Dear Apartment Therapy,
Now that it's starting to get a bit chilly in SF, I'm contemplating another winter with the dry, smelly, forced-air heating system in my apartment. I've got a rental, so I can't change the heating system itself -- what alternatives do I have for keeping warm (other than a thick sweater)?
Does it use more or less energy to heat one room with a space heater than it does to heat the whole two-bedroom apartment with forced air? I only use the heat for a few weeks a year, but I'd like to be able to enjoy my home during that time!
Thanks,
Corey
Here in Iowa it costs less to use electric heaters to keep the place warm and set the gas furnace either off or (depending on the lease) at the minimum required temperature.
I know it's warmer in CA, so I'm not sure what the utility bill differences would be if your heat was gas. If you're electricity is green, you'd have the benefit of knowing you're using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels to heat your apartment.
view bramasoleiowa's profile
An old fashioned hot water bottle is your best friend when it comes time to sleep. We keep our house at a chilly 62 F and the bedroom is even a little colder. The hot water bottle is a great way to not feel cold when you crawl into bed. That, and flannel sheets, a really thick comforter and another warm body!
regards,
trillium
view trillium's profile
Duvet.
I noticed that there is a huge difference sleeping under my bare down comforter and a duvet covered down comforter.
Invest in a duvet for your comforter for extra warmth. Where I live, it can sometime get up to 30 degrees at night, and i sleep with the windowns fully open but still manage to stay warm under my duvet covered comforter.
Costco has duvets, the Kirkland duvet is ~$60 for queen size and it's 600 threadcounts!
view callbob's profile
Any ideas for good looking (and warm) window treatments?
view amyinsanfran's profile
Thanks for the advice! I think the space heater will work nicely, and perhaps some curtains. When I lived in a snowy state, we had this special plastic-wrap-like stuff to insulate the windows in the winter, though of course that could only be used on those windows you didn't want to open for several months. That seems a bit extreme for San Francisco, though, and I doubt it's even sold around here.
view coreyf's profile
We live in a drafty SF Victorian and after years of freezing or paying through the nose, last year bought these awesome, cheap, energy efficient, wall-mount heaters and LOVE them -- http://www.eheat.com/
They don't do instant-blast heat so you have to leave them on more hours of the day but they are silent, non-drying and draft-free which we felt was a good trade-off.
view larochelle's profile
A few years ago (energy prices have changed since then) I found it cost about the same to heat my bedroom with a space heater as it did to heat my entire 1 bedroom apartment with the gas wall furnace.
After your gas heater has been on for a day it shouldn't smell like anything.
view desl's profile