Energy Saver Guy

Posts Tagged ‘Pilot lights’

Pilot lights are little flames that use gas on certain appliances 24/7. In other words, you are paying for natural gas or propane 24/7 to keep this flame lit so the appliance will “light” when you need it. Newer appliances typically have “electronic ignition” (much more efficient) which uses a small amount of electricity to “light” the appliance when needed. This is the free section so we won’t be talking about buying newer electronic ignition appliances, but here’s some important info. If you have a gas fireplace in your home (very popular lately) and it is the type with a “pilot light”, You need to find the gas shut off valve for the unit and shut off the gas supply to the unit off season when you are not using it. Even way up north here in Saratoga Springs we spend money in the summer on air conditioning or even without “air” you try to keep cool on these 90 degree days. Why constantly introduce heat into the house and pay for the energy to do it? I’m sure in millions of fancy homes in warmer climates there are many gas fireplace pilots lit for no reason. The gas fireplace people will tell you that the kind with the “pilot” is better because it will still heat your house in a power outage. Big deal, if the power goes out, turn on the gas, light the pilot and you’re “good to go”. Lesson here? Shut off the gas to your gas fireplace when not in use. Please look in our $1000 or less area where we talk about replacing appliances with more efficient electronic ignition ones.