do you plant to lower your indoor temp this winter?
chilis...@gmail.com
costs ive been thinking of maybe going a bit lower.
So last week i tried sinking it all the way down to 60F and see how it
felt, and it was unbelievably damn COLD! I had to wear socks and t-
shirt while sleeping LOL!
Maybe something around 66F would be better?
Have you experimented with lower indoor temp? What is a alrite lowest
temp?
clams_casino
You should probably drop in stages. During the summer, we are quite
comfortable at 75F, but find around 67F to be quite comfortable in the
winter. A lot will depend on how much / type of clothing you typically
wear. Do consider programmable thermostats, especially if you have
multi-zone heating / cooling.
We set the temp downstairs back to 63 over night & ramp it up to 67
after 5am. Upstairs, we set it back to 63 during the day & keep the
doors closed so the downstairs isn't simply heating the upstairs during
the day where we ramp it to 67 after 7 pm. It ramps down to 66 after 9
am. When not around during the day, we typically set the temp back
down to 63 & reset when we return. The gradual increase tends to
be just as comfortable vs. walking into a 67F home. We also ramp up
the downstairs temp up 2F at 4pm (from 66 to 68) to offset the typical
sun set chill, setting it back down to 63 overnight at around 9 pm.
For some reason, 66F can be quite comfortable during the day, but it
becomes chilly as the sun sets.
It may sound involved, but it's a cycle that we've developed over the
years that's left to the programmable thermostats, except for the manual
adjustments downstairs when we leave for extended periods during the
day. Having the downstairs thermostat near the exit to the garage makes
it an easy task.
Daniel T.
Last winter we kept the heat at 76F, so far this year we have kept it at
73, sometimes 74. Before you think this is extravagant... I live in
Florida, during the summer we keep the AC set 80.
h
"Daniel T." <dani...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:daniel_t-B54E01...@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...
> chilis...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> I usually have about 73F indoors, but now with the expensive heating
>> costs ive been thinking of maybe going a bit lower.
>> So last week i tried sinking it all the way down to 60F and see how it
>> felt, and it was unbelievably damn COLD! I had to wear socks and t-
>> shirt while sleeping LOL!
>> Maybe something around 66F would be better?
60 works just fine here in upstate NY. I've always had it set to 60, even
when heating oil was $.89.
Rod Speed
> I usually have about 73F indoors, but now with the expensive
> heating costs ive been thinking of maybe going a bit lower.
> So last week i tried sinking it all the way down to 60F and
> see how it felt, and it was unbelievably damn COLD! I had
> to wear socks and t-shirt while sleeping LOL!
You could get real radical and use a quilt.
> Maybe something around 66F would be better?
> Have you experimented with lower indoor temp? What is a alrite lowest temp?
There is no nice tidy number. It depends on what you are wearing
and how much exercise you are getting, or just sitting around etc.
Vic Smith
wrote:
I tried experimenting, but every time one of my controls went haywire.
That control would be my wife.
So you have to balance frugality with domestic tranquility.
Not heating unused rooms is a start.
I spend a lot of time in the basement, where I have all HVAC vents
closed. If I feel cold I turn on a small electric heater under my
desk.
Heated mattress pads for lower night time temps.
Programmable thermostats are a big plus.
But we basically settled at 68-69F winter, 80F summer.
The 80F never changes. We have ceiling fans.
Sometimes the winter gets boosted to 72F for a while if somebody
is miserable. Hey, you live once. So keep some perspective.
Do what works for your family, while maintaining domestic tranquility.
If the heating bills are getting expensive, you can save some coin
by paying the kids a couple bucks to not eat breakfast, then charge
them a buck for dinner. It adds up.
Teaches fiscal responsibility too.
--Vic
Bob F
<chilis...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:670e34e3-e073-4146...@w35g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
It's 55F in my house right now. I'll probably build a fire later, but this is OK
with a thick sweater on.
Try a few comforters on your bed. I sleep fine down to 45F or so with the 3 thin
comforters I use in winter. I do have a small heater on a stand next to the bed.
I turn it on for a couple minutes and hold the blankets up to collect the heat
right after I climb into bed on cold evening to quickly warn the bed.
You can get used to whatever temp you are insulated for. Visiters may be less
adaptable.
73F in the winter is too hot for my taste.
Jeff
> I usually have about 73F indoors, but now with the expensive heating
> costs ive been thinking of maybe going a bit lower.
> So last week i tried sinking it all the way down to 60F and see how it
> felt, and it was unbelievably damn COLD! I had to wear socks and t-
> shirt while sleeping LOL!
> Maybe something around 66F would be better?
A lot will depend on the type of heat, how you acclimate, how you dress
and how active you are. Even if it is drafty. A little cold draft makes
a big difference. It seems that over heating one part of the body does
not even out another part being too cool!
Forced air heat will feel different than radiant. I think I can tolerate
a few degrees cooler with radiant.
With all those caveats and dressing a little warm , I find 68F to be
very reasonable, 65, OK. 60F is getting cold.
I heat by the room, more or less and keep where I work at 68 and less
frequented areas around 60. The rest of the house can get much cooler.
If I have to live at 60 or a bit lower I need to be dressed warm or
have a blanket.
Cheers,
Jeff
E Z Peaces
In the south, I've been running 80 summer and 64 winter. Now that you
mention it, I should reduce my winter setting. Up north, I lived
comfortably for two years in an unheated space that was typically in the
low 50s. Before that, one winter I had to sleep in a space where the
thermometer by my bed was typically in the 40s. I had a sheet and thin
spread but no blanket. Against expectations, I was comfortable. I
often camped comfortably in an unheated tent when it was in the teens.
Before the Franklin Stove, our ancestors had to live in cold, drafty
spaces. When we find 60 intolerable instead of cozy, we're probably
making mistakes that would have been obvious to them. Because it can
take time for a warm person to feel chilly or a chilly person to feel
warm, cause and effect may not be obvious.
Our ancestors knew the importance of sitting or lying on insulated
surfaces to conserve heat. Nowadays, close-cell vinyl works well for
insulated pads.
Our ancestors knew the importance of hats. Donning or doffing one is as
effective as adjusting the thermostat, and it works faster. The head,
neck, and torso are the most important parts to insulate, so a vest
makes a big difference. Cold feet are more an effect than a cause of
being chilly, but roomy footwear with insulating soles can increase comfort.
In my life, I've found that regardless of thermostat settings, I'd be
chilliest indoors when I spent the least time outdoors.
A few weeks after returning from the tropics, where it was humid and
daytime temperatures were routinely above 110, I found myself attending
college were the temperature was in the teens. The heat indoors was
stifling. I kept my radiator off and slept with the window open. I
wore short sleeves indoors and out. It seems somebody who lives
outdoors, even in the tropics, may develop a much higher metabolism than
people who spend their time indoors.
Diet affects metabolism. In winter camping, a drink of apple juice
would help me sleep warm. Indoors, sometimes I've waked up in the night
terribly cold after having cabbage or broccoli for supper, although the
temperature was normal and I had plenty of warm bedding. Those
vegetables have toxins that can depress metabolism. I've learned to
limit my consumption in winter, not to eat them raw, and not to cut them
up until cooked.
One huge change in the American diet has been the replacement of
traditional fats with the manufactured seed oils that have become
available since 1885. Thanks to Depression poverty and then war
shortages, consumption surpassed that of traditional fats. Consumption
has increased ever since, due to advertising claims that these
manufactured fats would spare us from the epidemics of heart attacks and
cancer. In fact, these epidemics appeared after the introduction of
seed oils and have increased in proportion to their consumption.
Obesity and intolerance of exercise have increased in proportion to the
consumption of seed oils. Farmers want to raise pigs who are obese
couch potatoes. Seed oils were a breakthrough for farmers because they
tend to reduce thyroid levels. Among Americans, the normal thyroid
level is much lower than it was a century ago. If our ancestors could
be cozy in houses we would find intolerably cold, it could be due in
part to the fact that they consumed only tiny amounts of seed oils.
clams_casino
>
> A lot will depend on the type of heat, how you acclimate, how you
> dress and how active you are. Even if it is drafty. A little cold
> draft makes a big difference. It seems that over heating one part of
> the body does not even out another part being too cool!
>
> Forced air heat will feel different than radiant. I think I can
> tolerate a few degrees cooler with radiant.
>
I never liked heat via heat pump. It seems to just circulate cold
drafty air. I'm sure my gas hot air system was less efficient, but
we did like warming our hands / feet in front of the register when the
heat kicked on.
Our current hot water heat seems to be the best compromise. It does
not "over heat" the room and it does not create the drafts that are
common with heat pump systems.
Napoleon
wrote:
>I usually have about 73F indoors, but now with the expensive heating
Wow. I don't know where you live, but your heating bill must be huge
if you live anywhere it's cold.
I posted a week ago about my thermostat settings - 58-59 most of the
time and 64 for only a few hours a day. Still, my heating bill is
close to 200 month in the winter for a 1500 sq foot home (upstairs is
unheated and shut off from the downstairs). At 73 I'm sure that bill
would skyrocket to 400.
I'm in upstate NY and it seems alot of people up here keep their heat
very low - it must be that gouging from National Grid.
-N
'nam vet.
clams_casino <PeterG...@DrunkinClam.com> wrote:
We have the wood stove and it's Radiant Heat. we love it and wood warms
you many times ; getting it, cutting it, stacking and burning it.
I hope everyone has discovered flannel sheets for the bed. Wonderful.
And we make our own Polar fleece hats. A lot of your body heat goes out
through you head.
And every year we do an additional thing to lower our carbon foot-print.
Insulate, more double glazing if needed. etc.
Good luck, group. and wear brighter more colorful clothing. Keeps the
spirits up. and Smile at someone you pass on the street. They'll wonder
what you're up to.
--
When the Power of Love,replaces the Love of Power.
that's Evolution.
Rod Speed
Trouble is those home made balaclavas can get you summarily executed as a terrorist.
> And every year we do an additional thing to lower our carbon
> foot-print. Insulate, more double glazing if needed. etc.
You'd save a lot more carbon by hanging yourself with second hand rope.
> Good luck, group. and wear brighter more colorful clothing. Keeps the spirits up.
> and Smile at someone you pass on the street. They'll wonder what you're up to.
Or gun you down when they decide you must be another of those loonys we used to keep in locked wards.
'nam vet.
<georgewkspam-F2BF...@sn-ip.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
"'nam vet." <george...@humboldt1.com> wrote:
Oh, I forgot, If your feet get cold, it's so hard to sleep. we used to
heat up a large smooth rock on the wood stove and put it at the foot of
the bed, Soooo nice !
Remember the "bed Warmer">?
Stay cosy! and there's always Three Dog Nite.
Vic Smith
<george...@humboldt1.com> wrote:
>
>Oh, I forgot, If your feet get cold, it's so hard to sleep. we used to
>heat up a large smooth rock on the wood stove and put it at the foot of
>the bed, Soooo nice !
>Remember the "bed Warmer">?
>Stay cosy! and there's always Three Dog Nite.
Even one dog helps. Got a small pooch that jumps on the bed after I
turn off the lights. She nestles between my legs, the blankets making
sort of a hammock there.
Wife gets jealous though.
--Vic
aine...@gmail.com
dun be shocked coz i live in MALAYSIA..
=]
xoxo,
aineecumi
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E Z Peaces
>
> Oh, I forgot, If your feet get cold, it's so hard to sleep. we used to
> heat up a large smooth rock on the wood stove and put it at the foot of
> the bed, Soooo nice !
You may not be aware of cold hands and feet before going to bed, but
they show that the vital organs don't have heat to spare.
Your torso will lose heat in warming a cold bed. You will now feel
cold. Now you will notice your cold feet, and you'll think they're the
cause of your discomfort.
If your feet were warm before getting into bed, that would be a sign
that your torso had enough heat to warm the bed without discomfort. I
monitor my hands instead of my feet because to would be awkward to check
the temperature of my toes against my face. If my hands aren't warm I
can take action before I get chilly enough to be uncomfortable. An
insulated cushion, a vest, a warm collar, and a hat can greatly reduce
heat loss.
curly'q
> We have the wood stove and it's Radiant Heat. we love it and wood warms
> you many times ; getting it, cutting it, stacking and burning it.
One year in the last 25 we didn't burn wood in our little Jotul 602 and
it was the most miserable winter ever......no matter how high we turned
up the stat we were never comforted.
> I hope everyone has discovered flannel sheets for the bed.
I found what I think is one better the flannel. The microfiber fleece
sheet set I just bought for $40 at T.J. Maxx (queen size) are softer
then flannel, and feel like they are putting out their own heat! How
will they hold up?.........we'll find out.
Wonderful.
> And we make our own Polar fleece hats. A lot of your body heat goes out
> through you head.
> And every year we do an additional thing to lower our carbon foot-print.
> Insulate, more double glazing if needed. etc.
> Good luck, group. and wear brighter more colorful clothing. Keeps the
> spirits up. and Smile at someone you pass on the street. They'll wonder
> what you're up to.
I like the way you think.
LA
tomb...@city-net.com
window open even if it is 10 degrees outside. I have been hit with
snow in my face a number of times, because I sleep next to the window.
My wife says "I thought you enjoyed sking. 58 makes me wear a long
shirt, socks and sweat pants, but I have not missed a day of work in
thirty years for being ill.
Tom
Vic Smith
I like that snow in the face part. I'd like to try that.
If my wife agrees.
--Vic
Jeff
> Jeff wrote:
>
>>
>> A lot will depend on the type of heat, how you acclimate, how you
>> dress and how active you are. Even if it is drafty. A little cold
>> draft makes a big difference. It seems that over heating one part of
>> the body does not even out another part being too cool!
>>
>> Forced air heat will feel different than radiant. I think I can
>> tolerate a few degrees cooler with radiant.
>>
>
> I never liked heat via heat pump. It seems to just circulate cold
> drafty air. I'm sure my gas hot air system was less efficient, but
> we did like warming our hands / feet in front of the register when the
> heat kicked on.
>
> Our current hot water heat seems to be the best compromise.
What kind of hot water heat do you have and how hot is the water?
I'm going to have several hundred gallons of solar heated water shortly.
Cheers,
Jeff
JonquilJan
Not too many years ago, I was comfortable at 58. Of course, I layered, wore
shoes or good slippers and occasionally when the wind blew (old house) even
a knit hat. snuggled at night with flannel sheets, thermal blankets, a few
comforters and a flannel nighty.
Now with increasing age and decreasing mobility (disabled and getting worse)
have the thermostat set at 65 - which seems tolerable. I do layer and don't
go barefoot or even stocking footed. And -- again when the wind blows --
put on the knit hat.
I live in northern New York - and right now it's very white outside with 6+
inches of snow last night and it's still coming down. Better than the wind.
JonquilJan
Learn something new every day
As long as you are learning, you are living
When you stop learning, you start dying
JonquilJan
news:j0bli4hnuh05iuqau...@4ax.com...
Have National Grid here. But I heat with propane. $361 a month for 10
months. Plus the increase in the electric bill from National Grid.
E Z Peaces
> 73!!!
>
> Not too many years ago, I was comfortable at 58. Of course, I layered, wore
> shoes or good slippers and occasionally when the wind blew (old house) even
> a knit hat. snuggled at night with flannel sheets, thermal blankets, a few
> comforters and a flannel nighty.
>
> Now with increasing age and decreasing mobility (disabled and getting worse)
> have the thermostat set at 65 - which seems tolerable. I do layer and don't
> go barefoot or even stocking footed. And -- again when the wind blows --
> put on the knit hat.
>
> I live in northern New York - and right now it's very white outside with 6+
> inches of snow last night and it's still coming down. Better than the wind.
>
> JonquilJan
>
I grew up in VT in an old house where I think we kept the thermostat at
67. Layering didn't work for me. I was often chilled and got bad colds.
I'd add wool socks, ankle-length drawers, and a sweater to my summer
attire. That was all I could wear indoors without sweating, yet it
wouldn't keep me warm indoors.
One problem was non-uniform temperatures, which included drafts and
stratification. The other was varying biological heat production.
Depending on your diet, metabolism can drop when you're hungry. After a
meal, digestion can produce heat in addition to metabolism.
I served in the Coast Guard. Regulations called for us to work in dress
socks and work shoes which were perpetually damp and had cold, hard
soles. Standing watch on freezing surfaces, I developed leg problems.
Still, as long as a coat and hat protected my vital organs, I could be
warm with very cold feet. After I began wearing woolly socks, my leg
problems went away.
Once I was lookout on the prow in somewhat rough weather. There was
only one set of foul-weather gear, and it was short. I stood two hours
in a 30-knot wind at 30 degrees, doused with salt water every 30
seconds, in cold, wet shoes with about 9 inches of bare skin on each
ankle and each wrist. I was uncomfortable, but as long as my head,
neck, and torso were protected I didn't shiver. As soon as I went in,
my feet and hands got warm. I believe that while cold people have cold
feet, cold feet don't make a person cold.
We were issued wool watch caps, turtleneck sweaters, and pea coats. We
didn't often wear the coats or sweaters because they could be just right
one minute but cause overheating the next.
I grew a beard to reduce heat loss from my face, indoors or out. I wore
a sleeveless sweatshirt under my work shirt most of the year, along with
a lined cotton jacket and a ball cap. I didn't wear long drawers
under my pants. The executive officer said he wished the crew would
follow my example. He had noticed that most of the crew suffered from
one cold after another, but I didn't catch them.
Outside it could be freezing and windy. Some spaces inside were chilly,
while others could be in the 90s. Without long johns, my legs helped me
get rid of excess heat without being a big liability in the cold. In
warm spaces I could remove my cap and jacket. My beard and sweatshirt
provided constant protection.
We were lucky because our foam-rubber mattresses provided good
insulation. Not all foam rubber or all mattresses provide good
insulation.
For two years after I got out, I lived in a finished attic. It would
have cost me nothing to turn the radiators on, but I found I was more
comfortable keeping it cold and dressing suitably: warm socks, long
johns, vest, sweater, collar, hat, and possibly a coat. Still, I would
have been cold without closed-cell pads on my chair and my mattress.
I haven't used pads like that in many years. I just ordered some. They
can make a big difference.