Degrees.It is December, in Wisconsin, there is snow on the ground, and it is 55 degrees in my house; all day, all night. This is something I thought we could never accomplish endure. It has not been and is not always easy. There are days when I would love to crank that dial ten degrees warmer, but the thought of all that money blowing out the heat vents into oblivion makes me shiver far more than the cold.
Last year we burned through 150 gallons of fuel oil every three weeks! And that was with the thermostat set at 62! Not exactly balmy. We got our first fill in October, $424.83; it lasted 46 days, costing us $9.24 per day. This year I did not even turn the furnace on until November. Our first fill for 2008 was yesterday, December 1. So already we have saved $332.64! There is also the electrical savings of not having the furnace run so much.
Last year we ordered 750 gallons of fuel oil; with the last fill being in March, for a total heating season cost of $2330.81. Assuming we were running the furnace off that last fill all the way through April; from first fill, October 26, to May 1 (187 heating days) we averaged $12.46 per day for the entire winter. Not accounting for electrical usage; which after an energy audit concluded our furnace operates at only 60% efficiency, I am sure is significant. The energy audit also revealed that our additions which run the entire perimeter of the house have no insulation in the crawlspace or attics. Yikes!
Last year we burned through 150 gallons of fuel oil every three weeks! And that was with the thermostat set at 62! Not exactly balmy. We got our first fill in October, $424.83; it lasted 46 days, costing us $9.24 per day. This year I did not even turn the furnace on until November. Our first fill for 2008 was yesterday, December 1. So already we have saved $332.64! There is also the electrical savings of not having the furnace run so much.
Last year we ordered 750 gallons of fuel oil; with the last fill being in March, for a total heating season cost of $2330.81. Assuming we were running the furnace off that last fill all the way through April; from first fill, October 26, to May 1 (187 heating days) we averaged $12.46 per day for the entire winter. Not accounting for electrical usage; which after an energy audit concluded our furnace operates at only 60% efficiency, I am sure is significant. The energy audit also revealed that our additions which run the entire perimeter of the house have no insulation in the crawlspace or attics. Yikes!
This year I signed on for Crunchy Chicken's Freeze Yer Buns challenge, as noted by the button in my left sidebar. Coupled with last year's financial hemorrhage, we are finding ways to keep warm other than the furnace.
Option 1: Dress in layers.
This has helped tremendously! Normal attire for our house is long underwear (top & bottom), thick socks, slippers to keep our feet off the cold uninsulated floors, jeans, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt or fleece, and if that is not enough we throw a long bath robe over everything. Since I am the only who endures the bulk of frigidness I add a scarf and fingerless gloves to the list. Aprons are another way to add an extra layer of warmth and not just while baking. Which brings me to option two.
Option 1: Dress in layers.
This has helped tremendously! Normal attire for our house is long underwear (top & bottom), thick socks, slippers to keep our feet off the cold uninsulated floors, jeans, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt or fleece, and if that is not enough we throw a long bath robe over everything. Since I am the only who endures the bulk of frigidness I add a scarf and fingerless gloves to the list. Aprons are another way to add an extra layer of warmth and not just while baking. Which brings me to option two.
Option 2: Bake!
What better way to warm a home than with the smell of fresh baked bread or cookies? My house seems to rise two degrees if I have been baking or cooking a lot throughout the day. The kitchen is especially toasty where I am spending all my time baking that bread and cookies. Added bonus: you get to eat the goodies! Not to mention save money by making your own. One of my favorite things is cracking the oven door open after baking and standing in front of it with my shirt bottom pulled out to catch all the heat. Ahhh....
Option 3: Clean.
Okay, admittedly this is not as fun as eating warm cookies, but it works. If you are up and moving rather than sitting idle in front of dare I say it the computer gasp! you will feel warmer. I am amazed at how clean my house gets the colder I get. Sweeping, scrubbing, dusting ick!, running up and down the basement stairs to line dry the laundry, it is enough to break a sweat. Or, you could march in place while you read my posts.
Option 4: Spread the warmth.
If I have nothing going on until later in the day I spread my body heat throughout. In the morning I rely on residual body heat stored from being in bed all night. That tends to run out around noon because I have not been marching in place while reading all your posts. So I get a quick recharge in the shower. 4:00 the Chitlins show up and a lot of running around and preparing dinner keeps my body temp up. Four hours later Hubby arrives home stinky from work, so I share a shower with him to reheat. Another few hours pass and it is time to snuggle into bed for the process to start all over. On days I have meetings I have to shower upon awakening, but I am lucky enough to leave the house and toast my buns on the heated seats in my car; along with enjoying the company of normal folks who actually use their heat.
Option 5: Warm yourself from the inside out.
Hubby drinks coffee, the Chitlins and I drink hot cocoa. A teakettle is a permanent fixture on our stove throughout the winter. It does not take long for the water to heat up, it adds moisture to the dry winter air, and I find comfort in the sound of its whistle. A tray of large mugs, jar of cocoa mix, and homemade marshmallows are always easily accessible.
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered non dairy creamer
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Mix all ingredients in large bowl until evenly blended.
2. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.
3. Spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of mix into cup, add boiling water, and stir well.
Makes about 4 cups mix.
Leave a comment with your email address if you would like the marshmallow recipe. Or, you can email me at flockmaster [at] greeensheeep [dot] com.
Option 6: Go outside!
Whenever the family starts to complain that it is cold in the house I tell them to go outside. "If you think it is cold in here, go outside! Then it will feel warm."
What better way to warm a home than with the smell of fresh baked bread or cookies? My house seems to rise two degrees if I have been baking or cooking a lot throughout the day. The kitchen is especially toasty where I am spending all my time baking that bread and cookies. Added bonus: you get to eat the goodies! Not to mention save money by making your own. One of my favorite things is cracking the oven door open after baking and standing in front of it with my shirt bottom pulled out to catch all the heat. Ahhh....
Option 3: Clean.
Okay, admittedly this is not as fun as eating warm cookies, but it works. If you are up and moving rather than sitting idle in front of dare I say it the computer gasp! you will feel warmer. I am amazed at how clean my house gets the colder I get. Sweeping, scrubbing, dusting ick!, running up and down the basement stairs to line dry the laundry, it is enough to break a sweat. Or, you could march in place while you read my posts.
Option 4: Spread the warmth.
If I have nothing going on until later in the day I spread my body heat throughout. In the morning I rely on residual body heat stored from being in bed all night. That tends to run out around noon because I have not been marching in place while reading all your posts. So I get a quick recharge in the shower. 4:00 the Chitlins show up and a lot of running around and preparing dinner keeps my body temp up. Four hours later Hubby arrives home stinky from work, so I share a shower with him to reheat. Another few hours pass and it is time to snuggle into bed for the process to start all over. On days I have meetings I have to shower upon awakening, but I am lucky enough to leave the house and toast my buns on the heated seats in my car; along with enjoying the company of normal folks who actually use their heat.
Option 5: Warm yourself from the inside out.
Hubby drinks coffee, the Chitlins and I drink hot cocoa. A teakettle is a permanent fixture on our stove throughout the winter. It does not take long for the water to heat up, it adds moisture to the dry winter air, and I find comfort in the sound of its whistle. A tray of large mugs, jar of cocoa mix, and homemade marshmallows are always easily accessible.
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered non dairy creamer
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Mix all ingredients in large bowl until evenly blended.
2. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.
3. Spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of mix into cup, add boiling water, and stir well.
Makes about 4 cups mix.
Leave a comment with your email address if you would like the marshmallow recipe. Or, you can email me at flockmaster [at] greeensheeep [dot] com.
Option 6: Go outside!
Whenever the family starts to complain that it is cold in the house I tell them to go outside. "If you think it is cold in here, go outside! Then it will feel warm."
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5 comments:
I'm all for lowering the heating bill, but 55 degrees is a little balmy for me. We don't even go that low at night.
My boyfriend, who works from home, has electric baseboards in his office only, so we don't have to heat the whole house all day, but really, I HATE the cold. I can't stand it. I would rather not have lights than not have heat.
I hear you on the insulation too. We found a gaping hole under our stairs that led basically directly outdoors. Not exactly energy efficient.
Anyway, Kudos for you for keeping up with it! I know I wouldn't.
And here I am suffering at 65 degrees! You embarass me, my dear. Not enough to get me to go lower than 64 but maybe I could drop a degree.
I've been trying to keep the house at 60 during the day and 58 at night(we're also on oil heat). The kids balked at first, but we've all adjusted. Then when the kids go to their dad's on the weekend I drop it to 55.
I also like your other ideas for feeling warm.
I keep the heat at 58 during the day, any lower and I'm afraid the pipes may freeze. I found an unusual way to keep warm - my computer. My computer room is upstairs in my house & since heat rises the upstairs is a little warmer than the first floor. I noticed that the computer room is always warmer than the other upstairs rooms, especially at night when both my husband and I have our self built desktop CPUs running. Turns out that since we built such powerful computers (we work in IT)they seem to work like little heaters. Strange huh?
Jen - 55 is a bit chilly and it's not for everyone. I'm not a fan of being cold either. I work from home as well and surprising have adjusted to the drop in temperature. Perhaps it has something to do with being in it all day. My energy auditor says sealing air leaks is the biggest step towards efficiency. Fill that hole!
Green bean - No need for embarrassment, we all do what we can. Lowering your thermostat by even one degree will take 5% off your heating bill!
Slice of Pie - It's amazing what the human body is capable of. We're able to adapt to many uncomfortable situations.
Condo blues - Way to put those CPUs to work! Just like Alton Brown I love multi-taskers.
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