Electricity
I arose early this morning in large part as a self-imposed punishment for having slept through most of the night and not properly attended to the wood stove and fire place. I was awaken at times throughout the night by the wind's howl and knew I should gotten my lazy bones from bed to add firewood. I'll pay the price today in replenishing the heat lost from the house last night.
What do I profit from this experimentation in thermal self-sufficiency? Well, the CFO would point out that we save the cost of the electrical energy required to run the heat pump. Were I to succeed in my endeavors all winter I would, indeed, save more money (even after adjustments for inflation) by far than Thoreau earned from his efforts in growing acres of beans. The firewood, you see, is taken from four sources, all at no cost to me. I still harvest firewood from certain tress fell to clear the view from our house some 8 years ago. Then there are the laps from the logging operation I have mentioned before. And, finally, two other neighbors allow me to cut deadwood on their property. So, thus it is I am able to acquire firewood for only the variable cost of fuel to operate the chain saw, log splitter and garden tractor and without destruction of trees for the express purpose of producing a cozy environment in my house. Accordingly, there is a certain satisfaction obtained in the thrift of using an energy source so close at hand that would go wasting otherwise. And, finally, there are the obvious benefits to the health of both body and mind from the labors of their acquisition and use.
I am mindful that I do "cheat" our capitalistic economy out of the profits to be derived from the sale of electricity for heating my house. But, then again, we would most likely have no electricity utility at all had our capitalistic economy been left to it's own devices. It was only through governmental intervention in the form of the Rural Electrification Act (REA) that electrical power was brought to our sparsely populated area some years ago and it is only though a non-profit company, the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Cooperative, that we receive our electrical power today. Blue Ridge EMC, producing no power of it's own, buys electricity, in turn, on the open market and operates the local distribution network in our area. So, in a fashion, the producers of electricity profit from a market they did not create themselves or at their own expense and, as such, I do feel a little justice in depriving them of a certain tiny profit by heating with wood.
What do I profit from this experimentation in thermal self-sufficiency? Well, the CFO would point out that we save the cost of the electrical energy required to run the heat pump. Were I to succeed in my endeavors all winter I would, indeed, save more money (even after adjustments for inflation) by far than Thoreau earned from his efforts in growing acres of beans. The firewood, you see, is taken from four sources, all at no cost to me. I still harvest firewood from certain tress fell to clear the view from our house some 8 years ago. Then there are the laps from the logging operation I have mentioned before. And, finally, two other neighbors allow me to cut deadwood on their property. So, thus it is I am able to acquire firewood for only the variable cost of fuel to operate the chain saw, log splitter and garden tractor and without destruction of trees for the express purpose of producing a cozy environment in my house. Accordingly, there is a certain satisfaction obtained in the thrift of using an energy source so close at hand that would go wasting otherwise. And, finally, there are the obvious benefits to the health of both body and mind from the labors of their acquisition and use.
I am mindful that I do "cheat" our capitalistic economy out of the profits to be derived from the sale of electricity for heating my house. But, then again, we would most likely have no electricity utility at all had our capitalistic economy been left to it's own devices. It was only through governmental intervention in the form of the Rural Electrification Act (REA) that electrical power was brought to our sparsely populated area some years ago and it is only though a non-profit company, the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Cooperative, that we receive our electrical power today. Blue Ridge EMC, producing no power of it's own, buys electricity, in turn, on the open market and operates the local distribution network in our area. So, in a fashion, the producers of electricity profit from a market they did not create themselves or at their own expense and, as such, I do feel a little justice in depriving them of a certain tiny profit by heating with wood.
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