Winter is Here!

Contribution by Stevie Kirby

It’s hard to believe it’s already the time of year when we need to turn on our heat in New York. After a beautiful summer and brief fall it’s getting colder by the day. Last year our heating bills were higher than my roommate and I were comfortable with so I decided to look online for some tips on energy efficiency. Although it won’t help, I learned a lot about building design and location and how it affects heating and cooling efficiency. Everything from topography and building location as well as where you place windows can have a major affect. I guess these ideas did not come into play in 1955 when my apartment building was built! After getting side-tracked by all the interesting information that I could not use, I went back to my original search for things that would be helpful. I visited www.newyorkenergyrates.com to see if I could get some pricing relief in my area. I also looked at the new energy star rated appliances at the major department stores. Maybe if I save enough on my bills I can get a new dishwasher!