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Consider Living on an Island is a 4 page printable pdf document containing all the above, plus some information about Gibraltar and the surrounding area. To read or print the document, you may need to download Adobe Reader.

I'm Dennis McNeely, a real estate broker. Sandi and I have enjoyed this house for many years – please call 734-864-3450 with questions or to schedule a visit.

Back to the house for sale page.

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Your Waterfront Home – on an Island!!

When we moved to Gibraltar 11 years ago, we knew nothing about the area. The city and its four islands in the Detroit River have been a well kept secret. It's been a great place to live, but we're selling the house and moving on – so we thought we'd let you in on the secret.

Gibraltar is a waterfront community on the river – just north of Lake Erie. From the boat lift in our back yard, we can look out over the last 2 or 3 miles of the Detroit River and into Lake Erie – it's that close to the lake. There are no bridges between our house and Lake Erie – in fact, several hundred boaters complete the Great Loop each year, and it's accessible from our boat slip! There are a lot of recreational opportunities in the area, including boating and fishing (as you'd expect) – but there are a host of other resources in the area as well.

For example, just south of Gibraltar is the 1,600 acre Lake Erie Metropark – with a wave pool, 18 hole golf course, marina and boat ramp, large sheltered picnic pavilions, and a host of other recreational facilities. A little further south of the Metropark is the 4,000 acre Pointe Mouille State Game Area – where ducks, geese, and other waterfowl are “intensively managed for public hunting”, as shown in this Michigan DNR video. If you'd prefer to shoot birds with a camera, head back up to the Lake Erie Metropark to take advantage of their extensive pedestrian paths and observation platforms for birding. It's also interesting to relax and watch freighters on the Detroit River from the benches or paved paths within the Metropark.

Many similar downriver resources are connected by paved DLGI pathways and canals, affording still other ways to enjoy the area.

Consider Living on an Island is a 4 page printable pdf document containing more Downriver information, as well as everything you ever wanted to know about the house. To read or print the document, you may need to download Adobe Reader.

If you find the area intriguing and the possibilities interesting, take a virtual walk through of the house and boat slip!

We look forward to hearing from you!

I'm Dennis McNeely, a real estate broker. Sandi and I have enjoyed this house for many years – please call 734-864-3450 with questions or to schedule a visit. Click here to learn about the house, the schools that serve it, etc. – all the bits you'd normally expect to see in a real estate listing.

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At the risk of being rude…

Although there's nothing to see here, you can move on to the home page for Site Solutions, and learn more about energy audits, saving money on your utility bills, and reducing your carbon footprint on the global ecology. Enjoy!!

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There’s good news and bad news for those searching for an alternate electric supplier, depending on the state where you reside. The map below is similar to that shown for alternate gas suppliers; click on the state that’s of interest and it will enlarge, giving a bit more information about whether there are alternatives available for you there. If you click on the enlarged state, you’ll be whisked off to a new page which gives you still more information – and (if available) a list of alternate electric suppliers.

Many states don’t offer alternate electric suppliers; in other words, they haven’t unbundled their electric service. Their reluctance to unbundle was caused by artificial shortages brought about by deregulation, shortages caused in part by large corporations using underhanded tactics. Those shortages led to widespread rolling blackouts and brownouts which affected millions of residential and commercial customers. Regulators in many other states carefully studied those failed deregulation efforts, and successfully provided the benefits of deregulation in their own states – forearmed with the hindsight provided by those failed efforts.

Don’t limit your research to the information provided by the map, however. A lot of the heavy lifting has been done for you by providing lists of available electric companies in various states, but things change. If the map indicates electric suppliers have not been deregulated in your area, double check with your state’s regulatory agency to verify that information.

Alternate Electric Suppliers

There are also alternatives available for those living in Washington, D.C. (the list begins on page 7 of the linked pdf file).

You should do some additional research, even if the map provides you with a list of alternate electric suppliers for your house or business at competitive rates. Regulations could change, out of state companies may branch out into your area, or an existing company that previously provided only commercial service may begin servicing residential accounts in your area.

If your state has deregulated electric suppliers and they provide service to your market sector (residential, commercial, municipal, etc), you need to compare apples to apples when looking at their rates. In other words, will their rates reduce your bill relative to your existing supplier? Make sure you compare the cost of the electricity being furnished by each company – and not the delivery charge, regulatory fees, or other unrelated charges on your bill.

Note that if you should pursue a new account with an alternate gas supplier, you won’t need new wires to your house or business, nor will you need a new meter. Your existing wires and meter will be used to deliver electricity from your new supplier. There’s no free lunch though – you’ll still have to pay your existing electric supplier to use their existing wires and meter. You may get a second utility bill on top of the one you’re accustomed to getting from your existing  supplier: one for the wiring and meter from your existing electric supplier, and a second bill for the electricity you’ve used. Alternately, the new supplier or your existing supplier may send a single bill each month, consolidating fees in the background.

Go back to part 1 – alternate natural gas suppliers.

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There are alternatives to ‘conventional’ gas and electric suppliers in some states. Those who purchase propane, oil, coal, or wood to heat can simply call around to find someone to deliver fuel for their furnace for the best price and delivery schedule, but finding and using alternate suppliers for natural gas and electricity can be a little trickier, and may not be possible at all in some states. You can check the availability of alternate suppliers for gas by clicking on the appropriate state in one of the maps below – we’ll look at alternate electrical suppliers in part 2 of this article.

You’ll notice that many states don’t offer alternate gas suppliers; in other words, they have not unbundled their gas service. In some instances, this was the unfortunate result of several large, unscrupulous companies taking advantage of opportunities provided by deregulation efforts, and bilking billions of dollars from the public. Their greed brought about the bankruptcy or near bankruptcy of several conventional utilities. The fallout from their market manipulation effectively stopped the deregulation process in many states. Those states’ programs which survived the calamity seem to have matured over time into robust solutions, however.

Availability of Alternate Gas Suppliers

Click on a state in the map above to read about the alternative gas situation in that state, and click on the enlarged state to be taken to another web page with more information or a list of alternate gas suppliers you can contact. You have some alternatives if you live in Washington, D.C. (see page 23 of the linked pdf).

Note that you should do some additional research, however. Regulations change, corporations merge (or go out of business), etc. – so the map’s links are meant just to get you started. Search for each of the respective gas suppliers to find out which provide service to residential customers (or commercial, industrial, etc). Double check with the regulatory agency for your state to find out if other companies have branched out into your area, or if existing companies have begun including residential service to their service area. Only then can you begin to evaluate the pricing of their gas versus that of your conventional supplier.

If your state has deregulated utility suppliers, you need to determine if their rates will save you any money relative to your conventional supplier. If you elect to have an alternate gas supplier, there is no need to have a new service connection or meter; the new supplier will simply use your existing pipes and meter to deliver their gas to your house. Your existing gas supplier will charge for the use of those the existing pipes and the meter; at worst you’ll get two utility bills – one from the conventional supplier for the delivery infrastructure (the meter and existing pipes), and a second for the gas you actually use. Make sure you sort out which charges relates to the actual purchase of gas versus the taxes, regulatory charges, and delivery charges on your existing bill, so you can accurately compare the alternate versus the conventional gas costs. In some areas the billing has been consolidated, and the entire process is handled by either the old or the new supplier – all the costs are consolidated ‘behind the scenes’, leaving you with a single bill.

Next: Part 2, alternate electric suppliers

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Before purchasing and installing equipment to reduce your energy bills and your environmental footprint, check to see if any energy tax credits are available to offset some of the costs of the system and reduce the time needed to pay back your investment. For example, in the United States at the present time (2013), the federal government is subsidizing certain installations of Energy Star geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines, and solar panels by issuing a tax credit of 30% of the cost to purchase and install, with no upper limit to the credit. The federal energy tax credit program also includes an incentive for qualifying installations of fuel cells, providing a tax credit of 30% of the fuel cell’s cost, up to $500 for each .5kW of generation capacity, with a minimum capacity of .5kW of capacity.

Similarly, various state and local governments offer a number of tax credits for those willing to hunt for them and meet their qualification criteria. These tax credits are often applicable for major renewable energy projects such as new furnaces or heat pumps, as well as the more mundane projects such as weather stripping or installation of ventilation.

Keep in mind that you must meet all necessary criteria for the tax credit or incentive, and also keep in mind that those criteria change as the political and economic landscape changes. Make sure to sweat the details if you intend to claim a credit, and make sure to consult a knowledgeable tax adviser.

There are also incentives for those considering new construction, such as the home builder tax credit which was recently extended through 2013. If your new home is built according to the 2012 International Eergy Conservtion Code (IECC), it will be 30% better than the 2006 IECC, and should qualify for a $1,000 tax credit. If your new home is 50% more efficient than the 2006 IECC, you could get a $2,000 tax credit. You should also be aware that some states and municipalities have adapted modifications to the code, so be sure your construction meets any modified code elements necessary for the tax credit – but don’t forget to talk to that tax adviser.

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… And How Do They Affect My Utility Bills?

You may have a gut ‘feeling’ that this year was warmer than last year, and expect lower heating bills as a result – but how do you know for sure? Enter the degree-day, a measure of how much heating (or cooling) you have to do to keep your house comfortable.

Let’s say you’re comfortable at 68°F, and let’s also say the outside weather is only 66°F. This means your furnace needs to provide an additional 2°F. If the outside temperature remains the same for the entire day, your furnace will have to provide 2 degrees for the entire day to keep you comfortable – or 2 degree-days. If you’re keeping score in Celsius, your comfort level is 20°C, and the outside temperature is 19°C all day, so your furnace has to provide 1 degree-day of additional heat to keep you happy. As long as you’re consistent in keeping track of degree days (Fahrenheit or Celsius), you can keep accurate records of your energy requirements.

You don’t need to record temperatures all day though – just head over to BizEE Degree Days (a site maintained by Weather Underground), put your location in the blank next to “Weather Station ID”, and click on “Station Search”.

As shown below, Weather Underground will then show you a number of weather stations near your location, some maintained by individuals, some by commercial interests, and some maintained by airports. Pick a location near you; note that Weather Underground suggests you picking on an airport weather station if possible, as their data is typically more accurate. Once you have clicked on the station in the list provided, the station’s ID will appear next to the Weather station ID as shown below. Great – just a few more steps!

Next, click on the type of degree-day you’re interested in. Are you interested in the number of heating-degree days, or the number of cooling-degree days? You may actually be interested in both, if the temperature drops significantly at night and becomes hot during the day. If that’s the case, you just need to run the tool twice. Similarly, pick whether you use Fahrenheit or Celsius to track your usage.

The “Base temperature” is a little trickier. You’re indicating how warm you like the house while heating, or how cool you like it if you use an air conditioner, but you need to keep in mind that there are other sources of heat in the house – people, lights, appliances, etc. For example, the outside temperature may be 63°F, while your house hovers at 68°F because someone took a shower, someone else was doing laundry, the lights were on, the sun was throwing a lot of heat in through several south facing windows, etc. If this is a typical day (and if you are comfortable at 68°F), your base heating temperature is 63°F. With the base heating temperature set at 63°F, your house will be 68°F, you’ll be comfortable – and your furnace won’t contribute any heat at all.

Conversely, if you use less lighting on some summer day, if you have deciduous trees shading those south facing windows, and assuming you’re less likely to bake cookies and pies during the heat of the summer, your house may hover at 80°F while the outside temperature is 76°F.  If your comfort zone is about 74°F, you should indicate your base cooling temperature is 70°F. This lets Weather Underground know that your air conditioner will have to cool your house an additional 4°F to keep the inside temperature at 74°F.

By setting the base temperature as indicated above, you’ll get a more accurate picture of the energy needed to heat or cool your house on any given day. Recognize that you can always put on a sweater during cool nights or chat with a neighbor under a shady tree on a hot afternoon – but for many, the house regulates it’s temperature automatically. The base heating and cooling temperatures help you understand the process better, and improve the accuracy of the data returned by Weather Underground.

Finally, choose how often you’d like to have the data reported (once a month, once each day, etc), and select how much historical information you’d like to have. That’s it! Click on “Generate Degree Days” and wait just a moment for Weather Underground to send your heating or cooling degree day information back to you. It’ll arrive in the form of a spreadsheet which you can view with a program such as Open Office or Microsoft Excel.

Next up – what do I do with all this information?

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There are other options which may be available for those seeking to reduce gas costs. While the prices of ‘conventional’ gas companies are fixed by a regulatory agency, you may be able to take advantage of variations in the cost of gas.

Some areas are serviced by alternative gas companies which offer contracts to purchase gas at a fixed rate for a specified term, regardless of marketplace fluctuations in the price of gas over time. For example, SCANA currently offers an 18 month plan in Georgia, in which all gas used is billed at 69.9¢ per therm (72.1¢ per CCF), and a second plan with a 12 month term in which all gas usage costs 64.9¢ per therm (66.9¢ per CCF). Note that these prices are for the purchase of the gas only, and that there are additional charges for delivery of the gas to your house.

There are also floating rate  fixed rate contracts indicated above. For example, Constellation indicates they will provide a 12 month contract for gas at 51.3¢ per therm (52.9¢ per CCF) in Michigan, while their month to month variable rate for gas is presently 58.9¢ per therm (59.9¢ per CCF). Apparently, the company feels the price of gas will drop in the upcoming months, and is offering a lesser rate for the longer term contract.

Research gas futures, consult your crystal ball, or break out your Magic 8 Ball and make your best guess as to which plan is best suited for you. Alternately, you can simply rely on the rates charged by conventional gas companies which are governmentally regulated.

The post Buying Natural Gas – Contractually or Monthly appeared first on Site Solutions.

Payment by the Kilowatt-hour

Your electrical usage is measured in kilowatts-hours, which is a measure of both the power you’ve consumed and how much time it took you to consume that power. Both the amount of power and the time to consume have a bearing on the price you pay for the electrical portion of your utility bill. Unlike conventional wholesale pricing, the cost per kilowatt-hour actually goes up as your consumption increases.

Putting it in different terms, each kilowatt is a measure of electricity, similar to measuring a quantity of water in gallons. Your utility company charges for each kilowatt of power you use, in much the same way as a store charges you for a gallon of water. Your utility company may also impose additional costs if you use a lot of electricity though, and this is where the ‘hour’ part of a kilowatt-hour comes into play. Consuming one kilowatt in one hour equates to one kilowatt-hour (or 1 kwh). Your utility company keeps track of how many kilowatt-hours you use each month, and many utility companies increase the cost per kilowatt hour as your usage goes up. For example, if you have a standard rate plan and use over 17 kilowatt-hours per day, DTE currently charges about 1.5¢ extra for each kilowatt-hour. They offer seniors a discounted rate, but only for the first 10 kilowatt-hours consumed per day; they add nearly 10¢ per kilowatt-hour for seniors who exceed that ceiling. If you’re keeping score, that represents a rate increase of over 200%  for seniors who use too many kilowatt-hours per day!

Still other rate plans are sensitive to the time of day your electrical consumption occurs, offering lower rates during ‘off peak’ hours – meaning the utility company offers discounts for those willing to do their baking or laundry later at night or early in the morning. These discounts are available because during the ‘off peak’ hours businesses are closed, and the utility company doesn’t have to supply their large power demands.

There is an additional discount which may be available to some consumers. The utility company itself has to pay premium prices during times of peak demand – whether they install extra generators which sit idle during times of ‘normal’ demand, or they have to resort to purchasing power from other utility suppliers. That ‘peak power’ comes at a premium price, and the utility company may offer discounted rates to those who are willing to have power for air conditioning or electric hot water tanks interrupted during times of peak power usage. If you’re considering an interruptible rate plan, keep in mind that there will probably be an additional meter and may be some interior re-wiring necessary to implement the plan.

To summarize, your electrical bill is measured in kilowatt-hours, and your cost can be reduced by:

• Reducing the number of kilowatt-hours you use
• ‘Spreading out’ your electrical usage, avoiding heavy use one day and light usage another
• Take advantage of rate plans which offer ‘time of day’ rate discounts, if they are available
• Consider allowing interruptible rate plans for non-essential services (such as air conditioning), but take into account any additional costs needed to implement the plan

There you have it! You now know how to reduce the pain when it comes time to pay your electrical bill.

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