In considering the various things that need to be done around the house. The thing that I'm now starting to think about is ways that we can lower our heating bill in the winter. During the summer, the house stays relatively cool. The warmest it has been in our house is about 84F. While outside it has peaked at 104 degrees (at least according to the bank thermostats downtown). The fans that we have running have increased our electric bill (by about $50/mo), but they keep the rooms comfortable. As I run across various ideas, I'll be posting them here.

The first thing that I'm considering is the idea of prepping the house to change to radiant heat. Currently, ... well... we have radiant heat.... but it is in the form of large, space eating cast iron radiators. Instead, I'd like to switch to in-floor radiant heat. Radiant heat is known for it's higher level of efficiency, but according to the reading that I've been doing... in-floor radiant heat takes it up a notch. The in-floor heating serves to spread the heat around the room w/o having to rely on air currents. Just as in traditional radiant heat, in-floor radiant heat relies upon natural convection (heat rises, remember?) to heat the whole room (so your head isn't cold while your feet are hot). As I tear up the dining room... I will likely have access to the underside of the floor boards for the master bedroom. This will be the first opportunity that I will have to see if it will be possible in our home. I will likely be dealing with the folks at Radiantec. From everything that I've seen so far... it appears that they are an upstanding group. We shall see... ;-)