The fuel oil tank at KOTZ in Kotzebue. (Photo by Wesley Early, KOTZ - Kotzebue)
Fueling a home in the winter can be expensive, especially when you live in rural Alaska, where the weather is colder and heating oil can be pricey to ship.
In order to get more data on fuel use in rural communities, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is recruiting for a study to monitor fuel oil usage in Kotzebue.
Dominique Pride is an investigator with ACEP. She says there's no concrete data on fuel oil usage in the state, only estimates.
"We don't have any actual consumption data on fuel oil, because it's not a regulated utility," Pride said. "So for things like natural gas, which is a regulated utility, we know how much these households are using."
ACEP is looking for a minimum of 20 households in Kotzebue to participate in the study. People interested must fill out a survey to see if their heater will be compatible with ACEP's sensor. Pride says the homes must rely on only fuel oil for winter heating.
"If you have, let's say a wood stove or a boiler, we can't monitor the heat that's coming from that," Pride said. "So the goal of the study is to figure out how much total energy people are using to heat their homes."
Once the sensor is installed near the heater, it will track data on when, how much and how often the participant uses fuel oil to heat their home.
"And we'll be able to tell people, on average when it's -20 (degrees) how much fuel are you using in a day, or when it's -30 how much fuel are you using in a day," Pride said.
Participants will also receive 50 dollars when the sensor is installed and 100 dollars after two winters, when the study concludes.
Pride says that ACEP is conducting similar studies in Fairbanks and Tanana, and she's hopeful the results of the study can help communities better accommodate heating as part of their budget.
Kotzebue residents interested in the study can get more information at acep.uaf.edu/fuel
In order to get more data on fuel use in rural communities, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is recruiting for a study to monitor fuel oil usage in Kotzebue.
Dominique Pride is an investigator with ACEP. She says there's no concrete data on fuel oil usage in the state, only estimates.
"We don't have any actual consumption data on fuel oil, because it's not a regulated utility," Pride said. "So for things like natural gas, which is a regulated utility, we know how much these households are using."
ACEP is looking for a minimum of 20 households in Kotzebue to participate in the study. People interested must fill out a survey to see if their heater will be compatible with ACEP's sensor. Pride says the homes must rely on only fuel oil for winter heating.
"If you have, let's say a wood stove or a boiler, we can't monitor the heat that's coming from that," Pride said. "So the goal of the study is to figure out how much total energy people are using to heat their homes."
Once the sensor is installed near the heater, it will track data on when, how much and how often the participant uses fuel oil to heat their home.
"And we'll be able to tell people, on average when it's -20 (degrees) how much fuel are you using in a day, or when it's -30 how much fuel are you using in a day," Pride said.
Participants will also receive 50 dollars when the sensor is installed and 100 dollars after two winters, when the study concludes.
Pride says that ACEP is conducting similar studies in Fairbanks and Tanana, and she's hopeful the results of the study can help communities better accommodate heating as part of their budget.
Kotzebue residents interested in the study can get more information at acep.uaf.edu/fuel
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