Running out of Energy

"Oh Dad - give it up", said Jenna as I brought up the size of our heat pump again for the umptenth time.

I have been researching utilities (Duke in particular) and my energy usage. It is an expensive and complicated subject that remains mysterious for many. Most only care that when they need it - the energy is there. R.M. always said - "You'll realize how much you are willing to pay for utilities once you are in an outage".

So with all my charts, calls to alternate suppliers, modeling my home's KWH usage, enrollment in Duke's power management, research on light bulbs, and HVAC arbitrage decisions on oil, propane and electric (yes - I have all three of these heat sources) - what have I learned?

I'm running out of energy researching all of this. :)