Heating Bills Research Articles

The residential space heating problem in Lithuania

Several important problems are associated with heating of housing in Lithuania. Residential heating is heavily dependent on fossil fuel, combustion of which contributes to air pollution and atmospheric build-up of carbon dioxide. Subsidies from the State budget to maintain the residential heat price at a below-cost level declined in recent years, but are often still substantial. Eliminating subsidies for heat is politically difficult. Many households face difficulty in paying their heating bill, which has risen greatly in real terms in the past five years. The problem is amplified since most households in apartments are billed on the basis of their floor area, not on real heat consumption. The magnitude of the above problems is heightened by the inefficient manner in which energy is used to heat most residential buildings. This inefficiency concerns losses in transmission and distribution of district heat, high losses through the building envelopes, as well as lack of proper metering and control of district heat. imrpoving the energy efficiency of heating is recognized as an important goal for addressing the problems outlined above. This report describes housing and space heating in Lithuania. It discusses the process of privatization and how it affects heating energy use, as well as implementation of conservation measures and retrofitting. It also discusses some of the measures undertaken by both property owners and by governmental agencies that affect heating energy use. The report summarizes results from a number of recent studies of the potential for energy savings in heating Lithuanian multifamily buildings. We discuss barriers to realization of the potential, and institutional and financial approaches for overcoming them. In closing we recommend actions that should be taken soon to move Lithuanian housing along a path to greater energy efficiency.

Temperature and the heating bill

First Page

Filtration of the fumes generated by industrial CO2 laser cutting

This paper reviews the subject of fume filtration in the context of industrial laser cutting. Self‐cleaning or surface filtration can be used to good effect when cutting metals. The clean exhaust air from such a filter can be recycled into the workplace with an obvious saving on heating bills. Fumes generated during non‐metal cutting are a great deal more difficult to filter and recycling of the air is not possible.

Performance evaluation of a new hybrid solar heating and ventilation system optimised for U.K. weather conditions

Results are reported from a detailed parametric study to evaluate the performance of a newly proposed hybrid solar housing development in Monymusk, Scotland. The development embodies solar collectors forming part of the roof structure itself and indistinguishable in appearance from the local vernacular, a new optimised solar roof collector system which combines both heating and ventilation functions and the ability to automatically switch between a range of heating and/or ventilation modes. Each dwelling unit was modelled using degree-day properties, and the thermal performance was simulated over a period of one year, based on expected occupancy and usage, and using meteorological data appropriate to the geographical location. It is concluded that with careful construction, good thermal insulation, moderate thermal mass and properly controlled ventilation, the collector system can meet the space and domestic hot water heating requirements almost entirely. The annual total heating bill, with full price electricity, could be less than £50 per dwelling at 1994 prices.

Heat-meter developments for CHP-DH networks

Combined heat and power with district (i.e. community) heating (CHP-DH) has had, or will have, a significant and increasing role in dictating the energy strategies for most European countries. It has been, and still is, the desired policy that heating bills are based on actual consumption. For example, Denmark, a pioneering country in implementing DH and which already has a greater number of DH customers per head of population than any other country, has for long been concerned with metering. In the current investigation, the performance of a selection of heat meters are compared. In addition, methods of preventing fouling in different flow units are described.

The Monymusk hybrid solar heating and ventilation project

Numerical simulations were performed at Aberdeen University to evaluate and optimize the transient performance of a newly proposed hybrid solar housing development in Monymusk, Scotland. The development is for sheltered dwelling units built as row houses and embodying several unique features, including a traditional exterior that is indistinguishable from the local vernacular, a new solar roof collector system to provide both heating and ventilation, and the ability to automatically ‘switch’ between a range of heating and/or ventilation modes as required. An important outcome of this research is a new prototype solar roof collector system which mimics the external appearance and function of conventional roofing and serves as a solar energy conversion device. The thermal performance of two representative dwelling units, one facing N/S and the other facing E/W, was examined in accordance with architectural plans, expected occupancy and usage, and meterological conditions for the location. The results from a series of detailed transient simulations suggest that with careful construction, good thermal insulation, moderate thermal mass and properly controlled ventilation, the proposed roof collector system is able to meet the space and water heating requirements at this high latitude almost entirely, reducing the annual heating bill, with full price electricity, to less than £50 per dwelling unit at 1993 prices.

Respiratory Effects of Wood Heat: Clinical Observations and Epidemiologic Assessment

An increasing number of families in the United States are converting to woodburning stoves in an effort to reduce winter heating bills. Woodburning stoves operate as a contained combuster of wood and produce a variety of pollutants as byproducts of combustion. Although technological advances have reduced emissions to some degree, even the most efficient woodburning stoves emit hazardous pollutants directly into the home when the stove is operating and the door is opened to add wood. The question arises as to whether pollutants are accumulating in homes where woodburning stoves are used as a source of heat. This issue is especially important considering the trend to increase home insulation and overall airtightness in an effort to conserve energy and reduce heat loss. This paper reviews the clinical case report that first postulated an association of recurrent chest illness with woodburning stove exposure and summarizes the findings to date on respiratory effects of wood heat for young children.

Respiratory effects of wood heat: clinical observations and epidemiologic assessment.

An increasing number of families in the United States are converting to woodburning stoves in an effort to reduce winter heating bills. Woodburning stoves operate as a contained combuster of wood and produce a variety of pollutants as byproducts of combustion. Although technological advances have reduced emissions to some degree, even the most efficient woodburning stoves emit hazardous pollutants directly into the home when the stove is operating and the door is opened to add wood. The question arises as to whether pollutants are accumulating in homes where woodburning stoves are used as a source of heat. This issue is especially important considering the trend to increase home insulation and overall airtightness in an effort to conserve energy and reduce heat loss. This paper reviews the clinical case report that first postulated an association of recurrent chest illness with woodburning stove exposure and summarizes the findings to date on respiratory effects of wood heat for young children.

Determinants of household water conservation retrofit activity: A discrete choice model using survey data

Economic analyses of residential water demand have typically concentrated on price and income elasticities. In the short run a substantial change in water prices might induce only small changes in consumption levels. As time passes, however, households will have the opportunity to “retrofit” existing water‐using equipment to make it less water‐intensive. This produces medium‐ to long‐run demand elasticities that are higher than short‐run studies suggest. We examine responses to water conservation questions appearing on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's 1983 residential energy survey. We find that households' decisions to install shower retrofit devices are influenced by the potential to save money on water heating bills. We attribute toilet retrofit decisions more to noneconomic factors which might be characterized as “general conservation mindedness.” The endogeneity of these retrofit decisions casts some doubt on the results of studies of individual households that treat voluntary retrofits as exogenous.

• New rules to govern cold weather payments.

Social Security Minister Nicholas Scott, has announced that extra cash will be available during cold spells to help certain people pay their heating bills.

The Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom

An ice boom has been operating in Lake Erie since 1965 to reduce runs of ice that disrupt hydroelectric generation on the Niagara River. Resultant increases in power have been measured in millions of dollars annually, and studies indicate no negative environmental effects from the boom. The findings are contradicted by perceptions of local inhabitants who argue that it has caused climatic cooling. In spite of continued efforts to involve the public, regulatory agencies have been viewed with suspicion and distrust. A series of floating timbers has been installed annually since the winter of 1964-65 in the eastern end of Lake Erie to reduce disruptions to hydroelectric-power generation caused by discharges of ice from the lake into the Niagara River. The ice boom has functioned entirely to the satisfaction of the utility companies that maintain it, but inhabitants of the area adjacent to the eastern end of the lake have argued that the boom has retarded the seasonal dissipation of the ice. Among the adverse consequences attributed to the boom are cooler spring temperatures, higher heating bills, shortened growing seasons, and rising water levels on the lake. The opposing interpretations of the performance of the ice boom are not particularly unexpected. Members of the public often hold markedly different viewpoints of reality than do environmental professionals. Moreover, professional decision makers generally have considered public involvement as an unnecessary impediment to effective decision making. The desire of professionals to exclude the public from a decision-making process has been cited as a common cause of environmental conflict.1 However, in the case of the ice boom, public involvement was sought before the structure was first installed. When public concerns emerged after several years of operation, efforts were made to evaluate objectively the contentious issues, but there is little evidence to suggest that the efforts in any way mitigated the * Many ideas expressed in this article took shape in discussions with colleagues on the National Academy of Sciences panel that investigated the ice-boom controversy. Susan Hanson, Phillip Frankland, and Marc Riess provided suggestions that improved the text. T. F. Saarinen, Environmental Planning: Perception and Behavior (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976), pp. 155-156. * DR. CHURCHILL is an assistant professor of geography at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont 05753. Copyright ? 1985 by the American Geographical Society of New York This content downloaded from 157.55.39.27 on Mon, 05 Sep 2016 06:14:44 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW controversy. The ice-boom issue illustrates the difficulties of public involvement in environmental decision making, particularly when perceived costs and benefits are distributed differentially in space and time. In this article I trace the emergence of the controversy about the ice boom and describe the problems that have been attributed to it. The problem is examined from the viewpoint not only of public responses but also of activities by utilities and regulatory authorities. An analysis of the controversy provides broadly applicable insights into public perception and behavior.

Wallpapers to cut the heating bills?

A new type of wallpaper has been developed which can cut fuel consumption appreciably where radiant heating is used. Its commercial exploitation was not pursued because the benefits are much reduced by obstructing furniture and by unprotected door and window spaces–although that was before energy costs soared. The project was carried out at the UK Electricity Council's Research Centre at Capenhurst.

Ford Signs Solar Heating Bill

Ford Signs Solar Heating Bill

Simulation and a house-heating problem.

In this paper, a personal vexation, the author's struggle with heating bills, is neatly turned to some profit.

Seasonal Factors in Oil Supply and Demand

Seasonal Factors in Oil Supply and Demand