How do you cope with living in a cold, dark house? (a vent and an honest question)

[joannqn]

Now that we are living here, the adjustment period begins. I don't adjust easily. Little things bug me, and I have to constantly battle against letting those little things outweigh the positives.

 

One of the bigger issues is that this house is very dark and cold. The house is surrounded by tall pine trees, and there are plenty of other trees as well. The sun never hits the house until sun down, and then it is mostly filtered through trees. This means it is cold and dark all day. (This didn't even register when we first looked at it.)

 

When I checked the utilities, they were about $100 higher during the winter than we are used to paying. I figured the people living here must just like it very warm. But, the thermostat was set low during the day (like people who aren't home would set it) and lower than comfortable in the evening. It appears we'll have significantly more heating costs.

 

Plus, we're home all day so we'll have significantly higher lighting costs. I'm resisting the urge to turn on every light in the house because it is so dark. The kids are joking about turning into vampires and being unable to stand sunlight.

 

So, how do you cope with being in a cold, dark house all day...aside from burning through money turning on all of the lights?

 

Here's a picture of my kitchen and school room during the day without the lights on so you get an idea of how dark it is. There are no curtains on the slider and only a valance in the kitchen window. Please ignore the moving in and unpacking mess.

[Pink Fairy]

I'd buy a lot of those florescent light bulbs and keep the lights on. That's what I do, otherwise it's too depressing. For the cold, we bought some cheap down throws (less than $10) a few years ago, and we bundle up in them when it's cold. Snuggies are good too. :) I eventually adjust to the darker days of winter, but it takes a while.

[southernm]

We are renting a nightmare house that doesn't even have insulation, in Canada. There were 3 pieces of particle board glued together and that's it. Our bills were sky high this winter. We told the landlord she had to do something. So, we are getting a new roof and have just had a wood burning stove installed. Would something like that work for you? It generates a ton of heat. Also, check to make sure you have every nook and cranny sealed to prevent heat loss. Check the insulation situation too!

[heidip2p]

My mom said painting a room yellow in a dark house helped a lot. It was in Wisconsin where they did not have hardly any sun at times. She said when they painted the room she would go down the hall to turn off the light she thought was on. :)

[joannqn]

I guess I should mention that the dining room as a chandelier that takes those 25w flame shaped light bulbs, the kitchen has flood lights, and the dining room light fixture has bulbs that look like mini incandescent bulbs (about half size). I typically use only full spectrum incandescent bulbs because I have seasonal depression with low mood and low energy all winter.

 

I've been in Washington for 19 years and have never adjusted to the gloomy winters.

 

 

There is a fireplace in the family room, which will be our school room because our furniture won't fit in there. I'm sure we'll use it a lot during the school day once I have the boxes out of the way and we're schooling in there during the day. We'll need to find a source for fire wood pretty quickly.

Edited November 2, 2011 by joannqn

[leeannpal]

The house we just moved from was like that. Our main living area faced north and got very little sunlight. The living area where we live now gets much more sun, and it has been a welcome change!

 

In the winter time, would space heaters help with the cold? I wish I had some suggestions for lighting. We couldn't solve that problem either:confused:

[Lara in Colo]

Our house is cold in the winter time and I cover every window with quilts so my house is dark as well. I have lamps with the lower wattage bulbs centrally located in each room. I have one in the middle of the classroom table that points down, giving light to everyone. I have one over the kitchen counter where I do most of my work (not the overhead one, this is under the cabinet shining on my hands) In rooms where direct light isn't needed, I have lamps that shine up and give a decent glow to the entire room (the basement, tv room, childrens room)

 

Learn where you need to see well (direct light) and where indirect will suffice.

 

Go to a lighting store and talk to people who know and can offer good suggestions.

 

Lara

[Guest submarines]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I'm also very sensitive to light (lack of it) and I tend to freeze when others are warm, so I can relate. I'm not sure what to suggest. Our first house was dark and cold, and after 2 years of suffering and being miserable we moved.

 

The current house is brighter, but cold as well. For warmth, I highly recommend this heater from Costco. It is amazing. I'm in love with it. It wouldn't heat a large room, but it heats the person that it is aimed at. It does heat our small rooms really well. I hope it is as cost effective as it says, but I swear this year I won't suffer from being cold.

 

For light I'd like to have floor lamps with warm light, but now the lightbulbs have been changing, so I'm not sure anymore. I am not that keen on the white light from our floor lamps. BUT it is very, very bright, and the kids like it.

 

I hope you adjust and find good solutions. Pine trees around does sound beautiful. The summers should be fantastic there.

[Momof3littles]

I'm not sure how long you plan to stay, so it may or may not be worth it, but thermal-backed or insulated curtains might help if the windows aren't great.

 

I saw your thread about lighting and couldn't think of anything at the time, and then remembered last night that when we moved into our current house, the PO had several swagged lights. Plugged into an outlet but hung from a chain on the ceiling. Perhaps an option? Not sure if anyone mentioned that in the other thread.

[DusksAngel]

Mirrors across from any light source will help some

[Karen in CO]

Replace your light bulbs with LED(not florescent) light bulbs that use less electricity so you can keep your rooms more brightly lit and get a couple of radiant heaters. They direct heat at people instead of heating spaces. You'll feel warm and comfy, but not waste electricity heating the great outdoors. I hate being cold. If you sit in the dark and cold all winter, you'll all be miserable and depressed before winter is through.

[Pink Fairy]

I guess I should mention that the dining room as a chandelier that takes those 25w flame shaped light bulbs, the kitchen has flood lights, and the dining room light fixture has bulbs that look like mini incandescent bulbs (about half size). I typically use only full spectrum incandescent bulbs because I have seasonal depression with low mood and low energy all winter.

 

 

I think I'd look to cut other parts of the budget and pay to keep the house brighter--if there's room to cut, that is. :grouphug:

[TravelingChris]

We just bought a house this July that is big and dark. The heating here is electric. So even though I really hate it, I set our thermostat to 69 degrees. I can't do any lower. I just know our heating bills will be high. We are thinking about putting in a skylight in our great room since it is the darkest room. In the meantime, I use lights. We have deciduous trees around so it is getting lighter as the leaves fall. We will also be doing tree trimming to have the tree limbs be only up high. That brings in a lot more light and doesn't harm the tree since most of the sunlight they get and need are in the top branches. It is a popular way to treat trees in Europe and then they get shade plus beautiful gardens underneath.

[elegantlion]

Add some strategic mirrors. If you can reflect some of the light into other areas it might help.

 

If you have SAD, do you have a light box or something like that. I would also find some happy colors to add to the rooms. Didn't you say your living room furniture was chocolate? I'd find a zippy accent color, yellow, bright blue, something like that to lighten the mood of the room.

 

Our previous home was set among tall pine trees, it was gorgeous and we had lots of windows, so it wasn't too dark. You will find next summer it will be better on cooling costs.

 

:grouphug: I hate adjustment periods as well.

[joannqn]

For warmth, I highly recommend this heater from Costco. It is amazing. I'm in love with it.

 

I hope you adjust and find good solutions. Pine trees around does sound beautiful. The summers should be fantastic there.

 

I love to stand in front of the heater in Costco. It reminds me of the hot days in southern California...a wonderful dry baking heat.

 

I'm not sure how long you plan to stay, so it may or may not be worth it, but thermal-backed or insulated curtains might help if the windows aren't great.

 

I saw your thread about lighting and couldn't think of anything at the time, and then remembered last night that when we moved into our current house, the PO had several swagged lights. Plugged into an outlet but hung from a chain on the ceiling. Perhaps an option? Not sure if anyone mentioned that in the other thread.

 

The windows are new double-pane windows. I don't think they are an issue. I think it is just the fact that the house is in the shade all day every day.

 

Someone did mention the swagged lights. I'll be looking into them for the living room. We've gotten used to the level of lighting in the other rooms when the lights are on. I just can't imagine the cost of having all of the lights on all day and evening.

[Tmhearn]

I also recommend the heater from Costco. It is great.

 

I use a light box in the am and after naptime. It is a tabletop one that I got on Amazon. It has been helpful so far.

[FaithManor]

We had a house like this once. One of the things that made me feel chipper was to place pillar candles inside a hurricane glass globe on top of a mirror. It reflected the light and made it feel homey.

 

I also liked using an Aladdin lamp. We inherited two and then bought another from Lehman's hardware. They take lamp oil but it lasts pretty well. The light is really beautiful. It gives off a lot of heat so when we want to save on heating and I have lamp oil around, I light one, set it in the middle of the table, and gather everyone around.

 

I would definitely let the landlord know that the lighting in the house is inadequate and that you have a health need for full spectrum lighting. Light fixtures aren't that expensive if one doesn't get trendy and buy expensive lights. Even replacing one fixture in each downstairs room would help. It's a good investment in the rental for the landlord to update the lighting. Or at least, let's hope he or she sees it that way.

 

Don't burn pine in your fireplace. You'll get a kreosote build up that could lead to a chimney fire. If you have trees close to the roof of the house or branches that overhang, a chimney fire becomes double the hazard it already is. That's just a little free advice in case you've never had a fireplace before. My dad is in the heating business, so I tend to be rather safety minded in this regard. :D

 

Faith

[Celia]

Chop down the trees so you have light, and burn them so you have heat :)

[joannqn]

Our previous home was set among tall pine trees, it was gorgeous and we had lots of windows, so it wasn't too dark. You will find next summer it will be better on cooling costs.

 

 

 

Yes, those are two of the positives. It is beautiful outside. I haven't mentioned this before, but there is a small nature preserve across the street with two ponds. There is also a large park three blocks away. There is no way this house will get hot during the summer.

[Shelly in IL]

25 watts per bulb is very dim. Get a chandelier that can handle the bigger sized fluorescent bulbs!

[joannqn]

Chop down the trees so you have light, and burn them so you have heat :)

 

Ha, ha. I don't think the landlord would like that.

 

 

The home is really nice and recently remodeled. It has a gorgeous kitchen but they used dark cherry wood cabinets, granite counters, and stone tile. It's beautiful, but it can't really get any colder and darker than that. LOL

 

I put photos of the house at my blog. The photos there are all brighter than the one in the OP because it was a bright sunny day and my camera flash works really well. It really is beautiful and nice...just cold and dark now that we're living here.

[Anne]

Replace your light bulbs with LED(not florescent) light bulbs that use less electricity so you can keep your rooms more brightly lit and get a couple of radiant heaters. They direct heat at people instead of heating spaces. You'll feel warm and comfy, but not waste electricity heating the great outdoors. I hate being cold. If you sit in the dark and cold all winter, you'll all be miserable and depressed before winter is through.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

Anne

[Mama2Many4]

Beautiful new home!

 

I would use fluorescent as they are cheaper to keep on. Also look into a wood pellet stove for heating the main area of the house. They are fairly inexpensive to run and very inexpensive to buy the pellets.

 

Enjoy your new home! :)

[endurancerider]

You have a fireplace or a wood stove? If it's a wood stove, that should put out a significant amount of heat if you have dry wood, adding a blower will make it even more efficient. If you have a fireplace, you might want to talk to your landlord about putting a wood stove insert in it (I think there is a tax break for home owners to do this for this year). Wood stoves put out a LOT of heat, you'll be toasty warm in no time. :)

 

Change out the light bulbs for something bright and uses little electricity, but keep a lamp that has an incandescent bulb in it for you to keep the winter blues away.

 

I've also heard that unplugging EVERYTHING when you are not using it (like the tv, coffee pot, lamps, etc...) saves a significant amount on electricity costs.

[JennyD]

Can you close off part of the house for the winter?

[Truscifi]

Chop down the trees so you have light, and burn them so you have heat :)

 

:iagree: I would at least ask the landlord. Maybe if you are doing the work so it won't cost anything...

 

Also, you could try using decorative mirrors to maximize what light you have. And get some electric throws to use during the school day to keep warm. We keep our thermostat low to save energy and use the electric throws on the sofa - they use way less energy than turning up the heat or using a space heater.

[In2why]

I live in "dark" house because of trees as well. I invested in Skylights for the family room and kitchen. It is worse in the winter than the summer because of the angle of the sun. I also strip my windows of all treatments in the winter since the trees block the view anyway.

 

The problem with that though is you need insulation for the drafty part. :confused:

 

We have a cabin by the lake and what I do during the winter is buy that clear stuff that you put over the windows and then hit with a blowdryer. It works really well, but of course you lose your pretty views. It is the easiest though because it will seal not just the pane parts, but the sash as well.

[Stacy in NJ]

a fireplace.

 

http://applications.nam.lighting.philips.com/4home/?origin=|mckv|sn3VdNaQK&pcrid=7886958774|plid|#

 

LED fixtures/bulbs offer wonderfully warm tones and are incredibly energy efficient.

[Twigs]

Looks like you have a really nice home.

I think I would try to paint or cover up the upper kitchen cabinets with something white. If you can't do anything permanent like paint, I would put up white poster board or ??? with something removable like command strips.

Best wishes.

[Little Nyssa]

Our house is only a little brighter than yours-- for us there's a break in the tall evergreens on the south side.

What I like is that the landlord had installed lights in the kitchen over the counter space: under the upper cabinets and under the over-stove microwave, so I always have good light where I'm working. They are plug in ones you nail into place under there.

I have blankets available in every room. And we do keep lights on more than I ever did before we moved here.

[justamouse]

To think on the bright side, too, that shade will keep the house wonderfully cool in the summer and you shouldn't ahve to use the AC.

 

 

We live in a large old Victorian, and though there's sun, it's still cold. We keep the temp at 68, and we wear slippers and sweaters. This is new to me. I had never had to wear sweaters before. :D But now we covet them. And slippers, too.

 

Another thing is to keep your shoulders covered. You know those wraps like they wore on Little Women? Those are awesome. When they back of your neck and shoulders are covered-you are MUCH warmer. Add that to slippers and you are toasty.

 

For the lights-I think you got some great advice.

[UnsinkableKristen]

We have a cool and dark home even though we live in Texas (trees + wood paneling). Here is what I've done:

 

 

1. Painted the main areas a chipper yellow color

 

2. Added low wattage lamps to every room in the house

 

3. Added cozy throws and pillows to every couch and chair. They are naps waiting to happen.

 

4. Bought everyone nice warm slippers and robes

 

5. I keep a lamp on in every room of the main area on at all times. Our energy bill could be less, but so could my sanity. DH appreciates a cheerful wife more than a small electric bill.

 

6. I picked out bright patterned curtains, cheerful colorful nick nacks and focused on bringing bursts of color in the decorating.

 

7. Candles, fires in the fireplace all the time in the winter, and lots of snuggly clothes :)

 

 

It's still darker than I'd like and a little cooler in the winter than I'd like, but it is MUCH better than it was!

 

Hope that helps!

[LaxMom]

We live in an old, drafty house, made draftier by the horrible, evil "DIY" projects former owners did to it. (Seriously. I am amazed the house hasn't burned to the ground because of some of their projects, like walling over live, cut, bare wires...

 

I'm not bitter.... I'm not bitter... I'm NOT bitter...)

 

Anyway, we just added two new woodstoves (we have 3 fireplaces). One is a fireplace insert with a blower, so it moves heat out into the room. The other is a regular stove but also has a blower. That or a pellet insert would do wonders for the warmth. (We ordered ours through Northern Tool and paid half the cost of a single woodstove at local prices, including the shipping)

 

I also have spent the past couple of fall seasons attacking drafts with spray foam, caulk and rope caulk (each in its appropriate application), which has made it significantly warmer in here.

[gardenmom5]

Welcome to WA. I grew up in a house that was similar, and I live in the general area. Just remember, you will get lots more daylight in the summer than most people. December and January are the worst, and then it starts getting better.

 

Get outside for some time everyday during daylight hours. even on wet dreary dark days, you will still be registering more light to your eye than in your house with all your lights on. It doesn't take alot of time to get the light exposure you need to combat SAD. (seasonal affective disorder.)

 

If it's an older home, I'd suggest checking into retro insulation installation. they can blow it into the walls, crawl space - your floor should be insulated with a vapor barrier from underneath. Even if you just add batts in your attic, it should help. weatherizing windows, etc. Paint interior walls lighter colors so they reflect more light. (and check those paint chips by holding them at an angle in the light where you can see peak reflection - just because a color is "light", doesn't mean it reflects more light.) Another possibility is a strategic skylight. I have a friend who it turned her very dark kitchen into a bright room.

 

 

 

Now that we are living here, the adjustment period begins. (snip) One of the bigger issues is that this house is very dark and cold. The house is surrounded by tall pine trees, and there are plenty of other trees as well. The sun never hits the house until sun down, and then it is mostly filtered through trees. This means it is cold and dark all day. (This didn't even register when we first looked at it.)

 

When I checked the utilities, they were about $100 higher during the winter than we are used to paying. I figured the people living here must just like it very warm. But, the thermostat was set low during the day (like people who aren't home would set it) and lower than comfortable in the evening. It appears we'll have significantly more heating costs.

 

.

[justasque]

Dress for the cold, even inside. Thick warm wool or fleece socks. Camis under, sweaters over. A wool hat works wonders.

 

Arrange furniture and window treatments so that the windows are a focal point, and not covered at all, so you maximize natural light.

 

Sometimes, take your work to a nice bright cafe or library with big tables.

[Sahamamama]

Are you renting? What you are able to do with the house will determine how you are able to cope with it, IMO. If I were living in a dark, cold house, I would:

 

 

• Cut down some of the trees
  
• Paint the kitchen cabinets a glossy white/off white
  
• Paint the living areas with a semi-gloss pastel yellow
  
• Put up the laciest, sheerest curtains (nothing heavy/dark)
  
• Use portable space heaters, move them from room to room
  
• Install this wood burning cook stove or fireplace grate in the fireplace (because I grew up cooking on a wood stove like that, and I know how to work it)
  
• Get outside on ANY sunny day, let the seat work wait
  
• Purchase one of these lamps for your SADD
  
• Exercise ANYWAY, especially if you suffer from SADD
  

Other ideas that might help you through a long, cold, dark winter:

 

• Put a lovely green terrarium or lovely blue aquarium someplace near where you sit daily. LIGHT the tank and take some time to really look at it each day. It would be like a little pool of LIFE in the midst of all the darkness.
  
• Hang up photo prints of sunny places, with green grass and blue skies. Nothing too tropical, or that would just be depressing. If you find a pretty calendar at a dollar store, cut it up and use it as a source of uplift.
  
• Go to a sunny place every morning, even if you have to sit in the car to do it. I once read that getting at least 1/2 hour of MORNING sun is the key to getting SADD turned around. So, even if school has to start later, try to get some sunlight into your brain in the morning.
  

HTH. :grouphug:

[Kari C in SC]

 

There is a fireplace in the family room, which will be our school room because our furniture won't fit in there. I'm sure we'll use it a lot during the school day once I have the boxes out of the way and we're schooling in there during the day. We'll need to find a source for fire wood pretty quickly.

 

Not sure what to do about the light. Your house looks similar to mine, but I think that is way brighter than my FL house was. I had ONE sliding glass door in FL and I love the windows I have here in SC, but still not overly bright by any means.

 

For warmth - we use our fireplace daily. I turn off my heat in the morning, make a fire and keep it going all day until about 6pm. Then I turn on the heat to heat up the bedrooms and basement (where we watch tv in the evening). I have those little plastic kid trays you can get from Michael's. My kids eat their meals and do their school by the fireplace. The living room, dining room and kitchen stay pretty warm with just the fire. I have managed to keep my heating bill under $200 this way and that is with a 2600 sq ft house. My friends average $300 to $400 in the same area. Wood is pretty cheap around here, but sometimes it is not dried well enough to use. I have an excess that I have let dry an extra year. I will probably go ahead and buy another cord to let it sit for another year. It seems they say it is dried, but it never really is. This way I will be sure it is. The only real problem I find using my fireplace all the time is that we eat way too many s'mores!:D

[Momof3littles]

Arrange furniture and window treatments so that the windows are a focal point, and not covered at all, so you maximize natural light.

 

 

I came back to see if anyone had suggested this. Yes, hang the curtains high and wide if that's an option:

 

http://www.thenester.com/window-mistreatments/hang-them-high

 

It can make it a little brighter, and it makes your windows look more "grand." It gives a better view to the outside, which might make your space feel bigger.

[Happy]

You've gotten great advice. I second the advice about adding light and color because a happy wife is way better than a smaller electric bill. I have a torchiere lamp in the one room I'm in the most. I love the way the bright warm light splashes along the ceiling and spills all over me. Personally, I'd pull my eyelashes out before I'd have LED lights around, but your mileage may vary.

 

I'll add silk long underwear, or even cheaper long 'handles' from Academy. Wear them under your jeans and sweatshirts for a toasty layer. I purchased thick wool socks for my cold feet, too. I wear a scarf around my neck a lot. I'm surprised how warm it keeps me.

 

I'm also going to agree with the previous poster who said to get OUTSIDE every day. We lived in Belgium for a couple of years...talk about dark, cold, and did I say dark? I'm a SAD girl, too. We really worried about me handling the dark, but I did great. One reason was that I got outside daily, in the rain, in the snow, on cloudy days and sunny days.

 

Make use of that nature preserve across from you to get as much sun on your eyeballs and skin every day.

[mcconnellboys]

It looks like you already have light colored walls, but what about changing to lower wattage "green" lightbulbs? We've changed over most of our lights to these in the past few years and they provide a brighter light for less energy. They also last longer, in general.

 

I found a "full spectrum" light at a Tuesday Morning that I bought for my older son's dark dorm room last year. These are supposed to be good light therapy for those who suffer with S.A.D., etc. They improve mood for most folks! The light from them is very good. If you can find even one of these at an inexpensive price, and place it where y'all sit most of the day, then it might help.

 

As for heat, when we keep our heat lower for any reason then we all wear around houseshoes, more layers (and tend to put wool sweaters on top), wear hats and gloves in the house, and use throws to cover ourselves while we're sitting and reading, etc.

[MrsMe]

Unfortunately as beautiful as they are dark cabinets do nothing to brighten up dark spaces. Make sure your paint is light and make sure the walls where what light you have bounces from doesn't have anything dark on them.

 

I have a back bedroom that gets no sun from noon on. I had some oak piers in there on the wall the light hit on and it was a dungeon. I removed them and it made a huge difference. Huge.

 

Also anything that has a grey-ish tone doesn't do well either. That same room had lavender walls from my dd's previous room design. I agree with white or the yellow colors...think about painting the cabinets even though that would be a huge chore.

 

FWIW, I coudn't do it. I've walked into some homes and walked right out just due to light. I'm in my house all day, it has to be bright.

 

Could you add more windows? Even if they're high windows...like the little cube windows new homes have or larger windows or skylights?

[catz]

My mom said painting a room yellow in a dark house helped a lot. It was in Wisconsin where they did not have hardly any sun at times. She said when they painted the room she would go down the hall to turn off the light she thought was on. :)

 

:iagree: We live in an old, dark house with mature trees and dark woodwork. We painted a gold color in the living room and painted the same gold and orange in the dining room. It sounds obnoxious, but with the dark wood it's a great effect especially in the winter. Our neighbor says when she peaks in these rooms they look so warm and cozy.

[AdventureMoms]

My house gets an ok amount of sunlight, but only on the back of the house (it faces North). Unfortunately the living room is on the North side, and the rec room is in the basement with next to zero natural light. And our winters are long, cold, snowy and dreary. My kitchen gets ok light most of the time, but by midwinter the snow on my back deck covers the glass door (yes, we get a lot of snow) and seriously impacts the light in there too.

 

Can you change out any of the fixtures for ones that take standard bulbs? You can get daylight balanced CF lights, for standard fixtures, I have them all through my house. It helps! I keep them on most of the time, because they really don't draw much electricity (and sanity is worth something). If that's not doable, I'd get a bunch of floor or table lamps. Our basement room has the torchiere style light with CF bulbs and it makes a HUGE difference. So much brighter. You could get a bunch of lamps through the house. Lamps are easy to make if cost is a problem.

 

For heat, definitely space heaters. HUGE improvement with only a small energy cost. Also long underwear. I wear them all winter long, and they keep me comfortable even when the temps are quite cool.

[Denisemomof4]

Sorry, I'd be so miserable if I were in a cold, dark home. Your home doesn't look as dark as you make it sound, but you live there so you know.

 

I'd DEFINITELY invest in full spectrum light bulbs and make a light box. Use it at the therapeutic dose.

 

:grouphug:

[ktgrok]

One or two LED lightbulbs would give a LOT of light. They are not cheap, but they use almost NO electricity.

[Momof3Maidens]

Do you have natural gas? Ventless natural gas heaters provide such warm heat! We've always used them and saved half of what we would have spent with electric. And we stayed warm all winter!

[Elisabeth in IL]

We just installed two Solar Tubes in our Ranch house. They provide so much more natural light and the kitchen one has a light in it that we can turn on in the evening. Our next door neighbor had one for years that we coveted before being able to afford them ourselves. We were told that we can get some sort of tax rebate for energy efficiency. http://www.solatube.com/

[Mommyfaithe]

I love to stand in front of the heater in Costco. It reminds me of the hot days in southern California...a wonderful dry baking heat.

 

 

 

The windows are new double-pane windows. I don't think they are an issue. I think it is just the fact that the house is in the shade all day every day.

 

Someone did mention the swagged lights. I'll be looking into them for the living room. We've gotten used to the level of lighting in the other rooms when the lights are on. I just can't imagine the cost of having all of the lights on all day and evening.

 

I recommend a chain saw...and a guy to cut the darn trees. Seriously. I wish we could cut 75% of these crummy trees out of here. They make a mess...they drop their needles all over the place...and they shade my garden too much. Belch! Chop...chop!!

 

Other than that....lots of fuzzy socks, pants and sweaters...and try some full spectrum lighting. My house is faced the wrong way...so we get morning sun in the bathroom....oy!!

Faithe

[Teachin'Mine]

I guess I should mention that the dining room as a chandelier that takes those 25w flame shaped light bulbs, the kitchen has flood lights, and the dining room light fixture has bulbs that look like mini incandescent bulbs (about half size). I typically use only full spectrum incandescent bulbs because I have seasonal depression with low mood and low energy all winter.

 

I've been in Washington for 19 years and have never adjusted to the gloomy winters.

 

 

There is a fireplace in the family room, which will be our school room because our furniture won't fit in there. I'm sure we'll use it a lot during the school day once I have the boxes out of the way and we're schooling in there during the day. We'll need to find a source for fire wood pretty quickly.

 

Some trees on the property might do nicely ... :D With the landlord's permission of course. :)

 

Seriously, I'd ask the owner if he/she would split the cost of some tree removal. You could keep the cost down by just having the tree company cut them down, and then you could do the work to make it into split firewood - give it a year to season.

 

And the solartube would be awesome! Again, you'd need permission and hopefully they'd be willing to pay or at the least, split the cost. It would be worth it!

Edited November 3, 2011 by Teachin'Mine

[kalanamak]

:grouphug: I look for southern and western exposure every time I move in the PNW.

 

My tricks: have one room cozy. I hung old bedspreads from ValuVillage on a curtain rail and those brass colored round clips over the door out of my "warm room". I used an oil space heater on all the time to keep the area warm so I didn't have to shiver while it warmed up. I put a rug down on the uncarpeted area.

 

I also like our source of dry radiant heat, like a woodstove or electric heater. I dry my outside clothes and shoes near it to keep getting dressed to go out in the rain as pleasant as possible. I hate putting on cold and clammy.

 

I tried, when I could, to get outside during that 2pm-4pm lull in the rain we often have here.

 

Light walls, light carpet, strategic mirrors to bounce in winter light, and those solar tubes DO work. I had one in my old office, and they put quite a glow in the room.