A Solution to the Craziness of Home Heating Fuel Prices
"Enjoy it while you can" should be the slogan for this year's heating season.
Barring a disaster(s) of some sort, heating fuel prices should remain at reasonable levels across the board for the duration of this heating season.
The deciding factor will be how long it takes the economy to get its legs back.
I hate to think what commodity prices are going to look like in the coming years when the two most populous economies in the world, China and India, start to get a taste of the good life.
The demand on raw materials will be 10 times what they were during the Industrial Revolution.
In addition to the pressure on commodity prices brought to bear by increased demand, speculators are lurking in the tall grasses waiting to pounce on developing trends and force prices higher still.
In the meantime, a brief window of opportunity exists to prepare for the eventual resurgence of fuel prices.
The more I study this issue, the more I become convinced that the only viable solution to the problem of future fuel price unpredictability is two heating systems.
One is your current fossil fuel system - oil, natural gas or propane.
The other would be a biomass stove or furnace fueled by corn, wood pellets or both.
The availability of a dual heating system would give you the option to burn whichever fuel is cheaper depending on economic conditions, eliminate second guessing whether your fuel budget plan is going to save or cost you money each year, and relieve the angst and uncertainty of not knowing what fuel prices are going to do from year to year.
The only missing piece in the puzzle is an easy way to compare fuel prices on an apples to apples basis.
The simplest method is to consult a fuel comparison chart such as the one here.
I know the solution sounds expensive, and it comes at time when many homeowners can least afford it, but it's not as expensive as you might think when you factor in the 30% tax credit for biomass stoves.
But the window of opportunity for the tax credits on biomass stoves and furnaces will be open only until December 31, 2010.
Barring a disaster(s) of some sort, heating fuel prices should remain at reasonable levels across the board for the duration of this heating season.
The deciding factor will be how long it takes the economy to get its legs back.
I hate to think what commodity prices are going to look like in the coming years when the two most populous economies in the world, China and India, start to get a taste of the good life.
The demand on raw materials will be 10 times what they were during the Industrial Revolution.
In addition to the pressure on commodity prices brought to bear by increased demand, speculators are lurking in the tall grasses waiting to pounce on developing trends and force prices higher still.
In the meantime, a brief window of opportunity exists to prepare for the eventual resurgence of fuel prices.
The more I study this issue, the more I become convinced that the only viable solution to the problem of future fuel price unpredictability is two heating systems.
One is your current fossil fuel system - oil, natural gas or propane.
The other would be a biomass stove or furnace fueled by corn, wood pellets or both.
The availability of a dual heating system would give you the option to burn whichever fuel is cheaper depending on economic conditions, eliminate second guessing whether your fuel budget plan is going to save or cost you money each year, and relieve the angst and uncertainty of not knowing what fuel prices are going to do from year to year.
The only missing piece in the puzzle is an easy way to compare fuel prices on an apples to apples basis.
The simplest method is to consult a fuel comparison chart such as the one here.
I know the solution sounds expensive, and it comes at time when many homeowners can least afford it, but it's not as expensive as you might think when you factor in the 30% tax credit for biomass stoves.
But the window of opportunity for the tax credits on biomass stoves and furnaces will be open only until December 31, 2010.
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