How are you keeping warm?

we have a wood stove insert in our fire place... it's wonderful!

I endure a 'cool' house. I have asthma and a house that is too hot can cause an asthma flair up. About 68 degrees is ideal for me. Lee

Florida.... the sunshine state :-) we're in the eighties already.

BUT - when it does get cold here occasionally I do wear sweaters and turn the heat on (moderately) because I hate being cold.

I usually set the thermostat at 72 to 74 during the day....lower at night. I hate being cold and can't wait until winter is over. Can't really complain though because it hasn't been too bad this year. Has called for snow several times but all we have had thus far is some flurries and I could count them almost, which is fine with me. We have had some really cold days but lately (with the exception of the wind at times) it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully, this will be our last winter here because we are trying to sell our house and retire in southeast Georgia where it is much milder.

We ususally keep ours at 71 during the day and lower it at night. My DH and I are both disabled and spend a lot of time sitting. Too cold just hurts. (Can I hear an 'Awww?') At least natural gas prices are down from last winter...no $400 bills.

I have the central heat (propane) set to kick on at 63F. I quit using propane 2 years ago due to skyrocketing cost! I use space heaters for whatever room I'm working in to stay warm. Using the space heaters has cut my heating cost by at least $150/month because I don't buy much propane.

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 6:23 AM

We have a wood furnace - some days I have to open a window!

Setting the thermostat is the only choice that was even close.
After paying tremendous amount of money for fuel oil last winter, I installed electric heat in our house. I put a baseboard unit in each of the bedrooms & living & dining rooms. We now enjoy a very even heat. It kept the house cozy even during the days when outside was in the -20's.
The best part of this is the savings. A cold month last winter cost nearly $450.00. The electric has run around $3.00 per day!
We have remodeled most of our house, so insulation is not a problem. We will be adding on this summer & so the rest of the old walls will be newly insulated. Should really be nice next year!
Bernie

I should have added, we have hundreds of wind turbines in this area. I hope part of my electric is coming from them!

I have a 'cool' house. Cannot stand being cold but have no choice with oil heat! Keep the house about 68 degrees. Tried to set it to 65 but that was just too cold for me!

Larry

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 7:57 AM

We keep the house at 59 when we're home, 56 at night, and 55 whenever we leave, even if only for a few hours. It was cool at first, but you do get used to it. Only time I'm cold is when sitting still, so use blankets while watching TV. Occasionally I'll bump it to 60 for an hour or so.
I think my health has been better too, no cold for years.

I don't use central heat or the fireplace because it dries the air, irritating my already dry skin. We dress in layers and if its REALLY cold we run a warm mist humidifier. Our light bill runs about $70 in the winter.

I try to keep the house no warmer than 65 when I am home and 56 - 58 when I am gone or sleeping. The cats all have fur coats but they still whine. Wimps!

Our house is at 64 F and I'm Fine! I think the reason is that I am doing exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, Jumping-Jacks etc.) to keep VERY warm. Did you people know that 500 Jumping-Jacks = jogging 1 WHOLE MILE!!!

We have a programmable thermostat and keep it set to 68 during the hours we are active in the house. During parts of the day when we are out, it is set to 65 and is set to lower to 64 about 9pm and come back up to 68 when we wake up.

We also have what are called 'hot socks' that are used daily at our house. They are brand new socks that are filled with raw wheat berries out of the bins at the health food store, sewed closed and heated in the microwave. The cold members of the family use these 'hot socks' when they are sitting around during the winter. Some of us are hot blooded and wake up if the heat is inadvertently turned up past 64 at night and would never use a hot sock. [g]

Actually, we've gotten used to cooler temps and almost suffocate when we go to visit neighbors across the street. They have their house way too hot! And I've always liked sleeping cooler. Guess this stems from childhood when we didn't have central heat and snuggled under quilts!

I choose #2, endure a cool house. Although it is more of a yearly, necessary, reality of living in the North than a condition that must be ‘endured’. A cool house during the winter, (in my case 68°), is an economic reality in today’s energy strapped world. Besides the obvious economic advantages there are health and home benefits. I found that the lower the temperature differential, the less colds my family & I get since the body does not have to adapt to huge temperature swings on a frequent basis. There are also benefits to the structural integrity of the home since the higher the temp the more frequent the blasts of hot air into the home to sustain a high temperature. Excessive long term dry air (irrespective of humidifiers) has a tendency to dry out the home and makes it more vulnerable to cracks, paint peeling and general structural damage.

I actually prefer a cool house since when I visit a home which is too warm I immediately start feeling ‘itchy’ and my skin dries out!

Try to keep it cool - 20c (68F), and use sweaters, slippers, and blankets (while watching TV). When I'm @ the computer, the north wind hits the room, so we sometimes use space heaters.
When I'm working around the house I keep plenty warm doing work lol

We keep the house pretty cool (55° at night and while we're at work, 62° when we're here). We use passive solar to add as much warmth as possible by opening the insulated blinds in the morning and closing them at sunset or when it's cloudy and cold. (We reverse the blinds routine in the summer to block out the sun and vent extra heat at night.) We added a lot of insulation to our house the first year and I think it has paid off. We also added a storm door in the front this fall and there are no more cold drafts around the door frame, Woohoo!

I wear lots of thick, fuzzy clothes to stay warm but I think DH is a polar bear at heart, he usually wears a t-shirt and shorts when it's warmer than 60°.

Yup, 66 for us! Our house is well insulated, and we're in a pretty warm climate - though it's hard to tell that this winter! Except we've gotta get new doors - they all leak cold air in badly! Samantha
PS - Maybe a storm door on the front like Katlian would be our best bet!

I keep the thermostat at 62 most of the time, but some days I'm really cold so I'll turn it up to 68. My biggest energy savings this winter came from letting the plants in the greenhouse get a little colder--last winter I was trying to keep the GH at 55, but this year I'm keeping it at 45--the plants are still happy and my electric bill is a lot cheaper!

Keep ours set at about 70 to 72 as we live in a colder area and I don't like being cold but due to extremely high electric and us being total electric, just to costly to turn heat up. Use housecoat when gets to cold, and jackets. I do have to turn up heat when I take a shower or I litteraly freeze to death.

I set the thermostat at 67 and leave it. Cool thing is that I invested in what's called "zone heating" because I have a Cape Cod and 3 floors. With zone heating I can turn on just one floor and leave the other two floors cooler. Saves a TON of money and wasn't that expensive to install. The basement floor is off and the top floor is set to 60--just to keep the chill down and save my water pipes if we do get down to lower temps (which is rare in my area).

keep mine set at 62 and it stay about 68ish!
we also have a eden pure when it gets to cold! the kids had it upstairs and melted it!
we had to get a replacement for that one-so we got another new one!
we live in a drafty old farm house!

last electric/gas bill was $444.00 come on spring

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 11:48 AM

I selected solar or geo-thermal energy, but it only tells part of the story. Quite by accident, the house we bought in 1970 faces south and has big windows in the LR and DR, close to where the thermostat is. On a sunny winter day, we get considerable passive solar warming. But we DO have a hi-efficiency gas furnace for the cold days though we turn the thermostat down during the day and again at night. If I'm home in the daytime and get chilly, I usually use a small electric heater unless it's REALLY cold in which case I'll up the thermostat a bit.

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 1:14 PM

Ours is set on 63. We're just below the FL/GA border so we get cold and have several freezes each year.

We set our programmable thermostat to 70 for morning and evening, the rest of the time it's at 62. Furnace usually goes on just the one time am/pm and the house stays even that way. Those hot socks sound great - that's usually our problem in the evening, our feet get cold and we use our fleecy blankets. Still, sometimes I just have blocks of ice for feet, even if I'm up moving around.

I don't like to feel heat, just don't want to shiver or get achy from cold.

I was just skimming the comments, and I can't believe some people can tolerate the 50's in their homes! I guess I'm in the right state because I can't stand being cold. We don't have to use the heater much in Florida, but I will set it at about 72-73 if it gets below 70 inside. I know, we're sissies ;)

Ususally it's set at 67 during the day and 65 at night. We also installed all double paned windows last year. Makes an amazing difference...

We've done all of our heating with our pellet and wood stoves for over 10 years. I'd faint if I got a $444 electric bill. LOL

We dress in warm layers in winter, have a pile of warm throws for when we're sitting on the sofa and a cozy feather comforter on the bed, but the wood heat is I think a lot warmer than gas, oil and electric.

If your feet get cold, get you a pair of real sheepskin slippers or boots. You won't believe how warm it keeps your feet. Check your local Costco. They had the flat heeled, sort of like Uggs, real sherpa boots for $34 something just before Christmas. They might be on clearance now. Sportsman's Guide often has them for a reasonable price too.

About 68. I'll turn it down when we're gone for the day.

We keep the house thermostat at 68°. We also have a wood stove in the sunroom. When that is cranked it warms the whole front of the house, thus the heater doesn't come on as much. When the temps are cool at night (40's) and warmer during the day (60s), the sunroom is heated with an electric oil heater until the sun hits the room. I love that thing.

Other: Dancing

My sister visited an alpaca farm and picked up some socks for me - those are really warm. :-)

lisabeth, where did you find the "hot socks?" I'm not having any luck with googling.

I have an electric furnace which I use for heating my rented trailer. I prefer wood heat over electricity but when there are no other options available I can be quite satisfied with electric since it is a cleaner way over other methods. I find that this heating method dries the air inside so it can also have its downfalls.

We have a programmable thermostat, set to 68 when we are home and awake, 65 when we are usually gone or asleep. I'm seriously cold-blooded, though, so I generally am wrapped in a blanket and huddled by a space heater.

Dahlianut, maybe I should try your method of keeping warm! Love the picture!

I'm hot natured so I can bear some cold but I do have a couple of little space heaters since the rooms are pretty well closed off from each other. I came home to day and it was 60 in the house and I'm wearing a tank top, sweat pants and sandals:lol: I almost never wear a jacket or coat--has to be cold and windy or snowing, sometime raining.

Moving into a place that was 2 story, older and all electric/central heat and air was certainly eye opening as fall as heating and cooling bills go. Makes me very grateful for the mild winters we've had lately. I do sleep better when it is chilly in the house though.

I have got to be a real whimp compared to all of y'all. Fortunately, my heat bill is not $400.00 a month....the house is very well insulated and a brick home. I did find when we pulled up all our carpet in the living room, dining room and den, and had the hardwood floors refinished last summer that it feels much cooler in the winter. I have some area rugs but not the same. I love it in the summer though. Most of the time my heat bill runs a little over $200.00 in the coldest part of the winter. While I crank up the heat in the winter, I keep the thermostat on about 78 in the summer. Guess I'm just a summertime gal except I don't the humidity. Just having the air on takes the humidity out for the most part.