Are You Renting and Paying the Gas Bill? Make the Owner an Offer!

This past week I changed out an old hot airAfter starting the new furnace and burning off
furnace in a rental unit that made me questionthe oil that always smokes up the house a bit on
why the tenant did not go to the owner anda new startup the new little unit had the house
offer to pay more rent in exchange for gettingwarm as toast and was shutting down. Wow,
the furnace changed out sooner. If you are athat took less time than the old beast took to
renter that is paying the gas bill, then you need tojust warm up!
think about this.The renter related to me how that the old
The hot air furnace was at least 60 years old. Itfurnace cost over one hundred dollars a month
had been coal fired furnace that was convertedjust to run the pilot over the summer months.
to gas many decades ago. The pilot light of thisThe wintertime heating bills were many times
beast was more of a torch than a pilot light.higher than that. The difference between the bills
When the thermostat called for heat the flameof the old unit and the bills that will be coming
roared for 15 minutes before the exterior blowernow will be unbelievable. A savings of 40-50% is
unit that was added when the furnace wasnot at all out of the question.
converted to gas, started up to move air throughNow, if you are renting and are paying the bill to
the furnace and into the house.feed an old monster of a heating system, I
As I was starting up the new unit, which took upsuggest that you make a proposal to your
less than 1/3 of the space of the old beast, thelandlord. Offer to pay a bit more rent in exchange
renter came and sat down on the basementfor a new heating system. Not only will you
steps looking on in amazement. How would thatdecrease your gas bills enough to pay some extra
little thing make enough heat for the house? Arent and still come out ahead, but you will have
few minutes later those questions were put tothe peace of mind that you have a safer heating
rest very quickly.system under the roof that you also live under.