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Health | Safety | Federal Consumer Resources
Adequate home heating and cooling are a necessity of life. The inability to heat or cool one's home adequately can put household members at risk for health and safety problems.
Health
Home Heating and Your Health
Winter brings heating bills. High heating bills can force people to lower the temperatures in their homes in order to save money. However, indoor temperatures can be lowered to unsafe levels, which can result in hypothermia (cold stress or low body temperatures). Hypothermia can cause illness or death either indoors or outdoors. Households with an elderly or disabled person, or young child are especially vulnerable to hypothermia.For further information about the dangers of hypothermia, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's prevention guide, Extreme Cold.
Winter also forces households to seek alternative sources of heat. In a recent year, there were about 10,900 residential fires and about 190 deaths associated with portable or fixed local heaters. There were 15,500 fires and 40 deaths associated with fireplaces and chimneys. And there were about 100 deaths from carbon monoxide from heating systems, ranges/ovens, and water heaters.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns of hazards from heaters and fireplaces, including fire deaths and carbon monoxide poisoning. For further information about these warnings, visit CSPC's web site.
Home Cooling and Your Health
Summer brings cooling bills. High cooling bills can force people to raise the temperatures in their homes in order to save money. Also, people may try to cope with hot spells by relying on fans in a home in which the windows are closed due to fear of crime. However, indoor temperatures can be raised to unsafe levels, which can result in hyperthermia (heat stress or high body temperatures). Hyperthermia can cause illness or death either indoors or outdoors. Households with an elderly or disabled person, or young child are especially vulnerable to hyperthermia.For further information about the dangers of hyperthermia, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's prevention guide, Extreme Heat.
Safety
Natural Disasters
Natural disasters can result in the loss of home energy due to fuel supply disruptions and/or damage to a home's heating or cooling system. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service provides warnings and forecasts of life-threatening weather, including thunderstorms, hailstorms, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, and climate events.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assists the public and businesses recover from natural disasters. FEMA also provides information on what to do when natural disasters strike. FEMA has prepared publications on earthquakes, extreme heat, fire safety during or after a disaster, floods and flash floods, hurricanes, landslides and mudflows, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, wildland fires, winter driving, winter storms, winter preparedness safety tips, thunderstorms, and lightning. FEMA maintains both its Tropical Storm Watch and Winter Storm Update Center.
If disaster strikes, is your community prepared to assist people with disabilities, people who speak little or no English, and people who are frail, elderly, very young, or homeless? To help communities make such preparations, the Community Collaborative Groups in California with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Office of Emergency Services have developed The Community Preparedness Web Site.
Fuel Disruptions/Equipment Failures
Fuel supply disruptions/home energy equipment failures can occur as a result of natural disasters, fuel shortages, and power outages. In addition to possible health problems, such disruptions or equipment failures can result in safety problems. For example, the use of makeshift heating sources such as unvented or improperly vented portable heaters, barbecue grills or gas stoves, are not only fire hazards, but also create the risk of asphyxiation. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns of hazards from heaters and fireplaces, including fire deaths and carbon monoxide poisoning. For further information about these warnings, visit CSPC's web site. Finally, the increasing use of portable generators during power outages can become a major fire hazard if the generator is on-line when electric service is restored.Federal Consumer Resources
Disaster Assistance Resources for older persons, their families, practitioners, and the Aging Network.Eldercare Locator for contacting local agencies that can provide services to older persons.
FEMA Links to Weather Information
Insulate to Save Money
Tips to Save Energy & Money--Cool Summer Tips
Tips to Save Energy & Money--Hot Winter Tips
Winter Chill Temperatures
Winter Preparedness Safety Tips
Winter Safety in the Home
Winter Storms - FEMA for Kids
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse answers citizens' about how to save energy to lower their heating/fuel bill costs, etc. The public can contact the Clearinghouse either by completing its "Ask an Energy Expert" form or by calling 1-800-363-3732, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., EST.
The three brochures below explain in laymen's terms the factors that influence the prices of oil, propane, and natural gas.
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Residential Heating Oil Prices: What Consumers Should Know provides
a breakdown of the cost of a gallon of heating oil, and the factors that cause
heating oil prices to fluctuate and sometimes change dramatically in a short
period of time.
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Propane Prices: What Consumers Should Know discusses how the use of propane
varies according to customer, season and region.
- Residential Natural Gas Prices: What Consumers Should Know explains what customers pay for in their residential gas bills and what consumers can expect during the 2000-2001 heating season.
