I have a question. I've been keeping my thermostat set at anywhere between 60 & 67 degrees depending on how cold it is outside (I live in Richmond, VA so it gets a little cold here). Is this bad for my cat? I know she's covered in really long fur, but I worry that she gets cold too. I've provided her with many places to curl up and get warm, am I just worrying too much?

I have two dogs. I keep it 59° when I am away during the day and overnight, and 63° when I am home. They are fine. 60-67 for a cat is not a problem as long as she has something to lie on, like a couch, bed, etc. Cold floor would be a problem.

unseeneclipse,

Cats are equipped to handle temps in the 50s just fine. I keep my house at 55 during the day and overnight, and set it at 68 when I'm home. The girls curl up on the couch or on my bed, depending on their mood. I've had cats for 20 years and none have been worse for wear.

As for the post... drink hot tea or have a hot meal, wear socks or slippers, and wear a sweater. If you're still chilly with the thermostat set at 68, put on a fleece hat. Humans lose tons of heat through the head and feet. Keep those parts warm and you'll feel warmer overall.

One thing is, if you own, replace your thermostat with one on a timer. the advice that applies in summer also applies in winter - set the thermostat to automagically change it to a less-habitable temperature when you're either a) at work or b) asleep. Saved my family a TON when I was a kid.

We have GFA heat, and our gas bills during the winter are astronomical. So, this year, a bought a couple of little space heaters (since I tend to spend 80 percent of my time in one or two places) and turned the thermostat down a few degrees. I think I will end up saving some money, even with the extra electricity use.

I, too, worry about freezing my cats, who are getting a bit old, but I moved a couple little rugs into the kitchen to cover the cold, tile floor and did some strategic cat bed placement. They seem fine and happy.

I make a little blanket tent for my cat to keep her warm during the day! She lounges in there for hours on end... cozy cat!

To stay warm & save money (and the earth!)...

I sip on hot water (I add a squeeze of lemon -- warming and good for you!). This is huge at keeping me warm!

Change into comfy warm clothes when you get home and wear slippers (think cozy loungewear like fleece).
Have a soft blankie within reach draped over sofa.
Cuddle with pet, and that includes your other half! (;

Recent research indicates that the heat lost from your head is about the same as anywhere else on your body (but your head is more likely to be uncovered.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/17/medicalresearch-humanbehaviour

We keep the heat at around 65, and our bill is still stupidly high. We "seal and peeled" our windows, and there are also storm windows, but they're so old that I can seriously feel drafts coming straight through the glass. Plus we live in a very old victorian with high ceilings, which are great 'till you have to heat the place! We're thinking about picking up some of that ugly plastic wrap stuff now.. ugh.

...59 degrees? Not in this lifetime.

I shut off vent in a room I hardly use and in the kitchen. After the last electricity bill, i keep the thermostat lower, and wear my fuzzy warm bath robe all the time while at home ;-)

We rent and have a baby on the way, and given how badly newborns regulate their own body temperatures, the "put on a sweater"-type suggestions have limited utility. So we recently built frames from 1x2s that fit inside our windows (with foam around the edges to make a pressure seal) and put shrink wrap on both sides of each frame to make a pocket of dead air for insulation. We don't have a thermostat because we have baseboard heat, but our heat bill dropped by 20% from the same month last year even though the frames were only in place for one week of the billing month. Total cost was less than $10/window and the hassle of assembly (we painted the frames to match the windows, so they're pretty unobtrusive). Plus we can reuse them next year. Our neighbors came over last week and were amazed how warm it was compared to their place.

Last year we tried shrink wrapping the windows directly, but it was a lot less effective; the tape peels off the corners of old windows pretty quickly, and getting the rest off at the end of winter was hell on the paint.

For those with baseboard heat: most utilities will charge electricity at a lower rate if you don't have a furnace, but you have to push them for it. Between the rate change, the window insulation, and the door sweeps we added, our total bill dropped by 50%.

We keep our thermostat set at around 58 degrees... 60 if it's 7 degrees outside (like last week). We have a kitty and a puppy, both do well. We all pile up in bed at night to keep warm, but during the day, the kitty sleeps on the cable box (it's warm!) or snuggles in some blankets. The dog has a chair she hangs out in, unless we're at work, in which case she's crated, sleeps on two blankets, and her crate is also half covered in a blanket. We humans just keep a blanket, slippers, and maybe a hat with us at all times. I'd rather be snuggly than financially wiped because energy costs are outrageous! We also keep our blinds open if the sun is out and shut them at night (even that helps with our old, leaky windows). We have "draft dodger" that definitely helps keep drafts from under the door. If you have hardwoods like us, rugs are great because no matter how beautiful hardwood flooring is, it's COLD during the winter. Oh, and space heaters are getting better and better!

Can anyone offer any help on using the Emergency Heat setting on a thermostat? We are new home owners in an old converted school house. The building uses heat pumps and we have noticed that on colder days we get cooler air coming through our vents. My partner says that is when we should switch to the EM heat, but I get conflicting stories when I search on the net. Any help?

Dot, do you have a blog or something showing how you did the windows? We're expecting a baby, too, and live in Minnesota--home to pretty roaring winters. We've done the 3M treatments on most windows, but I still think we could use a little more...something. I'd love to see what you did--I can't envision it myself, and though it's too late to tackle this winter, it sounds great for next winter.

Thanks!

@Sprouted, how about this tutorial from midcoast green collaborative dot org? I also happen to like this idea a LOT.

Out of curiosity, is "Despot" a Minnesotan thing? Saw it in the mentioned article which is written by a Minnesotan. Being one myself I just realized that I say that and never really thought to question how it started...do other people from other places hear/say it, too?

We sort of 'stumbled' on a solution. We just moved up north from Texas, and it's been a change! Luckily, the previous owners of our house spent big bucks on new, high efficiency windows and that fancy foam insulation- which has worked well.

That being said, our fireplace is decorative, and so we bought a small electric fireplace insert- frankly, more for looks than as a space heater. It's GREAT though! It's perfect to warm up the dogs after they come in & if I'm freezing for some reason, a couple minutes in front of it works wonders!! It's not a whole-house solution, but it's great to have a 'quick warm up' option- especially since I work from home. No use heating 2,000 sq ft just for me!

We used to cover the windows in plastic sheeting and this was in NoCa. Now that I'm about to be a homeowner, I'm starting to look into some of the smaller wind turbines. They don't produce enough to go off the gird but the trickle of power should make a difference.

I can tell you how to do it in 1 step: Move to Southern California. :) I live in LA and don't have a heater or AC. In the summer I use a fans. In winter, I dress warmly, cuddle with my dog, and put a blanket on the couch. It works nicely.

Two words: heating blanket.

Wow! I mean it!
It is one of my necessities, I keep it at 73 (sometimes higher) when we are home. At 67 when we are away or asleep, because otherwise it will not get warm enough when we are back from work or getting out of bed. I will not give it up for any sort of reduction of heating bills. And I am Russian mind you, Americans think that we are frost-resistant for some mysterious reason... I also have a heater on all the time in my work office. Call me a weirdo but 58? I'll kill myself.

I keep my heating at 64 during the day when I am not there and at night when i'm sleeping and at 70 when I'm there. Having programmable thermostats will help you control the temperature. Also if you live in a (cold) humid climate, you have to be careful not to lower the temperature too much or you might start to have a humidity issues, especially in new houses that are well insulated.

when I was little we lived in a house from the early 1800's. My brother and I lived in the entire top floor- huge bedroooms with 12 ft ceilings. My room had 3, 8 ft tall leaky windows. The two rooms had ONE shared heat register in the wall. I slept in sweats, socks, a flannel nightgown, mittens and a hat every night. When it got really cold I added a robe.
I keep my house now in the high 60's to low 70's. I will not freeze again....

I'm all for preserving energy and reducing costs, but below 67F is too cold for me. I'm with zarazame -- I like to be comfortable in my home and I'm unwilling to sacrifice it. I do turn the thermostat down while I'm away, but when I'm home, it'll be between 68 - 72F. I don't think I'm unreasonable. What's the point of having the heat on at all if it doesn't take the edge off?

We've gone the entire winter without heat due to a recaltrient kitchen remodel. Here in NoCal it's been cold but manageable! We're running indoor temps about 58 and haven't noticed it all that much. I think it's just a matter of what you get used to! We HAD to get used to it, so we did!

It's really important to keep your feet warm and dry. I change my socks as soon as I come in, and will wash them in hot water. Many layers...most leggings will fit under sweatpants.

Bathroom remodel has left me without a shower in the DC snowpocalypse. At least I have power! I'm looking to put in a battery backup pellet stove before next year, since I only have a heat pump. Usually, I'll take a hot shower after coming in from a walk to (1) getting that film of sweat off before it chills and (2) warming up. Putting on lotion before layering up adds another barrier to the cold.

Heat pumps need to be defrosted/shoveled out. The fins need airflow to work, and it'll be more efficient if you clear them off. The "emergency heat" is pure thermoelectric - electricity through a resistor to create heat - very inefficient and expensive. Keep it off, if you can, but you might not have a choice...below a certain temperature, heat pumps can't pull heat out of the outside air.

Cooking is a great way to warm yourself up. Not only will you generate heat by turning on the stove or oven, you will also warm yourself up by moving around and prolong your the effect by eating something hot.

Oh, and work with a laptop on your lap/hip/chest. Just don't burn yourself!

@KJPeppers: As failjolesfail points out, the emergency heat is VERY inefficient and VERY exepensive. Use it ONLY if your heat pump cannot keep your home warm without it. You'll know if it can't. It will run and run and run to warm the place up just one degree. When it gets too cold a heat pump just can't extract warmth out of the air, requiring that emergency heat.

If you own your place then insulation is the best investment. In my place I put 10cm (about 4 inches) thick insulation on the interior walls front and back (my house is terraced so I didn't do the sides) and even though I couldn't afford to replace the single-glazed windows this is the warmest place I've ever lived in, and the cheapest to heat.

I also put thermostatic valves on all my radiators, so you can have different rooms heated to different temperatures and that makes a huge difference to the bills too, as well as giving a more comfortable house (and you never have to open a window to cool a room down, you just set the valve to a lower temp)

I am in Canada right now and it is hilarious reading these comments. I think my house is around 58 on a regular basis, even when I'm home.

It is insanely cold here in the winter...I grew up using 6 blankets and wearing long johns and clothes to bed (mind you, we lived in an old Victorian house).

Putting plastic on the windows here is a given, but I hadn't thought of weather-stripping (I guess 'cause I'm a renter) and appreciate the tip. Another thing I learned just today is to cover your mail slot (if the mail comes in through your front door) with a thick piece of fabric. I'm also considering filling the cracks in our walls with foam insulation - anyone had any experience with that? I'm in a very old apartment building right now that is quite drafty...

I live in Northern California, so I won't even being to compare cold weather because I know it's nothing compared to what you east coast folk are used to. I haven't used the heater all winter. I think it's easier to stay warm than to stay cool, so I told my roommates to suck it up and put on a sweater and use all those blankets we have. There's no need to use the heater...especially since we're all struggling college students and can't afford the bill anyways. When we were all on break we made scarves and hats for each other and now we just wear those while we're indoors.

Also, if you have ceiling fans, flip the switch to make them rotate reverse (clockwise) and leave them on low all the time. It circulates the warm air so you aren't heating your upstairs neighbor's apartment. Then in summer, switch them back (counter-clockwise) for a cooler downward airflow.

Thermal curtains are a big help. For those expecting babies, when our son was tiny we lived in an old drafty house and could not afford new storm windows. I made very simple drapes with flannel and a thick layer of batting and used pennies along the bottom to help them stay put. Also made window snakes for all doors and windows by stitching tubes and filling them with the cheap rice that comes in huge bags at the grocery store. For our house now we were able to buy full length drapes that were thermaly insulated, they look like regular drapes but there is a huge difference in the warmth of the rooms. I can tell when someone opens the drapes to peek outside for a bit. I think they work far better than the plastic over the window thing (which we have done with limited success)

I am surprised by how few people here seem to live in houses with double glazed windows. Up here in Canada they are pretty much the norm these days.

Having said that, on a recent night when it was -27º (Celsius) you could feel the cold creeping into the house, windows or no windows.

Keep your interior doors closed! Consider that if you spend 90% of your time in two rooms, then there is really no need to heat other rooms.

We keep our heat usually at 55-60, depending on the time of day. We have a programmable thermostat, and the previous owners installed windows with a double pane in them.
We've talked about shutting off the two or three rooms we use the least, but they get the most sun. So while the vents are closed, we tend not to keep the doors shut.
Layers, warm cooking, and baking all help keep us warm.

dot: We have baseboard heat, and we have a thermostat. Are yours controlled individually?

Easiest way to get rid of high heating bills: buy a shredder. Those bills won't know what hit 'em.

zarazame, I am with you. Its 72 during the day and 69 at night. I'm comfortable paying. I am not comfortable when cold.

we've stuffed the mail slot with fabric and blocked the draft at the bottom of the front door, but i still need to seal off the windows (they're double-paned, but it's an old house and the seals aren't great). most of the time we shut the door to the back bedroom, since we don't use it much. our bills are still higher than i'd like, which motivates me to think about what else we could do. however, after losing power for the last two days and watching our breath while the thermostat in the living room dropped to 40 degrees, our regular setting of 64 feels luxurious.

I'm lucky to live in an apartment that is warm all year round, sometime to the point where I have to open the windows even if it's snowing out!

i love my follow canadians... i had a good chuckle reading these too. window plastic is #1. weather stripping around the doors and thicker curtains are amazing too. im renting in a 100 year old building and its toasty in there, even though i have become my father and turn down the heat right before i leave every day. pretty much the only time i turn it up over 20-22 C would be if i am home sick or something. hoodies and slippers are the way to go.

(and recently there was a cold snap into the -40's.)

@mirandler:

A "despot" is a tyrant. The poster is being funny - I say it, too, and I chuckled when I read it.