Home sweet home!

Our utility bill came in the mail the other day, and, frankly, I was surprised. In Mandan, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. is a combination utility. That means it provides both natural gas and electricity.

There have been a number of changes over the past 26 years we have lived in our home. When we were first married, we didn't use to heat our basement in the winter. However, when the boys got bigger, we needed to make sure the heat was on upstairs and downstairs.

We also didn't have a TV set in every room of the house or as many computers and other electronic games and gadgets. When we bought a new energy-efficient refrigerator a few years ago, we didn't throw out the old, less efficient one. Instead, we moved into the laundry room downstairs where it runs 24 hours a day to keep a few jars of jelly and pickles cold, just in case we'll ever eat them. Scott also has a little refrigerator downstairs that keeps his water and Gatorade chilled.

Now, to be truthful, you must judge your energy use not only by the number gadgets but by how much energy is actually used. For instance, the energy hogs in our house are not the electric blender or toaster. It's things like heating your home and water that really adds up. Also washing and drying your clothes take a lot of energy, and our laundry room seems likes it's always busy.

We heat our home with natural gas and we have a 50-gallon natural gas-fired water heater...a little larger than most. About five years ago, we also had central air installed. Now, living in North Dakota, you know that a good furnace is a necessity, but not so with air conditioning, except for about three months in the summer.

If you don't mind tossing and turning in a bed of your own sweat, then no need to invest in central air conditioning, but if you like sleeping in pleasant temperatures, than it's a must. As we got older, the need for night-time comfort became greater.

So, there's no denying that we've got plenty of appliances that use a lot of energy. That's why I was surprised to see that our MDU bill had actually gone down, significantly!

We're on Balanced Billing, which means that our monthly utility bill is roughly the same every month. A few years ago, our monthly bill was somewhere north of $200. Now it's down to $140. I could chalk this up to Derek moving out, but Scott still lives in our basement and he showers long enough for two or three people. Also, he keeps our basement as toasty as he wants it. Luckily for us, hot air rises so his heating the basement makes our floors warm in the winter.

So what gives? Did the price of electricity and natural gas suddenly drop? No, not really. It's true that energy in North Dakota is quite affordable. The majority of our electricity comes from coal, so we have cheap power. And natural gas prices have remained reasonable, especially since there's so much oil drilling going on in western North Dakota and natural gas is found in conjunction with oil.

However, the real culprit for our lower energy bill has been the improvements we have made to tighten up our home. The first move was to replace an old drafty window in dad's office. Belinda's father and her uncle replaced it with a fiberglass framed, triple-pane, energy efficient window. It was such a nice improvement that it wasn't long before we wanted to change all of our old windows for new ones. Luckily, our church was undergoing the same type of renovations and a couple of retirees went to all the window retailers in Bismarck and discovered that the best value came from Pella. So we went with Pella Windows ourselves, and didn't have to do all the legwork.

Then we replaced our two outside doors and had a craftsman hang the new energy-efficient doors. Suddenly, we didn't have the drafty windows and old metal doors. Our home not only looked better but it also became a lot more comfortable during North Dakota blizzards. Then last year after Christmas, we had some more insulation added to our ceiling. Unfortunately, my brother and his family were visiting at the time, so having people blowing insulation into your attic is a bit odd, but it all worked out in the end.

Yes, the improvements cost some money, but we were able to save several hundred dollars on our taxes by claiming the improvements as deductions.

Add it all up, and our home is more energy efficient, comfortable and cheaper to maintain...plus we have more appliances to make life a little easier. It's all good. And it's like giving ourselves a $60 a month raise.