Gas and Commitment

With the arrival of the first heating bill, it seems something must be done about the Original Charming Thermostat and Furnace duo. $828 to fill the tank. We’ve had months without the iterative training cycle of positive and negative reinforcement made possible by regular heating bills – or that should be possible if we could only set the temperature. We clearly need a thermostat solution, and for that matter, perhaps a better furnace than our current 83% efficiency antique.

I placed a call to our local natural gas provider, Puget Sound Energy, and they were most helpful in running down what it would take, and what it would cost, to run a gas line to the house. Since our house is Just Large Enough, and there are no extra complications such as breaking up concrete or access fees to hook up to a newer gas line, PSE will run a gas line to the house for free (well, One Easy Payment of $14.95 really) provided I commit to installing both a natural gas furnace and hot water heater within one year.

Hmmm……can we commit to this? After all, we haven’t even managed to commit to getting married, even though Martin & I have lived together for 8 years now. And we could be moving to California any day now.

This will require some serious contemplation, a couple of bids, and perhaps a short midlife crisis. Fortunately, PSE even has a referral service for reputable contractors in my area. For the furnace and hot water heater that is, not the crisis.