My buddies over at the Compact Yahoo Group have put together a No Heat Challenge. This challenge is simple — see how long you can go without firing up the ol’ furnace.
I like this challenge as it not only saves money, but is also about minimizing energy usage. A win-win situation in my book, (library of course!)
My husband installed a programmable thermostat and we partake of it greatly. We’re able to keep set the heat at 57° fahrenheit at night and then go crazy to bake the house up to a balmy 63° during the day. This may sound extreme, but it felt just fine. We all have thick flannel duvets, and there’s no reason to expect to be able to wear the same wardrobe in winter as we do in summer.
Cold during the day? Throw on a sweater. Cold at night? Add another blanket. Open up those curtains to let in the light, put on a pair of warm socks. It is not necessary to heat an entire house in order to warm the human body.
My goal is to go until November 1st until revving up the furnace. How long can you go before heating your house?
Put your name in the comments section below to add yourself to the No Heat Challenge. And make sure to include where you live.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
I usually try to make it to the end of October, but it gets tough in the last few weeks!
I keep ours at 65 during the day, but that does NOT feel just fine to me (despite the fact that I wear slippers, socks, jeans, three shirts, and sometimes a hat or scarf). I don’t know if it’s because we’re all scrawny here or what, but we feel much better at 68. Alas, 68 is too expensive.
I’ll take a no AC challenge instead. I barely had mine on all summer: fewer than 15 days and not all day because of the programmable timer. In the summer the timer is set at 77F.
Winter is a different matter. To my surprise I can tell the difference between 68F and 70F. It’s not my imagination, my roommate has run single-blind testing on me. A sweater & hat don’t warm me up properly. I chose to conserve in other ways and keep warm during the winter.
One of the few temptations to build a house is an *efficient* design. Properly insulated walls (which are practically free to do during construction and a fortune to do after the fact), good windows, grey water recycling, the sink disposal leading to the compost pile, rainwater reclaimation, green roofs, the ability to isolate rooms from the HVAC system. Wouldn’t it be lovely to heat just the three rooms you expect to be in that day?
Kristen – another thing to add to your “if I were rich” list. Heat the house to 68F.
WilliamB. My “little-house” only-has 3-rooms! I’m an advocate of the “Little-House” movement, for sure, eh? “Low-Maintenance,” are my watch-words! Thanks, TerryW
We live in an apartment building where the heat is controlled by the owners, so we have no control over when the heat goes on or how warm it is. But, we rarely used the AC this summer and almost only at night so that we could sleep!
The first feelings of cool weather have happened here in Alabama. But I know another week or hot and humid weather will creep up. I hate being hot, so I will turn on the air. But as far as the heat is concerned… I can take that challenge! I need to start beefing up my wardrobe for the winter. Sweaters and slippers are lacking!
I will add my name! We try to go to the end of October before turning on the furnace. (and when it’s on, the temp is set for 60 at night and 64 during the day unless we are expecting visitors, then it gets cranked up to 68) We have plenty of quilts (I am a quilter), have fleece socks (must learn how to knit socks) and a wonderful fireplace that gets lots of use. Also, since I have oil heat, I try and see how long I can go into the season before we need a delivery. Last year we made it to the second week of December. Not bad!
I live in Tuscaloosa, AL so it isn’t going to get cold for a while. Last year I made it into November before turning on the heat, and this year, depending on the weather, I hope to make it just as far. I’m planning on borrowing an electric blanket from my parents who no longer need it. I like to turn it on before I get in bed and then by the time I’m ready to fall asleep, I can turn it off and be nice and toasty warm!
Ohhhh. Sorry, I can’t commit to this one.
I live in North Dakota. Winter in North Dakota. Must have heat..lol
We always keep it as low as possible, and always choose thick socks and sweaters, electric blankets at night, etc, but won’t scrimp if it gets really cold.
So, I will “try”, but not commit. It will depend on how winter goes.
Down here in Louisiana I’ll be lucky if I can actually quit running the a/c by Nov. 1. 😛
I’ll bite. I’m in Portland, and I’m dreading that first noisy, diesel-exhaust-y blast from starting up our ancient oil furnace. I usually keep it mid-60s during the day and 55 at night, so I’m not a heat-cranker anyways. Even so, we spent $200 a month on heating oil last winter. OUCH. This year we insulated the walls and attic, so it should be considerably better.
I’m sooooo looking forward to cooler weather. It’s still in the 80s and sometimes 90s here. I’m looking forward to fall when I can wear layers and leave my hair down.
One of the things that really helps us at night is our electric mattress pad. I also have an electric blanket that I like for cuddling up on the couch. It’s not like it’s no-electricity, but it’s definitely than heating up the entire house.
FAIL!
Um, I woke up freezing for some reason and turned the furnace up to 68 briefly to take the edge off. 🙁
At this time of year the weather here (Boston area) is extremely variable. At the moment the temp is over 70, but last week there were two nights in the 30s. Haven’t turned on the heat yet!
I know at one time the law here required landlords to turn on the heat by October 15 — which meant that many renters didn’t have heat until October 15. So I try to follow that same rule — no heat until October 15. But I make no promises 🙂
I live in SoFL and I try to take a no A/C challenge some where around Jan. through March. Other then that, the humidity starts to make mold grow in the house on things that you would not think mold could grow on. Yeah, gross. We still keep it set at 80 during the day and 78 at night.
Debbie,
I so hear you on the humidity and mold! If it was just the heat, I probably wouldn’t run the AC half as much. I do have a dehumidifier, but it’s just a small one that fills up quickly and sounds like a freight train so it’s use is somewhat limited.
OK now this is a challenge I am up for. I live in Shreveport, LA and while the winters are not cold (at least for me a Canadian) the summers can be brutal.
I live in half a double-barrel shotgun shack that is over 80 years old. They knew how to build back then and I have learned how to suck it up.
I installed a “new to me” ceiling fan in my office so did not have to turn the AC on other than a few nights this summer to sleep. I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom of course and I work in a sports bra and boxers.
In the winter I heat with sweaters and a few strategically placed space heaters and at night turn them off except for the bedroom one and close off my living room and kitchen.
My most expensive electric bill this year was February at $80.00 and the summer months I was averaging $35.00 to $40.00.
I have an attic fan that the previous owners tell me just needs a motor so I will get it repaired before next summer and see if I can go AC free.
But for this winter I am going to see if I can make it until December. I think I had the heat on November last year.
I’m with Meg, I can’t wait until it cools down. It’s still in the 90s in southern California, and we’re on fire!
I’ll take the challenge, but it won’t be much of one for us. We usually don’t need the heater until Thanksgiving.
We did this last year! A few friends and I tried to get to November 15th and I missed it by 2 days. Bummer!
We do have a fireplace and we did a lot of baking in the mornings on those 45 degree days, but we are hoping to go all the way to the 15th this year.
We set our thermostat at 65 degrees during the day and 57 at night.
My kids loved the challenge.
Great idea~
I’m not so sure about this one. I live in New England, with young kids. I’m legally obligated to keep my house at least 64 degrees during the day when I have my childcare running. We do normally chill it off at night.
I just feel like there’s a line between frugality and austerity. I don’t want to feel like I’m a failure or a loser if I decide to be warm enough to be comfortable in my house. We haven’t turned our heat on yet, but if the temp inside the house dips below 60, I feel fine about putting it on.
I’m in! I did this last year and made it until early December before turning on the heat. I did turn on the gas fireplace a few times to take off the chill. I’m in northern Virginia and while we’re still having warm days, it’s starting to get chilly at night. I will challenge myself to do at least as well as last year though.
I live in Upstate New York, Ithaca area. I already turned on the heat in my apartment a few days for a little while, just to take off the chill. My apartment is in a house owned by two elderly ladies who keep their thermostat at 80 degrees in winter! My place is 1/3 of the house and has an upstairs and downstairs. We have separate furnaces. I’d like to think that some of their heat makes it over to my place. However I paid $1800 for fuel oil over the past year, averaging about $150/month, maybe less because I have about 2/3 of a tank right now which should last me a few months I hope. Last winter I turned my heat down to 64 at night, then down to 50 while I was at work or away. I had it at a comfortable 68-70 for those few hours each evening that I was home, I don’t like feeling cold. I think my heat is very expensive but I guess I can take some comfort from the fact that I do not have air conditioning nor do I need it. We had a cool summer and I was perfectly fine on warm nights with just a window fan in my bedroom, I also think it’s cooler in “the country” where I live.
I lose already. We had company over and it was 64 in the house. I turned it up to 66 since we were all cold. Grrr New England!!
I haven’t thought about heat just yet here in Seattle. I hope to make it until November. I try to see how long I can hold out each year (until my kids complain vehemently…).
I have a feeling I can go pretty long – first off, I live in MD (not Maine), and I’m renting in a condo building that (currently) cools its hallways to ridiculous lows (I mean, why do we need hallways that are 68 degrees? people are only in them for 12 seconds to go from elevator to unit). I’m assuming they’ll also heat them ridiculously high in the winter, and our door (for better or worse) has about a 1-inch gap at the bottom that lets hall air in. We also have a large sliding-glass balcony that gets afternoon sun all year.
Last year, in a different house (with terrible insulation), we put the heat at 58 during the night and 62 during the day, and I think we didn’t use it until November or December.
I’ll conservatively estimate Nov. 15th for this year, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we could make it into December. GF and I are already trying to make bets on who’s going to wuss out first and turn on the heat :). Time to stock up on blankets and sweatshirts…
December 7th last year (I remember, it was Pearl Harbor day… don’t know why I remember that). I didn’t know there was a contest, but now that I do, heck yes, count me in. I live in Northeast Nebraska, cold winters, hot summers, but last year I kept the thermostat at 55 (although I would turn it up to 60 when I got home from the office and then turn it down again in an hour or so when I get settled in and put on some decent socks).
This was the 4th summer with no virtually no air conditioning. Last year I moved from an old house with what I swear had to be a circa 1960 window air conditioning unit that one needed a forklift to move in and out of the window. After the first month or so I put it away for good. After moving everyone told me it would be tough to do the same in a house with central air. I confess there were 4 really hot days this summer when I turned it on for about an hour. It still bothers me a little, but next year I’ll make it all the way through.
Its not Florida but only a few miles away and still feels like it. The AC is still on high yesterday was 89 not to factor in the heat index. I hear we are getting a cold front and I can finally shut off the SC and open windows. We should have no problem making it to NOV if not beyond. I will say South Alabama summers are brutal but not as brutal as upstate NY winters. I ‘ll take heat any day!
I’m trying for Nov. 1 myself. Although it’s suppose to snow tonight in the mountains !! Last year I set the temp at 60 during the day and 67 when home, than back down to 60 for sleeping. But I still burned a tank and a 1/2 of oil ** sigh **
I made it to mid-December last year without turning on my heat and that was only because we had a freak cold snap and it got below 20 degrees, and I was worried about the pipes. I hope this year I can go longer. I like to be warm, but a sweater works just as well as a heater.
My bedroom thermostat is set at 50 and the rest of the house is set at 60, all year. But I guess I cheat a little since I have a wood stove, that I love. It pretty much heats most of the house, at least the rooms I use most. I usually start using the stove just too take the chill off the night air about the middle of October and don’t start using 24/7 till about the end of December, usually. I don’t have A/C, ceiling fans and floor/counter fans do the job for me, plus judicious raising and closing the window shades.
Sign me up! One of my goals for October was going to be to conserve energy–partly through seeing how long we can go without the heat. My personal goal was also November 1st. We live in Louisville, KY.
We never turn on the actual heatpump furnace at all, but we DO live in central AZ. We have 20 acres, so the rare times we do need heat, we use firewood in our woodstove that DH cut on our own portion of the Gila riverbottom. Properly aged, salt cedar makes great firewood, but isn’t commercially harvested because it doesn’t get very big around, so is too much trouble for them. It grows back fast too. Places we cut 7 years ago are ready to cut again.
In the Bay Area, we probably won’t turn the heat on until well into December. This week is the first week that has actually felt autumnal, and we are relishing the cool breezes and slightly overcast skies. The fans are off and having a nice break!
When the heat is on, our thermo is automatically set to go on in the morning, 66 degrees, and then off at night. I telecommute, or heat would be off except for a few hours in the evening. The 66 took some getting used to, but we just put on sweaters, socks, etc and bundle up. Our kids grew up used to 66 as the winter default, and they seem completely okay with that. We do put it up to 68/70 when people visit. Our gas/electricity bill is never over a hundred bucks in the winter.
i live in an uninsulated railroad apt with the long side (and four windows) facing south. not great for the summer… the windows are old and drafty and have very old storm windows . all windows have blackout shades and then heavy velvet curtains lined with blackout material. they stay shut thru most of the summer and winter months – only open during very sunny days in the winter and fall/spring.
because i pay for the heat (and water and elec) i am very conservative . installed a programmable thermostat and keep it at 50.
this summer made it thru without putting in the window a/c units. just used window fans and drank lots of water.
the front room faces west and has one window with no storm window – and gets all the cold wind off of the hudson river… and that is where the thermostat is located… thus the low temp.
my upstairs neighbor’s furnace is located beneath the back two rooms (kitchen and my den) and in the winter i find that helps keep the back of the apt at least up to 10 degrees warmer than the front room. well, for the last three years – there was a couple with a small child living above me and they kept their apt rather warm as they were home 90% of the time. now there is a young couple and they are at work/med school so we will see . but it will still help.
the rooms are very small – 12×12 – only one has a wood door (to the front room which i install) and that one i close when it is REALLY cold (below 20) but try not to bec of the thermostat being there. anyway, i bought some really heavy all wool blankets a few years ago on overstock and made curtains for the doors between the den and the kitchen and my study and the hallway. also have a wool curtain for the glass paned front door which is about three feet from the building front door (very drafty) and thus gets the full blast from every opening.
these go up sometime in late nov and stay till april usually. then i have small elec portable heaters that i use in the den and the study and the front room and just turn them on when i am in the room.
my bed is a loft bed and has one of the heavy wool blankets as well as several others and a goose down duvet.
i have lots of wool sweaters (bougth for couple dollars at the local church sale) that i live in in the winters as well as tons of wool socks (not hand made yet – that is this fall’s goal) bought for cheap on ebay – still pure wool. and wear wool hats or sports hats (like runners wear) when its really chilly.
also cuddle under a wool blanket on the sofa and have a few cats that cuddle with me.
i hate paying for oil and elec so i do what i can to use as little as possible!
my dream is a house with solar panels and TONS of insulation. and a huge aga !!
I live in southern Indiana. I will add my name to the challenge, but I must first admit that I turned the heat on last night. We just moved into our house and my husband wanted me to make sure the new furnace worked OK. So from today forward for me!
I’m going to see if I can get my husband to buy into this. I love the idea. Plus, it means more snuggling! 🙂
We’re in Colorado and usually get our first snow in October, so it could be interesting!
Great idea for saving some money! I don’t usually worry about turning heat on until there’s danger that my water lines might burst. In northern Arkansas (and living in a hundred year old shotgun house…in the process of being renovated), frozen pipes are a real possibility. Still, I think we can make it until early December.
I try to go until Thanksgiving without turning on the furnace. We live in the MidWest. Nov 1 is EASY to do here.
I have to add that my husband was looking at the blog, (which can be infrequent) and he saw this challenge and said:
“I don’t like the look of this one!”
Gotta make sure he has lots of warm clothes and socks. : )
Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate
I have a link to this post, in my today’s post. 🙂
Aunt Amelia
I normally do not put my heat on until November 1st. Last year I think I had to put it on one day during the end of October. I will join in not putting the heat on until November 1st.
I live in Massachusetts and it sometimes gets pretty cold in October…(right now I have a sweater on because my house is a little chilly and I am not used to the cold yet). We have blankets for each member of the family for watching tv and extra blankets for everyone’s bed. I put my heat on 62 degrees in the winter and save a bundle. My family is not happy with this but I tell them to put a sweater on!
We did no AC for all of September. Now I will take the No Heat Challenge for October. We will see how it goes!
Bloomington, IN
Trying for November 1st…in the Berkshires of Massachusetts
Here in Seattle, it was in the upper 50’s but sunny today so we got a lot of free heat through south- facing windows. Kitty loved that—just a few days ago I was keeping the blinds closed to block out the sun (it was 87 degrees last week, very hot for late September!) and today she got to luxuriate in every sunny patch she could find. However, I did turn on the furnace briefly this morning because we are selling our house and an inspector is coming on Friday. I wanted to see if it would work, since the heat has been off since early May. It worked. I hated doing it, though. Right now, my toes are cold (gotta put on some slippers) but the rest of me is warm due to the 3 layers I’m already wearing. Somebody else mentioned this—I’m not used to the “cold” (relative) yet! It was 66 in the house and that felt like Greenland to me this morning!
This sounds great! I too live in Eastern Nebraska, it’s Oct. 11th and already down to 39 degrees, ugh. But, I am adamant to NOT turn the heat on at least until November. And even then, we are going to try and make it with 60 degrees during the day and 50 at night (lots of blankets and warm clothes).
I do have a question though. I live in an apartment, and instead of windows we have sliding glass doors that open onto the balcony. These are our only source of natural light and I was wondering if anyone knows of a way to keep this cold air from creeping in without blocking out the light or making it so I don’t have a balcony door? Do you think if I hung white blanket up in front of the doors it would do any good?
I HATE the cold (much more of a summer girl myself) – but I also feel I should quit telling people to reduce their emissions if I’m not going above and beyond for myself.
Thanks everyone – love the discussion and the tips.
We live here in St. Louis, MO. Since hearing about this on The Big 550 KTRS St. Louis, I’ve been practicing some of these No Heat Challenge suggestions. One thing I noticed is that we aren’t so prone to head colds this winter. Keeping the house cooler must be keeping those germs at bay.
I live in Wisconsin. I kept it off until into December, had to put it on when it got cold enuff that pipe freezing is a threat. My house is poorly insulated, ( I do lots of dyi stuff tho ) so even to be chilly the bill is high, so I figure why not be cold?
At the coldest I sleep in hats and fingerless gloves, I cordon off unheated areas with thick blankets and table cloths, all manner of craziness.
My new challenge is to see how early I can turn it off!
I’ d be so proud to do it by March 1, but even the Ides of March would be amazing.
It’s easier for me than many in the U.S. California weather tends to be pretty fair. But it’s been raining here all winter. So, I’ll take the challenge.
I’ve never paid much attention to the date, but I also try to keep the heat off as long as possible. Somewhat hard to do with the unpredictable Wisconsin weather. We’re on a budget billing plan with our energy provider so our bills don’t fluctuate, but it would be nice to see a credit at the end of the year instead of an extra payment for any surplus. Hubby likes it cool so it’s no problem for him… I’m the one that is always cold. We do live in a big, old house though that doesn’t retain the heat… hopefully new windows sometime in the near future would help with that. We DO NOT have a programmable thermostat and I think that it works better for us. Without children, our weekends and evenings are unpredictable. Not having it programmed allows us to turn it down at night before bed and not turn it up again until we get home from work. There are some chilly mornings getting ready, but as others have said, why heat the whole house for use in only a few rooms. I keep the vents and doors closed in rooms we don’t use often and last year I also invested in two oscelating space heaters. When I come home for my lunch hour, I prepare my lunch and sit down to eat with that blowing near me. Keeps me warmer and I don’t turn on the heat. Likewise, rather than turning the heat on in the am while we are getting ready, we can turn the space heater on for a few minutes to at least make getting out of bed a little easier.
Cold in bed? A hot water bottle does wonders for you! They keep warm almost all night and can make the difference between not being able to go to sleep because it’s too cold and enjoying a good warm night’s rest. 🙂
We live in an apartment building and don’t have control over when the heat is turned on, though once it’s on we can control the thermostat, and we don’t have to pay for heat. Although we are very conscientious about saving energy in other ways–e.g., turning lights off and rarely using our wall A/C unit in the summer–heat is a “necessary luxury” for me. My parents’ house is always ice-cold, and I hate going there for that reason. My work, too, is freezing, and I would love more suggestions on ways to stay warm there, as it makes me absolutely miserable. Heat, for me, is closely tied to my happiness, and one of the areas where I won’t make sacrifices for frugality.
I live up in Quebec, Canada, and am trying to hold out until November 1. Only a few days to go but I freeze whenever I’m at home, no matter how many layers I put on. I am only warm when I am in bed. But there’s something about a challenge that keeps me going.
I am also trying to keep riding my bike to work until the snow falls, but it’s getting pretty chilly in the mornings.
Winters in Quebec are so cold you wouldn’t even believe it.
I’m wondering at what point is it unhealthy to not heat your house…
I have a fireplace, but I haven’t used it yet this season.
Hiya, we lived in a house that is always been above 91 degree’s for 30 years we live in england, my family passed away 13th dec last year, i no longer work so to cut down on price we turned the boiler, heating off completely.
it’s been 11 months now since we have had no heating at all, the house sits at 18c a day, and sometimes drops to 16c on the night time, no doubt when dec hits we’ll be in a real bad way but the cost of gas these days and electric it’s just stupid.
how we survive me and the wife
1. when it’s freezing in the house go out bike riding for a hour with thin clothes on, it gets bitter cold, then come back to the house it feels like you’ve just stepped into the bahama’s
2. drink lots of hot coco or get a few hotwater bottles and just keep hold of them while sitting down watching tv,
3. get a nintendo wii with work out games 🙂 gets really hot after a jumping about everywhere.
November 1 is our goal. We live in Minneapolis
I am trying to go off heat asap this year.
It is February 17th in New England and I have already been turning the heat down to 50 during the day and have a goal to leave it there on the nights, which aren’t close to 20 degrees, which is when pipes start freezing.
Thinking, “can I turn it off entirely when it gets into the 40’s during the day and above freezing at night?
Maybe. If I use heated throws, I think I can, but heated throws might count as heat.
NO AC – All day, never had it, doesnt bother ne lol, but I live in Canada.
No Heat – i work outside 6 days a week up to ten hours a day -25 deg C a couple times a year really gets the Blood pumping! Im considering the No heat Challenge at home. But i mean setting the furnace to 5 deg C because i dont want the pipes to freeze.
Id like for people to challenge their work place to shut off the heat for a week (turn down to 5 deg or close to)
People are becoming way to Reliant on Luxuries, lets not waste our precious resources!