Comments on: No Heat Challenge — An Update

By: Laura B

Laura B — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:46:39 +0000

I’m in Portland and as of yet, have not turned on the furnace, although I did turn the heater on in the bathroom last week so my kids could get dressed with a little warmth. We’ve had several fires in the fireplace which I love – adds warmth AND ambiance…

By: namastemama

namastemama — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:44:36 +0000

We are experiencing the third coldest Oct. on record. ughh. cold AND wet in SE IL . The heat came on this week. However, we have switched to real time pricing on the electric and knocked the heat down at least 4 degrees in the morning. I am also looking into radiant heat for the bathrooms because in the morn we heat the whole house just for my hubby to get up and out the door. No need for that.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:36:54 +0000

We live in a town about 20 mi. north of Seattle & the chilly, rainy fall weather is in full swing here. My honey has been working non-stop on some major HVAC issues in our house, which means we have no heat available at the moment, however-we usually don’t even consider turning on the furnace until it gets to be about 50 degrees inside the house, preferring to keep our bill low,(esp. as we have been unemployed well over a year now) and instead we layer on warm clotehs, blankies & have even been known to wear gloves while we hang out at home! We also have a gas fireplace we can sit near to warm us up even more if necessary when watching a movie. We even sleep with the window open & the ceiling fan on in our upstairs bedroom no matter the outside temp.-snuggling up together and sleeping much better in a cool room anyway! Being from the Midwest, it rarely feels COLD here to me, rather, it is more the dampness of the Pacific Northwest that can chill me! As my guy likes to say, that grunge look Seattle is famous for actually is a weather not a fashion statement!

By: k.

k. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:13:36 +0000

we’ve been plugging forward sans heat in pittsburgh. this morning there was the first snow flurries of the year and the house thermostat dipped down to 47. the high for tomorrow is in the upper-thirties, im worried we wont make it. the blankets are out and doubled and all the more reason to cuddle on the couch, crank up the stove and keep up with our end of season canning.

By: Mandy - Birmingham, AL

Mandy - Birmingham, AL — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:34:16 +0000

Like other Southerners, the AC still has to be used to zap out the suffocating humidity. Yesterday I came home to a humid apartment, there wasn’t enough wind to get adequate air flow. So I turned on the AC and forgot to turn it off when I went to bed.

I never get cold at night, but last night I just couldn’t manage to get that nice cozy feelings. But was enjoying sleep too much to turn off the AC.

Yesterday, no lie – I was in short sleeve shirt. It was probably in the mid to upper 70s. Today, the high is 58. My apartment has been cold all day. I turned on the heat for maybe 5 minutes and felt so silly that I turned it off.

I put on a 3 layer and made hot cocoa. But this weekend I will be buying a pair of slipper boots (new) and hunting for sweats and consignment stores. If only I could find ones made of cotton and not fleece!

By: charlie aka oldboyscout2

charlie aka oldboyscout2 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:20:08 +0000

THANKS for quick reply. I forgot some folk have hair to mess up-ed from a stocking cap. Do wonder what ya think of elec. blankets ? They work other places than the bed room, ie., living room while watching DVDs. The Cords do get in the way, though.

By: thenonconsumeradvocate

thenonconsumeradvocate — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:38:07 +0000

Just for the record, Portland is no longer freezing cold with wind. This means the furnace went back off again.

Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate

By: mary

mary — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:56:12 +0000

I was in Phoenix a couple weeks ago . It was 102. when I flew home to St. Louis it was 62 degrees, almost froze when I got off the plane.

By: thenonconsumeradvocate

thenonconsumeradvocate — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:51:08 +0000

Charlie,

57 seems to the number where the thermostat doesn’t kick in during the night.

And wearing a stocking cap at night feels too extreme to me. This is my response and yours will be different, which is fine.

Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate

By: charlie aka oldboyscout2

charlie aka oldboyscout2 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:13:56 +0000

Just some thoughts. One wonders why 57 at night ? It is an odd #. Warm stocking caps and/or electric (not green but they use so little) blankets will get ya all through low NIGHT temps. with comfort. Don’t want to go so low as to freeze the pipes. Also battery powered smoke alarms tend to start beeping at about 35 degrees. If a piano is in the house, it must not be exposed to large temp. swings.