Feeling the burn

Gary Zinter and his wife try to keep their apartment warm with electricity, one of the only energy sources that isn’t likely to go up in price this winter.

But baseboard electric heat isn’t cheap. And even with no increase in electricity rates, which jumped dramatically three years ago, the Everett couple feel squeezed.

Dan Bates / The Herald Bob Wallin, 64, tosses firewood into a trailer Wednesday morning as he splits fir rounds on Smith Island.

Though Zinter works part-time in his retirement years, the rising cost of gasoline and groceries is eating a bigger portion of his paycheck.

“If you’re on a shrinking budget, which we are, you’re going to pay the price,” Zinter said.

Many residents will feel hot under the collar when they open their heating bills this winter. The cost of natural gas, heating oil and propane all have risen by double-digit percentages, and even firewood is more expensive.

Much of the reason can be traced back to expensive crude oil. Thanks to rising world demand for oil and gasoline, uncertainty from the war in Iraq and a host of other factors, oil prices have remained high worldwide. Disruptions in oil production caused by the Gulf Coast hurricanes have exacerbated the situation.

So petroleum-based heating oil and propane both rose in price, as did natural gas, even though it’s not a crude oil-based product.

“It’s clear in the last few years in particular, the entire energy complex has become more closely linked in prices,” said Dan Kirschner, executive director of the Northwest Gas Association. He added that the hurricanes also hit natural gas production facilities hard.

Demand for natural gas also is up. Most new homes being built in Snohomish County are heated with natural gas.

The rising costs have made one of the most basic and oldest heating sources, wood, more attractive. Jerry Percy, owner of Hearthside &Home in Lynnwood, said interest in wood and pellet stoves has revived after several years of slow sales.

“I think that’s part of it, the rising cost of oil and natural gas,” he said. “The hurricanes also got people realizing the value of independent fuel sources such as wood.”

But firewood and compressed wood pellets haven’t been immune to the higher cost of petroleum-based energy. Percy and other pellet dealers have increased their prices slightly to make up for the higher cost of transporting the 50-pound bags to their stores.

Bob Wallin, an Everett firewood seller, said fuel prices are hurting him, too, as he delivers cords of wood to customers around the county. He’s added a few dollars to the cost of a cord as well.

The supervisor of Snohomish County’s Energy Assistance Program, Bill Beuscher, said his office expects to be busy this winter as residents who feel squeezed look for help with higher heating bills. That was the case last season.

“Prior to the end of last season’s program, even toward the end, we were receiving 50 to 60 calls a day in the middle of summer, which is unusual.”

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.

Conserving energy

Here’s some advice from experts on reducing your heating bill.

* Close your curtains at night and open them during the day to let the sun in to warm your home.

* Keep fireplace dampers closed when not in use, or install a glass screen to minimize heat loss up the chimney.

* Dress warmer during cold days and set your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower when you’re home. For every three degrees you lower it from your normal setting, you save 10 percent on heating. Lower it to 55 or 60 degrees when you go to bed or when you’re not home.

* Install a programmable thermostat and use it to automatically control temperature settings day and night. They can be set so that a furnace stays off when no one is home and turns on a few minutes before you come home. Advisers say this is one of the best ways to save money.

* Lower your heating costs and improve the air quality in your home by cleaning or changing furnace air filters every two months during the heating season.

* Check your heating ducts to ensure they are properly sealed and insulated. This can cut up to 25 percent off your heating bill.

* Caulk and weatherstrip windows and doors.

* Close doors to unused rooms to help keep warm air contained in occupied areas of the house. Closing heating registers in unused rooms isn’t advisable with forced-air heating systems, especially with gas furnaces. Closing too many heating vents can be detrimental to the system.

Help for heating cost

The Snohomish County Energy Assistance Program has a fund earmarked for Puget Sound Energy customers who have trouble paying their natural gas bills. The county office will begin taking requests for assistance on Wednesday; call 425-388-7261.

Requests for help with other winter utility bills won’t be taken until mid-November.

The Snohomish County PUD has its own energy assistance program; call 425-783-1000.