Anyone planning on alternative heating for this winter? Suggestions! :)

[BusynMember]

We plain out can't afford to just use natural gas, and we don't have a chimney. I've seen electrical infrared heaters that use a low amount of electricity and heat up to 1000 sq. feet (and are set to go off when the room is warm). I'm thinking of buying one and not using the furnace much at all. Our house is very small--maybe tops 1500 sq. feet (and that is tops). When the kids and hub are at work, I also plan on closing the bedrooms and not heating them. Also buying electric blankets.
If anyone has any other suggestions, please post. I believe in getting ready early on

 

[klmno]

I don't know anything about the infrared type, but some electric heaters really run up the bill quite a bit. I bout a stand-up electric heater for our "bonus" room which difficult child uses as a game room for the guys to hang out in. It is the only heat out there, except for the "spill-over" from the rest of the house. If it is used more than just minimally, my electric bill shoots sky-high. I think those fuel or propane types are the least expensive to use, but I would be scared to death to have one in my house.

We use a different type of electric heater at work as accessory heat- I'll ask and see how much they impact the electric bill- they are like baseboard heaters, but they are portable and they work great.

 

[Sara PA]

I've kept my house at 60 degrees for two years now. Last year I pulled out an electric blanket I forgot I had. Turned out I only needed it to take the chill off the bed as I settled in for the night. Keeping it on even the lowest temp was too much heat for me.

Of course, I wear flannel pajamas to bed and sweaters/sweaters around the house. No tee shirts and shorts for me in the wintertime. I seem to have adapted to the lower temperatures fairly well just like I have adapted to the hot air in the summertime.

 

[Marcie Mac]

I have not used our furnace in years and years - I just cannot breathe with hot air all round - and I also can't sleep with the windows closed - gotta have fresh air blowing on my face.

We all have Electric matress pad covers whch are so much better than electric blankets -We turn them on for a few minutes before we go to bed then turn them off - it makes the sheets and blankets warm and if you get a bit chilly during the night, you can put it on a low setting.

I can't stand electric blankets only because I get so darn hot during the night (a lot of it to do with the 4 dogs who insist on sleeping UNDER the covers) I am always sticking a leg out and throwing the covers back and those wires in a blanket don't make them flexible at all Not to mention the matress pads are so much easier to wash. And with it being summer, I would imagine you can get them cheaper than if you wait till winter.

I think for my Ca King bed, it was something like 79.00.

Marcie

 

[susiestar]

Our house is all electric, and as long as I keep the filter clean the bill has been really low. thank you finds that an electric mattress pad gets too hot, Jess loves her electric blanket (electric mattress pads make the foam mattress topper break down - just a warning), and I love mine.

The really soft fleece blankets now are also very warm. They really keep body heat in. You can buy big pieces of it for under the comforter. They do work best (polar fleece, the newer super soft fleece, etc) if there is something over them. My parents have bought big pieces of polar fleece over the years and now have them as sheets int he winter. Mom sewed them up and they are WARM!! The kids all love to go snuggle with Gpa adn Gma on a cold morning when they stay over there.

We will be keeping the furnace down, using more blankets and sweaters, etc...

We do have to cope with the fact that my body doesn't regulate temperatures, but we generally keep the house cold. And having a newer house means we are pretty well insulated, which is the biggest savings.

Susie

 

[DammitJanet]

I am going to start looking for fleece to make blankets for xmas presents this year. I also want an electric mattress pad. We do have a fireplace but we didnt find it helped heat the house all that well when the furnace was on the blink. Maybe using it together might help though.

I have heard of these things you can put in your ducts that are those ceramic discs and they only heat the rooms you want heated instead of the whole house. You can still use the fan from your furnace but you program them somehow.

I am going to apply for a weatherization grant for the disabled to get my ductwork fixed under my house...and if it will also help fix my furnace that will be a plus. My ductwork is horrible. Animals have torn holes in it so that air is escaping.

 

[KTMom91]

We have a wall-mounted gas heater in the living room, and that's it. Hubby and I have an electric blanket, and we wear sweats and have blankets over us in the living room. It's usually cold at my house.

 

[SRL]

My kids were all begging for electric blankets a few years ago and I ran into some high quality double layered, microfleeced blankets on sale at 75% off. They were pricey--as in about $175 regularly priced--but they're so warm the requests for the electric blankets all stopped. (These aren't the regular fleece but a little furrier.)

We can't win for temperature at my house. My husband is getting naturally colder while I am getting naturally warmer. No matter what the time of year, he comes home from work and changes the temperature.