Chiff and Fipple Forums

Well, it's 54 (12 C) here right now. It was in the high 40s for the last 2 days.

I'm pleased to report that I'm wearing wool socks and long sleeves, and am looking forward to a rewarding night of sleeping under a comforter directly under an open window.

Steve, I'm with you. I absolutely cannot abide sleeping in a closed room during the winter. (I make an exception out of necessity in the summer.)

I have a central gas-fired furnace, so I never leave the windows closed. Mostly, I run the furnace to keep the computer dry and the budgies reasonably comfortable -- 68 right now, but the bedroom is closer to whatever it is outside.

There are down-alternatives that are really quite good. I have one that is approximately as warm as down, feels like it, but doesn't smell like it.

SteveShaw wrote:"Was??"

I could send some...

next time we geld.

I like to sleep with the window open too - until it gets below 0 (farenheit). Then I usually close it. Especially when the wind chills get to like 30 or 40 below.

It is 51 F outside right now, and its 70 inside, so neither the AC nor the furnace is running.

During the summer, when I'm on the road, I like to get my money's worth out of the hotel air conditioning, so I keep it down to where you could hang meat in there if you wanted to. At home, where I pay for the utilities myself, I keep it warmer.

Good grief, I can't believe what I'm reading!

I am keeping my home to 72 degrees under great personal duress.....
And I think it's freezing in here!
Windows open at night! I can't believe it!
If I had to live with some of you polar bears, I'd.... I'd.....well, I just wouldn't, that's all.....

M

(I have a sneaking suspicion y'all are just trying to outdo one another with the "it's so cold I can see my breath" ditty)

The wife and I set the thermostat at 68 (I sometimes sneak it down to 66) and we leave a window cracked. There's several advantages to this. Cost savings is a given, We don't drink coffee and that initial shock of cold air when you get out of bed wakes you up real quick, and on days when you don't have to get up early laying there under several warm blankets all toasty warm just makes you think the world is good.

I have always lived in humid climates (New Hampshire, SW Georgia, Okinawa Japan, Southern Ca, and now Ontario Canadia) I have never experienced the "Dry Cold". One summer I did experience the "Dry Heat", it was much more tolerable then it is when it is 75% or better humidity, but it's still hot. When your sitting in front of the AC in your underwear and still sweating there's not much more you can do. I have a hard time sleeping when it gets over 80 or so, but I sleep like a baby when it is below 65.

I went to the grocery store tonight and the humidity is so low... I'm throwing sparks!
When I returned the living room was 60F at 37% relative humidity. Tomorrow I'll get the humidifiers from the storage shed.


Lambchop... computers work well in cold (but not dry) conditions.

Our house stays at 74. I freeze and wear at least two shirts and my "longhandles". Of course I work all day driving with the car window down , freezing, so when I come home, I've gotta have some warmth.
It's down in the 20s here tonight and windy.

Now that we have insulation in this old house, it has really helped.

Peter, your description of heating your home is exactly how my house was heated for most of it's life. A fireplace in one upstairs bedroom, fireplace in one downstairs bedroom(both coal grates), a flue for a stove in the living room and of course the wood/coal/electric range in the kitchen.

I turn the thermostats up to 70 in the day---I'm supposed to keep them a little lower than that and I keep meaning to try. Our house is pretty well-insulated but I guess it is still a bit drafty. I wear a sweater indoors all the time once it gets chilly out. When it gets cold (down in the teens and below) I wear long underwear, wool socks, and a sweater every day. It really helps a lot, even though it is a bit of a hassle to get dressed and you tend to feel like a sausage in a casing. Every once in a while in the winter I just can't get warm even though I have lots of clothes on, I have no idea why, but I actually turn on the electric blanket and get under it until I am heated up again.

I like my nose to be cold at night, but the rest of me warm. The heat goes down to about 55 and we have an electric blanket. I often wear socks as well. One nice thing is that the heat automatically goes on before we get up, so gone are the days of grabbing your clothes and standing in front of the heater with your teeth chattering in the morning.

We have a heating pad made for animals on our bed that heats up when our kitties (Peter, I had no idea you had six cats!) sit on it. They spend a lot of time there in the winter, and even in the summer.

Even though we have air-conditioning, I have a much harder time with the summer heat and humidity than with the winter cold.

Between 68 - 72 depending on the room. I use fans to circulate and even out the temperature. The thermostat is set at 70. I've been turning it down lately but my wife turns it back up when I'm not looking.

The main bedroom is always cooler due to poor ventilation design. I like the room somewhat chilly when I sleep. 60 F is good. I also sleep with a fan running.

Two thoughts.

1) It seems clear that the whistle community is split between those who are over 70 and those who are under 70.

2) Whatever your preference, do the others who share your heating zone agree with you or is this area of constant negotiation and compromise?

dwinterfield wrote: 2) Whatever your preference, do the others who share your heating zone agree with you or is this area of constant negotiation and compromise?

hehe, the cats definitely feel fires should be lit for them all day, that they should be allowed to sleep or snooze very close to them or that they should be allowed to stretch themselves on radiators day and night. I reality though they are only allowed in during the day and have to fend for themselves at night.

On the whole issue, I strongly feel we should live with the seasons, winters are colder and there's no reason not to dress up a bit to keep warm instead of having the house at 24C so you can walk around as if it were summer. A bit of conservation of energy and all that. And no, I don't eat strawberries in winter either.

Peter Laban wrote:I reality though they are only allowed in during the day and have to fend for themselves at night.

Are there any predators that are threats to your cats? We lost one cat to a coyote a couple of years ago and the remaining cat has shown little interest in going outside since then. Many of our neighbors have lost cats in the last few years. 35 miles from downtown Boston.

The cat has an electric heating pad in front of a heat register. You cannot make it hot enough for cats. There is nothing funnier than watching a cat, drunk on heat, try to get up, stretch, and casually walk away. They just can't do it; wobbling and stopping to regain some form of sensibility.

djm

I'd like to mention that I actually agree with Peter on dressing warmer in the winter.

I also don't eat strawberrys in the winter. I don't eat them in the summer either. Blueberrys/raspberrys/boysenberrys/blackberrys are another matter. I don't eat them out of season.