Been seeing a lot of posts about heating and whether people have been turning their heat on yet.
I have electric baseboard heating - VERY expensive to run, but it is the only source of heating in the house, other than a wood stove. I would love to get through the winter without using the baseboard heat, but some days, when it is just above freezing, it is very tempting to crank that dial.
So my challenge to myself is to see how many days I can go through the end of 2008 without using the electric baseboards. I need to learn how to use the wood stove more efficiently, and I do have space heaters that aren't cheap, but aren't as expensive as the baseboards, to run.
Luckily, it is 86F today, and it hasn't been dropping below 50F at night, so I'm okay right now. But I wanted to start this challenge now, while I'm thinking about it!
So my goal is to use the baseboards no more than 10 days from now until the end of the year. Off to add it to my sig.....
I live in southern Ontario, and (trust me!) I'm not a polar bear. I'd take Florida weather (summer and winter) ANY day!!! In the middle of the winter I remember my trips to Florida and dream of warmth. Probably makes my winters seem longer...lol!
Great Challenge! I know you can do it. Keep warm. I am trying to do the same and just use my new fireplace insert and space heaters rather then furnace. It is 45 here today...yuck
I hope you can do it Mad Hen I'm like you hate being cold and I usually am all the time! We had electric heat and got it changed to gas now I don't know which is more expensive probably electric but gas is going up all the time. It was 26 this morning. BRRR!
Good luck with the challenge. We have electric heaters on the wall just above the baseboards as well, and a wood stove. We are trying as well to just do the woodstove as much as possible. My electric bill is high enough now let alone having to turn on the heat. I think I might want in on this challenge.
Good luck! You'll have to start knitting a blanket to keep warm. I always get so hot with all of than yarn sitting in my lap. Of course, the cat sitting on top of the blanket might have something to do with it too. They're like my own personal space heaters!
I have Electric Heat Pump. I'm wondering if using Electric Space Heaters would be cheaper????
I also have an Electric Mattress Pad for the bed and an Electric throw for the sofa. The fur kids are going to have to get used to the heat being on 60 when I'm not home.....anyways they have fur coats on to begin with.
DH and I are also challenging ourselves to see how long we can go without turning on the heater. It's only in the 40s today and it's about 62 inside. I think I'm going to wash the electric blanket and then throw it on the bed in the next day or two! I also might look into purchasing a couple of space heaters. We haven't had one and I think now might be a good time to get one!
I've done that in the winter. The way my house is set up, if it is a sunny but cold day, the sun shines in all the windows and heats things up. I've stoked up the woodstove at 5a, when it is close to freezing, and then had to start opening windows by 11a, because it is TOO hot! No thermostat on a wood fire! (Or the sun, for that matter.)
Hey Cricketlegs, it is supposed to be 85F here tomorrow. Neener neener.
My DH's a wimp and has already turned on the heater. He cranks it up to about 78, then I turn it down to about 58 after he goes to bed. When he leaves for work at night I completely turn it off We're supposed to get I think 10 inches of snow by Friday:smhelp::snowing:
Well we lost our challenge this year...we weren't going to turn on the furnace until Halloween but Monday morning it was 68 in the house-which is way to cold for me....so I surrendered...yes it was all my fault...I take all the blame. LOL but at least I'm warm now.
Good luck in your challenge madhen...stay strong.
I'm actually okay with 68F. I would have to wear a sweater, but other than that, I'd be fine. Most mornings, lately, it is high 50's. I think I will be okay until it starts to drop into the low 50's, and the sun doesn't come out.
Today, it is expected to reach 87F, so I think I'm good.
I was going to wait till halloween was over. While I was a work my DH turned the heat on. He said it was in the mid 60's and since we have babies in the house it has to be higher.
Its close to 50 degrees in the house this morning...lol. it wont warm up much in here as we have lots of shade and a tin roof. it is supposed to get up to about 70 today then we are looking at 40"s for a few nites! this weekends job is to move my crap out of infront of the woodstove...lol
Its close to 50 degrees in the house this morning...lol. it wont warm up much in here as we have lots of shade and a tin roof. it is supposed to get up to about 70 today then we are looking at 40"s for a few nites! this weekends job is to move my crap out of infront of the woodstove...lol
I asked dh--what is that smell, is something..gulp...heating?
Mr NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD responds--I turned on the heat.
Me--oh okay is it that cold??
Mr NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD responds yes
I say ok with my mouth but my brain said AHAHAHAHHWAAAYYYAAA NOOOOO!
dang--ps it was pretty dang cold but it will be 78º so I think we could have dealed with it. Meanwhile dd comes into my room acting like a blizzard came through her bedroom while she dressed.
Okay, today was the first day I was tempted to turn on the heat. It has been raining since yesterday afternoon, and that means no sun, which means it cools off FAST. It was about 60F in the house today. I was concerned more for my two little finches, who are still living upstairs with me until I get the aviary built, than for myself. But rather than turning on the baseboards, I just put a space heater about three feet from their flight cage and turned it on low. It was set up so they could go hang out where it was warm, but also move out of that area. After about an hour, they did not seem to be seeking warmth, so I turned it back off.
Tonight, I have one of those doggy bed warmer pads under their flight cage, and a towel draped over one corner, so they can have a pocket of warmer area to sleep in. Pretty low electrical usage, and again, they don't seem to be seeking it out.
So day one of the first "winter" type day we've had so far, and no baseboards used!
I have been dealing with roofers and carpet cleaners all week. The carpet cleaners were here on Tuesday, and independently decided to open a bunch of windows to help dry the carpet out. I noticed the one in the livingroom and closed it, as my poor finches were starting to huddle together for warmth, but then I saw one of my plants swaying in the breeze and realized that there were windows open upstairs as well. This was in mid-50F temps.
Yesterday, with no warning, the roofers remove one of the skylights from my roof. So basically, I am sitting in high 40 to low 50F temps. I was SO tempted to kick on the heat, but then I thought, why bother? It is just all going to go out that open hole in my roof!!! So I put a space heater relatively close to the finches, to give them some supplemental heat, and I put about four layers of clothing on to give ME some supplemental heat!!
So I *am* using a space heater, both in the livingroom/diningroom area for the finches (who are moving into their new aviary this weekend, which is down in the birds' room, which stays warm due to the water heater, fridge, etc being there). And I am using a space heater for a few hours at night in the bedroom, to take the edge off.
You know MH, something we do that makes all the difference in the world with our wood stove is, there are these little round fans at walmart $5 a piece, I bought two of them!
I put one in our bedroom door facing toward the wood stove, it pulls the cold air from our room and circulates the warm air into it! Then I put one facing down the hall to the kids rooms and it works well too as long as they keep their doors open!
Hope that helps!
Mommy
I do use fans, but unfortunately my bedroom is upstairs and almost directly over the livingroom, so most of hot air doesn't make it up that far. I have a futon in the livingroom and may just use that and sleep in the same room as the wood stove.
Right now, because I have the hand-raised finches in the LR, I don't want to use the wood stove for a number of reasons related to their safety and health. Happily, they are going to be moved into their new home this weekend, so I will be able to start relying on wood heat vs. electrical heat!
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Frugal Village Forums
1.8M posts
47.5K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to the frugal lifestyle and the enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about simple and green living, cost effective tips, life hacks, debt reduction, recycling, gardening, other homesteading techniques, and more!