First Three Days This Week Were Spare The Air Days, Time To Get Ready For Winter

Getting back to the Spare the Air days around Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon and the Bay Area. Also, I have provided information in this Blog on how to reduce heating costs through the long cold winter months.

Recently Caltrans turned on the freeway metering lights along I-680 from San Ramon to Sunol. I am wondering if Caltrans should turn the metering lights off on the Spare the Air days.

With the metering lights on, traffic must stop at the metering light, wait for the green light to enter I-680 freeway. While stopped and waiting at the metering lights motor vehicles are adding extra layers of pollutants to the local environment.

Those extra layers of pollutants are accumulating in the low-lying areas such as the new Bernal Development, the Muirwood neighborhood and all up and down the I-680 corridor.

We all know how long those lines of traffic are at the metering lights and how they just creep along. With the lights off there would be more zip with the traffic through the area with less pollutants deposited in our local neighborhoods.

Continuing with the Spare the Air subject is information for reducing heating costs:

Five years ago I purchased a state of the art wood burning insert for my masonry fire place. I say state of the art because the Quatra-Fire 3100-i wood burning insert I purchase exceeds all of the Federal Environmentral Protection Agency (EPA) standards for particulate release.

The Quatra-Fire 3100-i insert is highly efficient and burns clean as long as seasoned hardwood is burned. It is a major investment. About $4,000installed. It has paid for itself. I save $250 dollars each winter month on energy heating costs. I burn one and a half cord of hardwood each winter at a cost of $360 dollars each winter.

On the Spare the Air days, I do not burn in my Quadra-Fire insert because California environmental laws do not allow fire place wood burning. Although Federal environmental law permits and allows my Quadra-Fire to burn, I abide by the California law.

It's a little like the marijuana dope laws; many communities in California have legalized it but the Federal law forbids it. I cheer every time I hear the Feds busting another marijuana dope facility.

On the Spare the Air days, I roll out my electric oil heater which costs fourteen cents per kilowatt hour to operate. We use the electric oil heater four to six killowatt hours each evening on the spare the air days during the winter months.

A kilowatt hour is an appliance using electricity at the rate of 1400 kilowatts for an hour. 1400 kilowatts an hour may be the high heat setting on the appliance, low heat setting would be 700 kilowatts, for an hour is seven cents an hour.

You can call PG&E to get your rate per kilowatt hour. The rates may vary neighborhood to neighborhood and city to city. When you purchase a new appliance check the UL documentation that comes with the unit, it will state the rate of kilowatt usage at low, medium and high settings.

Electric oil heaters are recomended simply because when you turn the unit off it will continue to radiant heat for up to an hour. A simple electric heater will not radiant any heat when it is turned off. Also, oil heaters may come with a remote electronic control that allows you to set a timer for turning on and for turning off.

Simple electric heaters tend to use electricity at a rate higher than 1400 kilowatts an hour. Again read the UL documentation before you purchase the unit. Be sure to get your rate per kilowatt hours of electricity use at your home and what amount of kilowatt each hour is afixed to your rate before you go shopping.

My Quadra-Fire 3100-i wood burning insert heats up to 2000 square feet and is manufactured by Hearth & Home technologies Colville, Washington. www.quadrafire.com

Electric heaters prices range from fifty dollars to one hundred fifty dollars and will maintain heat in areas from one hundred square feet to two hundred square feet.