View Full Version : Have you turned on the heat yet?
Despite the long warm fall we are having - the nights have been cold - some frost. My dw and I always see who can last the longest before one of us caves and turns on the heat. Our birthdays (same day) are mid October so we try to make it until then.
How are you doing - have you had to turn on the heat yet? >8)
Tussiemussies
10-6-12, 1:01am
Hi Gregg44, for the most part we have kept it off so far. Think there was one cold morning when my husband had to have it on before he could get in the shower. But that has been it.would be nice to make it to November -- two months with no AC or heat!
I've had to fire up the woodstove 3-4 times so far.
Nope. And I will not until I absolutely have to. Maybe when the front door frosts shut.
Wildflower
10-6-12, 4:35am
Just did. It's in the low 30's here tonight. What a dramatic change from the heat wave we've endured for so long!
rosarugosa
10-6-12, 5:53am
I'm a wuss - I've turned it on twice briefly. It probably wasn't totally necessary, but I was cold!
Our firewood gets delivered Sunday, and the stove & stovepipe cleaned on the 17th. Sooo, that will be the first fire for us! Lots of snuggly sweaters till then.
I used to tough it out but have decided I prefer to be reasonably comfortable. Being cold makes me crabby and also makes me want to eat all the time. Neither is good when you're inside a lot from November through March with your family in a small house. One of the benefits of said small house is low energy bills, and we've made many improvements to make the house more efficient. We keep our thermostat set low, and this month it will probably only run in the 6am hour after below-freezing nights. It is most difficult to adjust to sudden temp changes, and the high temps here are about 30 degrees less than they were earlier in the week.
We were visiting DH's relatives in a more northern part of China the past week, and it was getting pretty cold there -- central heat doesn't come on there until October 15, so we were layered up to stay warm during the two days when it was cloudy/rainy (low temps in the 30s and highs in the 40s). Got back to Beijing last night and it was about 30 degrees higher. Actually had to turn the air conditioning on this afternoon, as the afternoon sun really heats up our living room (floor to ceiling poorly insulated windows). Expect this short warm spell will pass soon, and we'll be shivering until our central heat comes on sometime in early- mid-November.
lhamo
Our high yesterday was 96. Here in phoenix, sometimes I have a goal of going all winter without the heat .... Then sometime in January I give in cause I'm a wuss. :)
Miss Cellane
10-6-12, 9:06am
Last week, it was getting down into the high 40's at night, but the house stayed fairly warm--in the 60's. This past week, it's been hot, up to 80* on Thursday. The house gets lots of sun all day long, so as long as it isn't cloudy, the house stays fairly comfortable.
Our main goal is to make it through September without turning on the heat. Then the goal becomes Oct. 15. Then November 1. By November, the nights are getting close to freezing, and when you live in a 100 + year old house, you have to be careful about frozen pipes. Last year, we made it until November, but they are predicting a colder winter this year.
My oil company has already made the first winter delivery, so we have a full oil tank and are good to go whenever the big freeze happens. (And once again, I offer up thanks to whoever it was who replaced all the original windows with lovely energy efficient ones. No drafts at all!)
SteveinMN
10-6-12, 11:27am
One of us >8) needed to switch on the furnace earlier this week. One of us is very sensitive to the suggestion of being cold, but the other one of us is a furnace, so he is the one pushing the A/C button in the summer, so I get it.
We have been working steadily on keeping the house generally cool and putting the heat where the people are. We have a passive radiator in the bathroom that we can switch on overnight to make the bathroom toasty for morning showers, an electric fireplace in the rec room downstairs for the infrequent times people are there, and a warming mattress pad on the bed. All this electric heat adds to the electric bill, but it does not add as much as heating the whole house and it keeps everyone in their preferred temperature range.
We still had the AC on Friday morning, I turned it to the OFF position around 11 a.m. all prepared to try and go a couple weeks before turning on the heat. Woke up and heard the heat kick on. Apparently my husband turned it on (set at 68) when he got home around 1:30 a.m. I admit I was glad to not wake up to a house that was 40 degrees. I forgot to ask the boys to bring the house plants inside last night.
Not yet, but the fuzzy wool blanket's back on the bed.
ToomuchStuff
10-6-12, 1:15pm
Turned it on yesterday before going to work. They were calling for it to get to freezing last night, and when I came home it was 38 and the neighbors still connected hose was spraying water into the yard. He just had an expensive water fix (luckily on the city side of the meter), so I shut it/disconnected it.
We've had the heat on for a few days now. Both day and night...
ApatheticNoMore
10-6-12, 1:36pm
Well, I haven't had to use the AC in the last few days ...
It's still not chilly enough here for the heat to be turned on. But I am looking forward to that cool weather which means we can start using the fireplace and the electric blanket, mmmmm toasty.
I have the population of Kitty City to consider keeping warm too. I get creative and fill socks with rice, microwave then and put them in boxes with blankets for them and then I came across this idea. I have a big chuck of Styrofoam that the new generator was packed in, we have hay and I can adapt this idea.
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=974&d=1349544920
Actually I want to able to let them go in my little play house but one wild cat isn't spayed and there is another feral cat that may also go in there and spray, not to mention the possums or raccoons. Call me crazy but I want to have a slumber party in my little house and sleep there with all of my kitties snugly in bed with me.
BayouGirl. I just love the cat houses! So ingenious!!!
awakenedsoul
10-6-12, 2:14pm
Not yet. I have started wearing my Uggs slippers again. Used my crocheted blanket while reading on the couch last night. I put on a wool sweater and angora gloves this morning for my bike ride with the dogs. Made a beef stew last weekend and enjoyed it all week. Yesterday I baked a lasagne. It had been too hot here before to turn on the oven during the day.
The Gas Co. installed a new heater and weather stripping for me for free! I qualify for their program, since I live simply. (Low income.) Soon I will be putting the flannel sheets on the bed, and swapping the cotton comforter for the down one. I have a featherbed mattress, so I don't need the heat at night.
There was frost this morning on the ground, porch and vehicles. Frosty windows cannot be far behind.
I am make light of my frugal tendencies, but an afternoon with forms and the telephone and I found that I am dollars over the income limits for any help. In many ways that is excellent news because it means that I am in much better financial condition than I thought. Cool.
Anyway, my plans remain to use the central heating as little as possible, layer my bed and enclose my cat's bed with a canopy.
I live in Central VA. It's currently 79 degrees and I think the dew point is somewhere around 62 or so. So I don't need it now. Supposed to be chilly tomorrow, high in the mid-50's so I'll at least close the windows and I won't suffer long before I turn the heat on. Low tomorrow night will be in 40's so I will probably have it on some before the end of the weekend.
I don't like cold so I turn it on. I also very rarely turn on the AC during the summer although it is usually pretty bad here. I know what we had this summer (aside from the derecho @ the end of June) is nothing like the heat they had in the Midwest this summer.
I have windows that literally are conduits to transfer cold in during the winter and heat in during the summer. But I don't want stale, circulating air so I have no plans for changing my windows.
I don't want to be cold as cold = mean and I don't like being mean--much...;)
Mighty Frugal
10-6-12, 4:40pm
nope but some days are brr. I think this weekend. Tonight or tomorrow night is is going down to 3 (Celsius) which is heat weather
I was freezing this afternoon so I washed the living room walls (they need it and we are almost at the end of a big electrical reno job so dust everywhere) and that really warmed me up!:~)
I also hate being cold. I find my shins feel it first and then I get all grouchy!
There was frost this morning on the ground, porch and vehicles. Frosty windows cannot be far behind.
I am make light of my frugal tendencies, but an afternoon with forms and the telephone and I found that I am dollars over the income limits for any help. In many ways that is excellent news because it means that I am in much better financial condition than I thought. Cool.
Anyway, my plans remain to use the central heating as little as possible, layer my bed and enclose my cat's bed with a canopy.
Jilly, in winter, I turn my heat down to like 50 during the night so it is cold in the house in the morning when I get up. To keep warm at night I use a heating pad for my feet and sleep with my animals. The heating pad makes a tremendous difference.
Tonight will be our first heat--we have a parrot who'll die if it goes below 40, and it's predicted in the low thirties. I had hoped not yet. Our house leaks heat and the electric space heaters we use cost more than I want. I'm thinking of seeing if we qualify for low-income help like mentioned above. Plus using only half the house (bedroom and kitchen) but shutting one door and putting as heavy curtains as we can create in the second one.
As we live in Louisiana, it hasn't gotten chilly yet, The overwhelming heat has subsided and there is hint of cool in the air which is very welcome. But we still have the AC on. I am ready for the crisp cool weather so I can break out the flannel sheets and the flannel jammies and jump in bed and watch the sparks fly (from the static electricity, not amorous activity, lol).
I am looking forward to fall and the many beautiful pictures that I will take of the leaves, the sky, the pecan harvesting and life in general.
We will have our annual Halloween bonfire /camp-out and find new ways to terrorize and traumatize the children. I love being able to have a fire in the fireplace. I pile the wood in the old kids stroller and bring it from the woodpile out back up to the house. Fall is truly my favorite season. It just makes me feel so energetic and makes me want to throw open the windows and break out my favorite cool weather clothes.
My birthday is actually the day after Halloween and my mom went into labor while trick or treating with my sister ( who still holds a grudge to this day because I cut her trick or treating short!). The day after Halloween is All Saint's Day in Louisiana and is a day when we go to the cemetery and clean the tombs and headstones and put fresh flowers, so as a child I always spent my birthday in the cemetery and liked it and was quite comfortable being there.
We are getting close...it was 64 in our home this a.m. -- my dw likes it a cozy 74 -- usually keep it around 69-70 degrees.
If it gets too cold-- my legs are her heating pad for her FREEZING feet when she comes to bed :(
Not yet! It was barely 50, if that today in northern IL. High 30s last night, I believe. No heat, just a fluffy down comforter in a flannel cover on my bed with a cotton blanket underneath. I'm ALWAYS too warm, so this chilly weather is most welcome! Each year I try to go as long as I can without turning the heat on, but it depends on the weather for any given year. I think the longest I've made it was Dec. 1. I usually make it through at least October.
Blackdog Lin
10-7-12, 9:47am
I don't know what the temperature was outside this morning - but when I took the dog outside first thing, I could see my breath, and her pee steamed onto the ground.
So yeah, came in and turned on the heat. :)
Sad Eyed Lady
10-7-12, 10:52am
This morning was the first time this season. Pretty chilly in the house when I got up. I am having to make the transition to warmer clothing which is always difficult for me to do. Not that I don't want to do it, it is just hard to get my mind reset after all the HOT, HUMID, weather and then realize it's actually getting cold again!
AmeliaJane
10-7-12, 11:11am
HAHAHAHA! Down here in East Texas, it JUST got cool enough to turn off the AC and open a window. I would LOVE to need to turn on the heat...I miss fall...
Bayougirl: You sound excited!
High 54 today. I turned it on @ around 2P. (My nose was cold.) Also, put the comforter on the bed.
And changed my furnace filter! Everyone, change your filter. It's the frugal thing to do!
High 20s last night and 51 today.I was doing fine, but my cat was cold so I turned on the furnace. Momentarily felt as though I could have waited :),but the heat was so nice. The thermostat is set to 58. Lovely.
Miss Cellane
10-7-12, 9:30pm
I think it was colder down south of me today than it was here in New England. The house stayed at 68* all day without the heat on. It was even warmer outdoors in the sun. No need for turning on the heat, or even putting on a sweater. All too soon, though . . . .
Built the seasons first fire in the woodstove this afternoon.A comfortable 82 in the LR.
The poodle laying in front of woodstove as I type this.High today only in 50's first frost expected tonight.
Tussiemussies
10-7-12, 9:54pm
It's been a cold rainy day here in NW NJ and mainly for the sake of our dog who my DH said was shivering, I broke down and we turned up the heat to 62 for tonight. The house is very chilly though...
mschrisgo2
10-7-12, 10:42pm
Am I the only Californian here?! We still have daytime temps in the high 90's, and lucky to get down to the low 70's at night! I just want to be able to turn OFF the AC!! We usually get about 2 months of no AC, no heat Fall and Spring, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen this year.
Just turned on the heat a few days ago. I can see some snow-covered trees in the higher elevations of the mountains. I brought out the electric blanket...I like to use it to warm my sheets before I jump in bed at night, then turn it down to 1-2 level (I don't like to be hot when I sleep). When my alarm clock goes off in the morning I turn the heated blanket up a bit to get my bones a bit more toasty...I have a whole system! :) My most recent electric bill was $66, I don't think I will be so lucky with the next bill.
I can't wait to downsize so I will have a smaller electric bill...one of the many advantages I'm looking forward to when I downsize.
Maxamillion
10-7-12, 10:52pm
I'm still running the air conditioner here.
*edit* Guess I should add, I'm in Mississippi.
Am I the only Californian here?! We still have daytime temps in the high 90's, and lucky to get down to the low 70's at night! I just want to be able to turn OFF the AC!! We usually get about 2 months of no AC, no heat Fall and Spring, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen this year.
Fellow Californian here and we had the heater running most of today. We live in the Sierras at the 5,000 foot elevation. Next week the highs are suppose to be in the mid 50s and lows in the low 40s. The Aspen are turning that beautiful yellow color.
cindycindy
10-9-12, 6:22pm
Started our first woodtove fire last week when the inside temp was 58 degrees. Love the frugal heat; not crazy about the work.
Not here on the Texas Gulf Coast. In fact, I had to turn the a/c back on this afternoon. :(
No. It's not cold here, except at night. Which hasn't stopped the neighbors from firing up their stench-belching wood stoves. http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/fool/bur2.gif
Tussiemussies
10-9-12, 9:44pm
Well we broke down and put the heat on last night it's just too chilly and my dog has arthritis so I don't want her getting too cold...
Gardenarian
10-11-12, 3:55pm
Nope, but I did have it on one evening in July. Good ol' San Francisco!
decemberlov
10-11-12, 4:18pm
We are still in the process of installing the wood burning insert for the fireplace...so no heat yet. It's rather chilly here at night though. Grandmom bought my little one a heated mattress pad for her birthday last night and I promised I'd put it on her bed tonight so she'll be super toasty. The rest of us are just sleeping with extra blankets and I'm okay with that for now.
Last night was the first night we (staying with sis right now) turned on the heat here in SoCal and put on a fleece jacket over our shorts (still both wearing shorts and tee shirts of course). Unfortunately it's only a temporary thing as it's suppose to get hot again (high 80's/low 90's) starting Sunday. I'll be up in the mountains this weekend where it's nice and cold right now - even some snow today - but it will also be warmer there by the weekend. Maybe upper 60's/low 70's but in the 20's and 30's at night. Will definetly have the heat on by then for sure!!
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.