Good post. Some more ideas from Vermont in February:
1. More energy-efficient AND warmer than a electric blanket is an electric mattress pad. Toasty and wonderful.
2. Windows seem to wick the cold. Cover them with plastic. Or use bubble wrap if you just need light from a particular window but not a view. (I have "frosted glass" in the 24-pane window in my bathroom--just sheets of bubble wrap cut to fit. Spray the window lightly with water and the stuff sticks like a lamprey.)
Drapes really can keep the heat in if you have a lot of windows. Open them during the day to get the solar heat.
3. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it so it goes counter-clockwise, driving heated air (hot air rises, remember?) back down into the room.
4. Bake something. A casserole or bread in the oven can make my whole kitchen cosy.
With insulation, plugging leaks, wrapping windows, the woodstove, ceiling fan, bread in the oven, a kettle on the woodstove, heated mattress pad, and a very large cat to sit on my feet, I hope to make it to spring without needing a second mortgage just to cover the oil bill.
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Good post. Some more ideas
Submitted by Guest on February 4, 2008 - 12:48.
Good post. Some more ideas from Vermont in February:
1. More energy-efficient AND warmer than a electric blanket is an electric mattress pad. Toasty and wonderful.
2. Windows seem to wick the cold. Cover them with plastic. Or use bubble wrap if you just need light from a particular window but not a view. (I have "frosted glass" in the 24-pane window in my bathroom--just sheets of bubble wrap cut to fit. Spray the window lightly with water and the stuff sticks like a lamprey.)
Drapes really can keep the heat in if you have a lot of windows. Open them during the day to get the solar heat.
3. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it so it goes counter-clockwise, driving heated air (hot air rises, remember?) back down into the room.
4. Bake something. A casserole or bread in the oven can make my whole kitchen cosy.
With insulation, plugging leaks, wrapping windows, the woodstove, ceiling fan, bread in the oven, a kettle on the woodstove, heated mattress pad, and a very large cat to sit on my feet, I hope to make it to spring without needing a second mortgage just to cover the oil bill.