[Passionaria]

Here in Austin we need more cooling than heating. We also have Austin Energy that has special programs to help people get solar panels installed for their homes. It's cool, Austin is really into supporting people putting in Solar panels. If I owned a home, I would used a combination of solar, and a soapstone wood burning stove! They are fabulous, from Sweden originally I believe.



http://www.virginiaradiant.com/index.html

http://www.vermontwoodstove.com/massivewoodstove.htm

I use lined drapes. Lots of them. Velvet is fabulous, and heavy. I have picture windows in every room, and that helps me a lot. I also do the regular things like only doing full loads of laundry, full dishwasher loads, and if I had a choice I would have one of the Flash heat, tank-less water heaters. My apartment is around 1100 sq feet, and my energy bill is 30-50$/ month year round.

I never leave the heater or air conditioner on for long, just long enough to get comfortable, then I turn it off and use the overhead fans.