When Do you Turn on the Heat?

[Birch Run Farm]

Well, it snowed here last night. I use my woodstove exclusively for as long as possible before switching the furnace on. EVERYTHING costs more in the Northeast and there are no bargains. Propane is very expensive so I go as long as possible with just wood, which I log off my own land. To buy a cord of wood at $300 plus around here, you might as well just burn oil or propane. I think most people burn about six cords of wood per year here in Vermont.

I'd like to add a pellet stove to my dining room someday.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I used to have that avatar!!!

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Well, truthfully, we probably won't be putting the furnace on this year. There's just no money for it, unless I get approved for SS. We've had the little space heaters on for short periods, but we can get all the way to January without turning on the heat, and that's IF we have the money for the oil. I really, REALLY want to move somewhere warmer where I don't have to rely on oil or propane heat. This year we'll be sealing up the windows, stuffing blankets under doors, and blocking off rooms that we don't plan to use, just so we can stay warm. Oil is NOT cheap, but propane is even more expensive. If we turn the heat on in November, like we normally would, then the oil tank would have to be filled twice over the winter, at about $600 a pop. If our church helps us out for a 3rd year in a row, then we'll have heat. If not, then I guess we'll be using extra socks and blankets. My aunt in Chicago will NOT put the heat on before Christmas. EVER. She generally waits until after the first of the year. While we love visiting her for Christmas, we generally do NOT take our coats off. She's on a tight budget too and can't afford the higher gas bills before then, and I can definitely sympathize. We'd like to get an electric heat pump installed, but can't afford that either.

 

[Beekissed]

Do you live in a home in which you could have wood heat? Our church has a firewood ministry in this area and there could be something similar in yours.

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
Be careful about your plumbing. Indiana without any heat in the house = frozen & burst pipes.

Are you renting or do you own? Just so you know, if you are renting, you may be able to be evicted if the landlord discovers that you are not heating the place. It was actually in the lease where I lived. A minimum temperature was specified for the purpose of protecting the plumbing (not that I paid attention to the specific temp given...)

Just a tip, too: Don't broadcast locally that you will be living without heat. Depending on your local ordinances, if you have any "enemies" they may be able to cause serious problems for you. Here it violates the city ordinances to heat the house below a certain temp (really high, actually - something like 68 degrees during the day. Again something a lot of people easily ignore. Seems like it's 65 at night. I may be off on the specific temps.) Having ANY habitable room that is not heated to those temps in the winter violates our city codes, too. Again, something to mostly ignore but to be aware of in case there are people who might cause problems. I think probably the biggest time these things come up as an issue are when CPS is involved or you have a family member causing trouble (ex spouse? inlaws?)

I fully understand the reasons you need to do this. Just sharing some problems that could arise, so you can protect yourself against them.

 

[NonnasBabies]

All I can say is WOW!! I never relased how expensive it was to heat your homes up north. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much mine cost.

We probably don't start using the heater till December or so. Unless we just happen to get some really cold days earlier than normal and then we usually use our woodburning stove. My AC is usually running till the end of October begining of November and it stays on 68-70. After we turn the air off we usually have a few weeks where we don't have to run anything. My heater is natural gas and the bill runs monthly $30-40 during the summer and $80-100 in winter. My electric bill runs about $75-100 in the winter and $160-200 in the summer!! So on an average my Electric & Gas bill combined runs about $200-$220 per month year round.

Missi

 

[PineappleMama]

Side note on our costs ... we have gas heater, dryer and stove (oven doesn't bloody work so it's a moot point)... so there's a gas bill in summer on top of the electric... and vice versa for lights and such on top of the heating in winter.

But our winters, we can't just set the thermostat for X and let it go on auto because one day might be 30's and the next could be 80's... we just turn it on as we need it mostly. Cannot do the same with AC... that gets set to 77-80 and put on auto and on particularly hot nights we can lower it as needed.

 

[redstars]

Lit the wood boiler today.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I turn the heat on when I get cold.

We do try not to have it on when it's above 60, though. We have an electric space heater in the bathroom for getting ready on chilly mornings, and there's an electric blanket on our bed.

 

[wildeflowers]

Quote:
Holy cow! I'm in northern rural CT and a cord around here runs around $175 to $200, seasoned. Why is it so much more for you guys?

Our heat has been on for probably about a week. The downstairs is on an electronic thermostat so it just comes on when the temp dips below 65 or so. I put it on upstairs sometime this week when it got into the 30s, but I am hot natured, so it took a while for me to notice it was cold in the house.

Not looking forward to filling up my tank.