I Pay the Energy Bills

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After some experimentation with the furnace and the exhaust fans I was able to determine that the sign of 'furnace malfunction' was that hot air was exiting the 'alternate chimney.' From then on I used this indication as a guide to how well the chimney system was operating.

But I kept on getting CO alarms during wintertime. Sometimes when I checked the alternate chimney there was obvious hot air exiting the furnace into our environment. BUT, at those times the exhaust fans were off. I concluded that these occasions were engineered by person or persons unknown climbing up on the roof and blocking our chimney.

It was a natural deduction based not only of the physics involved but on the fact that over the years those same 'persons' had often got access to the roof where they would sabotage our air conditioner. I once climbed up there after an air conditioner malfunction and found that the power switch to the A/C had been turned off, so I know for an absolute fact that 'they' are not above that kind of sabotage.

Were they actually trying to kill me? I don't know.

Since then I have kept the CO monitor in Kootch's room. I doubted that I was in any kind of nocturnal danger from CO from our furnace given the massive airflow which the fan system produces. And in any case we always turn the furnace off at night to avoid wasting energy.

After all, I pay the energy bills.