The Parkers: Retired pair 'confused about energy,' but cutting its use to save money
Saving Energy
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Waste now can mean a dim future
The Parkers: Retired pair ‘confused about energy,’ but cutting its use to save money
Dale and Grace Parker, 112 Dixboro Rd., are just two of millions of Americans who have been told there is an energy crisis but aren’t quite sure what to believe.
“I’m confused about energy,” admits Parker, 74, a retired carpenter. Agrees his wife, “There’s been some finagling going on.”
Parker pauses and thinks a moment when he’s asked about the energy crisis. He runs a hand through his close-cropped, graying hair. “I suppose there is a shortage and a need to conserve,” he says finally. “After all, there is a limited amount of energy in the world.”
THE PARKERS are one of several area families who have agreed to help The Ann Arbor News gather an accurate picture of energy costs and conservation as they affect local families.
The Parkers were selected to illustrate the problems and options Of a retired couple. Tomorrow’s family was picked to illustrate the situation of a typical middle class family with a working breadwinner, The News has tried for months to find a low income family to show its special problems and possibilities for help but was unable to do so. Volunteers for this category would be most welcome - and would have the benefit of advice from experts.
Since Mr. and Mrs. Parker live on a fixed income and must keep a close eye on expenses, they’ve kept careful records of their energy use and cost since the early 1970s.
The News, along with the University of Michigan’s Institute of Public Policy Studies, helped the Parkers organize their data, then look at it to find out how behavior such as conservation and “weatherizing” paid off for them in energy and cost saving.
By looking at the Parkers and our other representative families, readers may be able to draw some parallels within their own homes, and so be better equipped to make energy decisions that benefit them.
Although it’s hard to pinpoint what kind of behavior directly translates into energy savings, some general conclusions may be drawn. Based on the Parker’s experience, cutting down, while not radically changing an individual’s life, pays off in many way.
“WE’VE ALWAYS conserved,” says Mrs. Parker. “But as long as there’s no real evidence of an energy crisis it’s hard to realize until the pressure’s on. We’ve never taken energy for granted.”
The couple live comfortably in a modest home Parker himself built in 1935. They’ve raised six children and proudly display pictures of their six grandchildren on top of their TV set. Parker has been a carpenter all his life; even now he can’t resist the temptation to putter a bit, so he’s putting a new sun-porch on the back of his home.
Mrs. Parker, a secretary for 15 years, retired in 1975. She’s active in church and civic groups, while Dale teaches woodworking to tots through the Tender Loving Care program.
Among other things, their bills reveal that they paid 155 percent more for fuel oil last season than they did during the winter of 1974-75. Their electric costs rose 80 percent since 1976-77, while gasoline climbed from 61 cents per gallon in June 1978 to 95 cents in July 1979.
Last year alone (June 30, 1978 to July 1,1979) they paid a total of $1,012 for all forms of energy; fuel oil, electricity and gasoline. Their records indicate the biggest chunk of that total went to fuel oil for space heating, contributing $422 of their total expenditure for the year, or about 41 percent.
The Parkers also paid 155 percent more for fuel oil last season than they did during 1974-75, although their consumption actually declined during most of those years. In other words, they used less and paid more.
Electricity contributed the next highest amount to the Parkers energy picture last year, costing them $366, or 33 percent of the total. In 1973-74 they paid $195 for almost 9,000 kilowatt hours, while for 1978-79 they shelled out $336 for a little less than 8,000 kilowatt hours. Again, less use but more cost.
Gasoline contributed the least significant amount of expense to their yearly energy picture, costing the Parkers $253, or 25 percent of the total. Gas prices have doubled since 1973-74, yet the Parkers have managed to reduce expenses somewhat by cutting back significantly on their driving.
BY SIMPLY looking at their energy use picture, the Parkers can readily identify what the biggest energy eating culprit is, and see that the biggest savings could result by cutting back the area consuming the most.
With that thought in mind, the Parkers this summer converted from fuel oil to natural gas, taking advantage of a pipeline that had been installed near their home several years ago. The couple are eagerly awaiting the coming winter to see what kind of an effect the switch will have on their bill.
Readers will find out with them, because The News plans to follow the Parkers and other families’ efforts to cope with rising energy bills in the months ahead.
Parker explains the heating conversion this way. “There are going to be more and more oil shortages. Gas is more plentiful and cheaper. The oil just wasn’t economical.”
Parker’s sister lives next door, he goes on to explain, and has had natural gas heating the past three years. “Her bills have been much lower than ours.”
Of course, some periods of the year are more energy-efficient than others, and can vary a great deal depending of the weather. A factor called “heating (or cooling) degree days, the difference warmer (or colder) a given period is from normal,' was taken into account when looking at the Parkers’ records.
ONE THING the Parkers did notice this summer was a 20 percent jump in their electric bill for the latest billing period. That occurred some time after the new furnace and attached air conditioning were installed. But Parker says it’s hard to tell if the increase was caused by the air conditioner, which they ran “infrequently,” since Edison estimates the bill every other month.
However, they add, a visit by their children may have driven the bill up. Recalls Mrs. Parker, the electric clothes dryer and washer ran much more often than usual when the guests were in the house, more cooking was done, and of course more people take more baths and showers.
Rather than run his air conditioner constantly, Parker found that just running the furnace blower fan in the summer keeps the home comfortably cool. “It brings the cooler air up from the basement,” he says.
The couple also operate two vehicles, an old van he uses infrequently to haul building materials, and a six-cylinder, 1973 Plymouth Scamp that gets about 20 miles per gallon.
They pay more attention now to planning shopping and recreation these days, and so have managed to halve the miles driven over the past few years. Thus, a good deal of conservation has already occurred.
OF COURSE, no one family has the same energy needs as another, but accounts for one family can serve as an example for others.
In many ways the Parkers are' typical of many American families. They react to what the government tells them about energy with some skepticism, gathering a lot of their energy information from friends, relatives, and conflicting reports in the media. So far they’ve not had to eliminate any necessities and have found high prices at the pumps and shorter gasoline station hours as the most obvious evidence of a shortage.
“Just the other day I heard an ad from the electric company trying ' to get us to use our air conditioner more,” explains Dale.
Tomorrow The News takes a look at another family, the John Suttingers. Their special energy requirements include children living at home and John’s Toledo job, which means two cars and lots of driving.
Fuel oil chart
1974-1975 871 fuel oil in gallons and $326 dollars spent
1975-1976 549 fuel oil in gallons and $229 dollars spent
1976-1977 789 fuel oil in gallons and $366 dollars spent
1977-1978 960 fuel oil in gallons and $480 dollars spent
1978-1979 728 fuel oil in gallons and $422 dollars spent
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Electricity chart
1974-1975 9102 Kilowatt hours (kwh) and $261 dollars spent
1975-1976 8823 kwh and $288 dollars spent
1976-1977 8969 kwh and $351 dollars spent
1977-1978 7828 kwh and $328 dollars spent
1978-1979 7968 kwh and $336 dollars spent
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Gasoline chart (in gallons)
1975-1976 894 gallons, $537 dollars spent and 16852 miles driven
1976-1977 725 gallons, $436 dollars spent and 13765 miles driven
1977-1978 392 gallons, $235 dollars spent and 6690 miles driven
1978-1979 365 gallons, $253 dollars spent and 6384 miles driven
The Parkers in front of their home at 112 Dixboro: ‘There’s some finagling going on’
NEWSCHART BY BEVERLY HUNT