Reply #58: Lived in NE Tx a few years back

[bigbrother05]

Didn't have Reliant and house was about half your size, but built about 1919. Had space heaters at first, then central heat and air (gas/elect). Our bills were fairly high for the time, can only imagine what it would be like now. Much of the electric in NE Tx is coal fired, you can see it being strip mined along I30 going to Dallas. Because it is intra state production, they can charge anything they like, unless its publicly regulated. That's why energy states can deal with shortages, producers only have to fulfill their minimum contracts to out-of-state customers (interstate) at regulated prices and will sell surplus energy within the state at a higher, unregulated rate. Doesn't make your bills lower, but at least have it should there be increased national demand. That's the source of the old 70s/80s saying in Tx, "Let the Yankees freeze in the dark." (No flames please, just a bit of oil bidness history.)

Something you can do if you get your fireplace going is to use you system's fan to circulate heat through your whole house. If you turn the fan to ON instead of AUTO, it will circulate heat from the room where the fireplace is to other parts of the house. Living in old houses requires some creativity. Ceiling fans set on reverse/winter will also redistribute heat. Tried the electric radiators one winter (the roll arounds with oil in them), were way more expensive than the central system or space heaters they replaced. Good luck with your challenges.

On another topic, remember that you had said something a while back about going to a vigil at the Bowie Cty Courthouse. Kept looking to see any photos, but never saw a follow up. Just wondering, thought we might see some old friends in attendance there.