer heating assistance for low-income families. The subsidies may be applied to traditional fuels such as oil and gas, as well as to renewable fuel alternatives, especially wood, which is a popular low-cost heating fuel in many rural areas. Most of these programs apply not only to homeowners, but also to renters whose rent does not include heat.[3]

In California, low-income residents can also receive subsidies for going solar. The California Solar Initiative Single-Family Low-Income Incentive Program is the first statewide low-income solar program to be implemented on a large scale.[11]

Controversies and drawbacks

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program received an additional $409 million at the end of 2007 as the result of a budget bill approved by the US Congress. While fuel aid advocates praised the increase, it's not enough to keep up with record home heating oil prices, especially in the Northeast. State governments are scrambling to pick up the tab for the rising number of poor, elderly, and working families that can't afford to pay for heat.[3] In Massachusetts, where about 40 percent of homes use oil heat, the state government allocated an additional $15 million for fuel assistance during the 2007-2008 heating season. Maine, one of the coldest states in the US, believes the situation will become a crisis situation as winter progresses and low-income families use up their fuel aid for the season. For Maine homeowners relying on fuel oil assistance, the average fuel aid benefit of $579 will last the typical family about a month, whereas five or six years ago, it would have paid for about half of the heating season's oil.[3] These fuel assistance programs can help rural Americans on limited incomes reduce their dependence on expensive fuel oil if they are used for (relatively) inexpensive wood heat. Using these subsidies for carbon neutral wood heating means that the money will provide heat for a much longer time period—a win-win both ecologically and economically.

External links

• Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency Find information on whether your state provides incentives for installing a renewable energy heating system.