How to stay warm when saving on energy

[Alicia64]

I'm trying so hard to keep our energy bill down, but I'm freezing!!!!!!!!!! I'm keeping the house at 65 degrees.

 

Of course, it's not so bad when I take the kids out for the day -- who cares if the house is chilly?

 

But on the days I'm home doing lessons, it's no fun.

 

I'm wearing two pairs of socks and two long sleeve shirts plus sweat pants.

 

I'm thinking of buying some long johns from Lands End and wearing a light jacket around the house.

 

Other than bundling up in my robe, I don't know what to do. Plus I don't want my kids seeing me walk around in a robe all day. And it's not practical -- the sleeves get in the way.

 

I do love when I bake b/c the kitchen warms up.

 

Any suggestions??

 

Alley

[Blessedfamily]

I posted a similiar question because, although we run the heat and everyone else in the family is comfortable, I'm always chilly in winter.(Relocated form a warm region) I can only get warm standing on the vent and running the heat the entire day, which makes for unecessarily excessive heating bills.

 

Some of the posters here gave me wonderful tips in that thread.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Blessedfamily
sp

[Alicia64]

Wendy,

 

I agree with you. And said the exact same thing to my husband who then told me that it does make a huge difference in the bill.

 

I took his word for it. I don't know what to think.

 

On top of it, if I'm buying long john and jackets doesn't the affect how much we've saved??

 

Maybe I'm going overboard and should jack it up a bit.

 

Alley

[Renee in NC]

Wendy,

 

I agree with you. And said the exact same thing to my husband who then told me that it does make a huge difference in the bill.

 

I took his word for it. I don't know what to think.

 

On top of it, if I'm buying long john and jackets doesn't the affect how much we've saved??

 

Maybe I'm going overboard and should jack it up a bit.

 

Alley

 

If you are buying new clothes to keep the chill away, then yes, it is probably not helping much.

 

Of course, my A/C is on right now to keep the house below 78!

[Blessedfamily]

I often wonder if the savings is that substantial when turning the heat down a bit. I keep it at 68/69. I hate being cold. Would it make a huge difference in price if I put it to 65? I doubt it. But the difference in terms of how I feel is huge.

 

Is that a good temp to shoot for? I was wondering how other people keep their thermostats set.

 

I keep mine between 72-74 during the day, 70 or 71 at night. Our house is not big (to me) but has high ceilings so it feels more spacious.

[lgm]

Here's a calculator you can play with:

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/bulk_purchasing/bpsavings_calc/CalculatorProgrammableThermostat.xls

to give you an idea of what lowering or raising the temp does.

I would guess that it is assuming that your home is up to code on insulation for your area. I know with our older house, if the temp is below 10F, the furnace will run all day on a cloudy day if I set it at 68F , so we deliberately keep the temp lower and space heat then.

 

We find the setback thermostat nice for the main living area.

[Laura Corin]

I find that sweats don't keep me warm. I tend to wear long underwear under corduroys, thin socks with thick socks over, a camisole, t-shirt, turtle neck and fleece, and sheepskin slippers.

 

I don't know what temperature the house reaches in the day time - the heating goes off at 9am and comes back on at 5pm. It's not so cold that my hands freeze up, but my nose is chilly to the touch. We also turn the heating off at bedtime, but we have thick stone walls so the temperature doesn't drop too low.

 

Laura

[Blessedfamily]

What would be too high for a heating bill for a winter month? Over 200 over 300? I know it must vary greatly by region. People up north must be used to spending a small fortune.

 

 

To the OP: the "Cuddleduds" mentioned in the thread I linked are at Tuesday Morning and Ross for a very good price..

[Brigitte]

If my feet are warm, the rest of me is warm. Socks don't keep my feet warm. You need a solid barrier between your feet and the floor. I would be willling to bet one pair of socks with a pair of slippers will make a big difference for you. When it is particularly cold, something around my neck helps a lot, too. I don't need that many layers on my legs and arms. We kept our thermostat at 63 last winter and I get very cold - in case that helps for comparison sake.

[LibraryLover]

Fingerless gloves, hats/caps, silk/wool longjohns, hoodies. At night, down quilts and socks. It makes all the difference. We learned this when we lived in a home with forced hot air heating, which was terrible for my oldest who has environmental/dust allergies. We could not run those blowers all the time. Kids love to wear those knitted caps, and they really do keep the heat in. I heart my Uggs. My 10 yr old has these in red, http://www.novanatural.com/woolens/wool-silk-long-sleeve-shirt_2 and she only takes them off to bathe, and so I can wash them once in a while. They are amazing and have them for adults. I only need the top myself. it's spendy, but Lands End and LL Bean have good prices on adult silk or cotton longjohns. Worth every penny.

Edited November 10, 2009 by LibraryLover

[Pajama Mama]

We just installed a programmable thermostat so I can't say how much the savings are yet. It's set for 72 right before we wake up. It drops down to 68 after we start moving around. It goes down to 62 when we are asleep. We have lots of blankets so it's alright for the house to be a little chilly at 3 am. I'll have to monitor it for awhile to determine the savings.

[Mommyof4ks]

Our electric bill dropped ALOT when we bought a programmable thermostat. We set it at 73 or so and it kept us toasty. I also focus more on unplugging things I don't need, turning off lights I don't need and so on during high usage months which helps keep the bills in check a bit better. Of course it was in the 80s here today, so we don't worry much about heat these days lol.

[Garga]

Hat. Doesn't have to be a knitted outdoor hat; it can be a cute page-boy type hat that's designed to be worn inside. (This is a BIG step. That hat can make all the difference.)

 

Layers. Long johns, then turtleneck, then button down, then sweater. If you don't have a hat, then make sure your sweater has a hood and use it.

 

Exercise. If I walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes, I stay warm for a good hour afterward. If you don't have a treadmill, run up and down your steps for 10 minutes. Or jog in place until you warm up. Jumping jacks. Tae Bo. Anything that gets you moving a bit. Go hide from your kids with headphones and dance for 20 minutes. Exercise will keep you warm and keep you healthy.

[kalanamak]

I keep the school, computer room 70 with an oil filled electric heater. Hubby watches TV in the big room with a blanket and a sub-floor heater. I read in bed in a room that if often 50. The rest of the time, I'm working, moving, cooking, baking. I put on a sweater and a scarf over my shoulders and I'm fine. One room toasty helps us.

[Sunkirst]

I agree with the one room warm option. We school in a tiny (4'x8') room that has 4 windows. It was previously a screened in back porch. I double plastic the windows and we run a small heater in there on and off. I don't want the kids to be sitting and working in the cold. My eldest is able to coax the dog to sleep on his feet. That helps too:D.

[Starr]

Cuddle duds are a nice under layer and fleece is cozy. I agree with warm socks and slippers or shoes with thicker soles. We keep our house about 60 - 62 but if we are sitting in a room for a while I'll turn the heat up in that room. Our heat is zoned into 5 zones. I have friends that turn their heat down to 55 at night but I find that too cold. I also like down comforters. I buy beautiful old ones on ebay very reasonably. While I am reading before I go to sleep I turn the heat up in my room and then turn it back to 60 when I turn out the light.

[Mom-ninja.]

Well, you could live here during the winter like all the other snow birds. ;)

 

We're still wearing shorts, and debating if we need the A/C on or if we should just deal with the house being in the 80s.

[Tam101]

We have our heater set for 68/69 during the day and between 11pm-7am we drop it to 62. Today I'm wearing jeans, socks, slippers, tank, t-shirt and sweat shirt and I'm comfortable. If I'm busy cleaning house I get warm and have to take off the sweat shirt.

 

Off to play with that engerystar calculator! I love stuff like that!

[TrixieB]

To keep warm in the winter, I like:

 

polarfleece slippers

polarfleece pullovers (Lands End)

polarfleece blankets/throws for reading on the couch

 

Polarfleece is one of the best inventions ever!

[OrganicAnn]

I find that if around my shoulders/back is warm, then I feel warm. So a vest can help as a last layer. Also wool really helps, but I suggest always having a layer of something between the wool and your skin.

 

We have a new heat pump with programmable thermostat, but we haven't decided exactly what temp we should keep it at the various times of the day.

[happygrrl]

Weekly sauna! When I moved to Oregon from TX I just could not get warm. A sauna, though, seemed to warm my very bones and soon I was comfortable in the cold temps for the entire week between saunas.

[SquirrellyMama]

We keep ours at 60 degrees and I found that yes it did save us money last year. I usually wore my hat and gloves while walking around with hot tea all day :001_smile: My kids were just fine running around without socks. I'm trying to do it again this year but I'm not sure if I have the energy. Last year we were still paying off debts and this year we don't have them so I'm much less motivated to be cold. I love 60 degrees at night becaus I love lots of covers on me.

 

Kelly

[Jennifer in MI]

Well, I love saving money, so I keep my house cold!! :lol: We keep ours at 60 during the day and turn it down to 56 at night. The kids haven't complained at all. Dh does a little, so I make sure that I'm baking or cooking something when he comes home and that makes it feel a bit warmer.

 

Anyway, I DO get cold. I found if I wear slippers and a scarf around my neck, I stay warm. I also drink a lot of tea during the day. At night, we have lots of blankets and warm pajamas.

 

I know this saves us money! Lots of money. I have a wonderful motivation though - any money we save on our utilities (we estimate the bills at the beginning of each year) goes straight into a vacation fund. So, the kids are motivated too!

 

Now, if we have company, I DO turn it up!!

[creekland]

Well, I love saving money, so I keep my house cold!! :lol: We keep ours at 60 during the day and turn it down to 56 at night. The kids haven't complained at all. Dh does a little, so I make sure that I'm baking or cooking something when he comes home and that makes it feel a bit warmer.

 

Anyway, I DO get cold. I found if I wear slippers and a scarf around my neck, I stay warm. I also drink a lot of tea during the day. At night, we have lots of blankets and warm pajamas.

 

I know this saves us money! Lots of money. I have a wonderful motivation though - any money we save on our utilities (we estimate the bills at the beginning of each year) goes straight into a vacation fund. So, the kids are motivated too!

 

Now, if we have company, I DO turn it up!!

 

I was going to add to this thread, then came across your post... We are very much alike! The savings are worth it for us. Other things we do to feel warm are exercise and stepping outside for a few minutes. Either makes us feel warm in the house...

 

Then there's the incentive to make nice, slow cooked meals for the extra heat.

 

My problem is I feel hot on days I go to work. I have to wear short sleeved shirts there as they keep the temp between 68 and 72...

[Tammyla]

I begin by layering up in pointelle silk long-johns from LLBean or Land's End. Thick socks, fuzzy slippers, pants, a long-sleeved T or turtleneck and a light weight fleece jacket. On super cold days a scarf and gloves..occasionally a knit hat.

 

A small box-fan heater is a one room option, hot-tea or coffee and letting the sunshine in to warm the place up.

 

My home is big and needs plenty of winter-prep to keep the cold out. Staying upstairs is warmer, but not a good option during the day. Turning up the humidifier if you have one can make it feel warmer as does baking bread.

 

I don't like the cold because it makes my body ache.:willy_nilly: We don't even keep the temp that low during the winter, but it feels cold if I'm not bundled up. My mom sent a bunch of crocheted and knitted blankets and they are wonderful. I'm thinking about asking her to knit a snuggly type one, but can't imagine how uber-crazy that would look.:D

[LarlaB]

We keep our house at 66 during the day, and have a portable space heater that I move with us- school room, dining room, family room etc. I'm the one who is bothered by the cold.

 

I've found it really helps to have a close fitting tank top as my base layer (I have one that is one of those 'shape wear' dealios- it keeps me SO warm), plus wearing good socks & slippers.

[Saille]

Ditto on the slippers. Mine are fleece on the inside and have solid rubber soles. I'm wearing my summer-weight hiking boots right this second, and I'm about to switch b/c they're not working. I'm also wearing jeans, socks, a long-sleeved tee, and a big brown sweater coat.

 

We keep ours at 65 during the day, and it goes down at night to 58? I think? Now I feel like an underachiever!

[Kim in Appalachia]

Our house is usually at 65 (somedays I put it to 66, and it makes me feel better.:D) We have a large, old Victorian house that is expensive to heat. We have propane heat and use about 2 1/2 tanks a year. We have 2 furnaces, and we keep the upstair at 64 durning the day. Both get turned down to 55 at night.

 

We do turn it up for company, especially our out of town guests! Most people in our area live in older homes and keep the temps down, so they are used to it.

 

The kids get used to it, though my teenager is always cold. I just tell her to bundle up. She can usually be found doing her work under a blanket.

 

My dh likes his fingerless gloves. I would like to get a pair for myself. I think they would help.

[Mabelen]

Is that a good temp to shoot for? I was wondering how other people keep their thermostats set.

 

I keep mine between 72-74 during the day, 70 or 71 at night. Our house is not big (to me) but has high ceilings so it feels more spacious.

 

When we lived in the Mid Atlantic region we kept our thermostat at 65 at night (we loved snuggling under heavy blankets), then it went up to around 70 during the day but I would change it for shorts periods of time, like 71-72 for shower and bath times, then back to 65 when we left the house etc.