Beware of dangers when trying to cut down on heating costs
You don’t want to end up ice cold while trying to stay warm. People will take chances while trying to cut heating costs but still stay warm. They may lose their homes or they may lose their lives.
Alabama is entering its coldest time of the year while heating costs are skyrocketing. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts temperatures will be much colder than normal through January but the remainder of the winter will be relatively mild. Ice may occur as far south as Montgomery in late January, it says.
To be safe Roanoke Police Chief Bill Ford strongly recommends use of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, reading and following directions on heating equipment and use of common sense.
He has actually arrived at a fire and been told by the homeowner that a circuit breaker has been tripping all week. Something is wrong if a circuit breaker is tripping, and if not corrected a fire can result, he said.
Putting in a larger fuse will not fix the problem; it worsens it, he said. It may be twice the capacity that is supposed to be there and it may trigger a fire, especially in an older house not wired for the modern electrical load.
Call a licensed, qualified electrician if you are blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers. Virtually everything on the market is safe if used properly and people use common sense, Ford said.
Electric space heaters are fine if used properly. Extension cords are not designed for use with them and 99 percent of instructions will say not to use extension cords with them, he said. What really creates problems is someone buys six electric heaters for an old house that is not designed to carry that load.
Power strips are fine for light electrical loads, such as computers and printers but they are not designed to run several high-load items, such as space heaters. That strip is asking for problems with electrical space heaters, Ford said.
A little lady who gets cold at night will put one close to the bed. In the night she might roll over and knock part of a comforter on the heater. The bedding can quickly catch fire, threatening her life and property.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration/Nation Fire Data Center in 2002 an estimated 2,320 older adults were injured or killed in residential fires. Thirty-nine percent of older adults killed in residential structure fires were asleep when the fire started and 32 percent of older adults were trying to escape when they died.
Older adults are more likely to experience fatal injuries in fires, and this likelihood increases with age. Adults over the age of 65 years have 2.5 times the casualty death rate as do younger adults (adults 18-64) and the oldest adults have nearly 3.5 times this casualty rate.
The other most vulnerable are children. In 2002 statistics 56 percent of all child fire deaths were under age 5 and 80 percent were under age 10. Like the elderly, once burned they are more likely to die from burns than adults.
Equipment has been improved to prevent burns or deaths but it is up to the consumer to use them properly. An example is the heaters.
All these heaters have a tipover component where the heater cuts off if it is knocked over but it might not close down until a fire is started, he said. Or someone might throw a towel on a rack over a heater, leave the room, shutting the door. The motion of air from the door closing can propel the towel off the rack and on to the heater where it starts a fire.
People should be careful with space heaters to prevent fires. According to the U.S. Fire Administration when fire breaks out a smoke alarm acting as an early warning system reduces the risk of dying by nearly 50 percent.
Smoke detectors can save lives. Buy them and have them properly installed, Ford said. The International Association of Fire Chiefs says to always change your battery when you change the time in the spring and fall. At a minimum change them once a year, he said, adding batteries are cheap.
“It is a proven fact smoke detectors save lives. Some have escape lights. Some are battery only. Some are electrical with a battery backup. Realistically a $5 one works as well as a $25 one,” Ford said.
Install them on every level, including the basement, but particularly inside and outside sleeping areas. Place them on the ceiling or 6-to-8 inches below the ceiling on side walls since smoke and many deadly gases rise.
A total electrical house does not need a carbon monoxide detector, but anyone with a gas stove, gas water heater, kerosene heaters, gas space heaters or similar products should have one, he said.
Compared to smoke alarms they are more expensive but “the tradeoff is money versus you are dead,” Ford said. “The key is proper maintenance of fuel-burning products.”
There is nothing wrong with gas logs, wall-mounted space heaters and other items as long as they are properly installed and properly maintained by certified people. And they should be checked annually, he said.
“Most all reputable companies have people that are licensed, certified and bonded. Number one, it may save your life. Number two, it can save you money. A lot of your dollars are going up your chimney because it is not properly adjusted,” Ford said.
Burning fuel creates carbon, and dust gets in there. The mix has to be right for maximum efficiency. It is best to have it checked. A yellow flame indicates the mix is not right. It should be blue, he said.
“We’ve had people close up the chimney, not planning to use it, not realizing the gas water heater is vented through the chimney and all that carbon monoxide is backed up in the house. They can get headaches or get sick or it can kill,” he said.
“It is an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that can kill you,” he said.
“We’ve been out on carbon monoxide calls,” he said. People want to save money and not pay service charges to have heaters cleaned out, he said.
If using a chimney, have someone check it for cracked, deteriorated mortar, he said. Use properly seasoned wood that is dried out and doesn’t create creosote. Creosote can create a chimney fire that is like a blowtorch dropping sparks on a roof.
“I don’t like kerosene heaters. They smoke. They stink. I don’t think you are going to save anything anyway with a kerosene heater,” Ford said. Oil-filled radiators will usually not cause a fire but any heating should be safe for children to be around. The oil-filled radiators are slow to heat if someone is wanting to use them to provide heat while taking a quick shower, he said.
Using an oven for heat is a very inefficient way to heat. It is not designed for heating and as long as the door is open it will never cycle off, he said.
Even something as innocent as ashes from a fireplace can be dangerous. Ashes must be properly disposed of. He has seen cases where people threw out ashes they thought were out and leaves have caught fire and burned down a carport or a big two-story house in one instance.
Everyone should have at least one fire extinguisher, he said.
Weather stripping is one way to improve warmth. “If you see light you’re wasting energy,” he said.
Filters need to be changed at least every eight months on central heating units to improve their efficiency, he said.
