new helpful thing...ngakmafaeryFebruary 1 2005, 02:59:05 UTC
...I really love these new econo-heat panels, like white lucite cutting boards, really, that you screw into the wall and plug in. I just lost my main source of heat (bathroom ceiling fan), and the plumber suggested these. They were 69.99 for one, and say they cost 3 cents an hour to run. I put on right next to the toilet, at his suggestion,and really appreciate the warm seat and leg! They are more ambient, with some radiant heat and some convection, because they stick out an inch from the wall, and won't cook children or pets with common sense. You might look into sticking one or two of these around to take burden off the main heat...I also put one in the bedroom, and am just really grateful, because my living room used to be in the forties in the morning, and this helps diffusely...
We're on oil, so we don't get monthly bills, but during our (milder NW) winters, the tank gets filled every couple of months. When we're at home, the temperature is set to 70. It's at 58 in the middle of the day and at night.
We have older (and horrible) aluminum replacement windows in a 900 square foot (not counting basement) 79 year old house with poor insulation and a 30 year old not-very-good furnance. I think we pay about $150-200/mo for just heat during the winter. Again, I must stress that we have mild winters here, and our house isn't well set up for reducing the costs.
I don't think you're being wasteful. I think they're being unreasonable.
You aren't being wasteful. Pittsburgh doesn't get quite as frigid as Mass. can, for as long, but it does get damned cold here. We've had three hundred dollar heating bills before, because of flux in oil prices. The things ngakmafaery suggested sound good, but otherwise, high heating bills are, unfortunately, a fact of life.
I would look into seeing if you can run on natural gas instead of oil. That can be cheaper, in some areas. But mostly it's the oil company gouging you. Or, rather, OPEC gouging the oil company, who gouges you. . .
It doesn't get anywhere as near cold for us (pacific northwest) as it does for you, but I have NO tolerance for being cold. Therefore I keep my thermostat at 66 during the day when only the animals are home, and 70 when we are home. At night it goes down to 66. We have gas heat and our bill runs around $150/mo when running the furnace during the winter. Our house is fairly small (1600 sq ft) and drafty in spots but we're working on getting all of those taken care of.
You've been here, so you know my heating is strange :) The original part of the house with the bedrooms and kitche is oil heated. It cost me about $375 of oil last winter and aboug $500 this winter. I keep that thermostat at 65 for a couple of resons.
It's heating the other half of the house (living room, dining room) during the day so it's not 40 when I walk in the door. Once I get the woodstove going it warms up fast in the living room and bedrooms warm. I went through a cord and a half of wood last winter, which I got with the house. Current prices say thats about $200 worth of cut wood. There's ways to get the wood cheaper and free, but they involve me and and ax. Running the woodstove is also work, hauling in wood, cleaning up, etc...
It sounds like you've done all the right things with the house and you're being completely reasonable about the temperatures. You can't change the outside temp.
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We have older (and horrible) aluminum replacement windows in a 900 square foot (not counting basement) 79 year old house with poor insulation and a 30 year old not-very-good furnance. I think we pay about $150-200/mo for just heat during the winter. Again, I must stress that we have mild winters here, and our house isn't well set up for reducing the costs.
I don't think you're being wasteful. I think they're being unreasonable.
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I would look into seeing if you can run on natural gas instead of oil. That can be cheaper, in some areas. But mostly it's the oil company gouging you. Or, rather, OPEC gouging the oil company, who gouges you. . .
*sigh* Being an adult sucks.
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It's heating the other half of the house (living room, dining room) during the day so it's not 40 when I walk in the door. Once I get the woodstove going it warms up fast in the living room and bedrooms warm. I went through a cord and a half of wood last winter, which I got with the house. Current prices say thats about $200 worth of cut wood. There's ways to get the wood cheaper and free, but they involve me and and ax. Running the woodstove is also work, hauling in wood, cleaning up, etc...
It sounds like you've done all the right things with the house and you're being completely reasonable about the temperatures. You can't change the outside temp.
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