Want lower utility bills? Turn down (or off) the heat.

[NiHaoMike]

"No Heat" Contest: How Long Could You Go? - News- msnbc.com
"No Heat" Contest: How Long Could You Go? - CleanMPG Forums

This year, I have not used the heat at all. College Station has very mild winters and my apartment is surprisingly well insulated. (It stays about 20-25F above outdoor with only a PC and a refrigerator as major heat sources!)

(And my friend Susie Stillwell was really upset when her heat pump broke down. In fact, cold apparently makes her go insane because she didn't take my offer to help her fix it. Go figure...)

[Old Tele man]

...there's a reason women are called hot blooded.

[MadisonMPG]

I could go forever without heat, my dad is a different story. (but I do live in Alabama)

[Weather Spotter]

up here heat is most definitely needed, so we heat with wood! almost free, using trees that were going to rot anyway.

[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...there's a reason women are called hot blooded.

Not all of them. Several of my friends (most notably Allie Moore and Sarah Thibodeaux) don't mind the cold weather so much. What they all have in common is that they're all very skinny. For your reference, Susie Stillwell is about average weight. And on the other end, I know Joanne Rodriguez and Lauren Stanhouse (both significantly overweight) who both really dislike cold weather... Maybe I'm finding a pattern... Maybe it's because the skinny ones are converting excess fat into heat...

I'm just a little overweight and I initially disliked the cold weather, but I'm acting tough in the hope that I'll adapt and maybe soon be in the same group as Allie Moore and Sarah Thibodeaux... (That should get me some more MPGs in any weather, as in "I wish I was as skinny as Allie Moore... For more MPGs!")

[Cd]

What heat ?

It's frigging hot out here today !
I put the plants out on the porch to let them get some sun, but I had to bring them back in because they started to wilt from it being too hot.

I guess some might call Texas weather a blessing.

[Ryland]

I lived in Oregon for a while and was baffled as to why people felt the need to heat their houses there at all, other then to dry them out a little, but even at that a dehumidifier would have been perfect and the waste heat from it would go towards heating the house, but there no one insulated their house, doors and windows don't seal most of the time, here in Wisconsin we tend to heat our house starting back in October, now it's down to -0- and the furnace kicks on every half hour or so for a few minutes.

[Frank Lee]

I tried 45 but that was just a bit too cold, so 48 it is.

[RobertSmalls]

Google "Passivhaus" for information on very well insulated houses that barely need to be heated. If you can build a passive house in Sweden, you can build one in Michigan. Of course, a ground source heat pump or solar radiant floor heating would be more cost-effective. Or wood. I suppose that's renewable biomass energy, right?

Thanks to the wasteful tennants downstairs, I have free radiant floor heating. My measurements (thermal probe in the wall) indicate their thermostat is set to 72-74°F, and the lady of the house wears a tank top and shorts in the middle of winter.

Ugh. But their loss is my gain. As long as it's above 30 out, it stays >62 in here, and I haven't turned the furnace on yet this year. I may not need to until January, if my IMA battery refurbishment throws off as much heat as I expect it to (300-1000W).

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

and the lady of the house wears a tank top and shorts in the middle of winter.

Is this a bad thing, or a good thing? lol