House temp in winter??

[critter crazy]

I would LOVE a woodstove! I love being outside and smelling the woodstoves and the chimneys. I'm so jealous of those!!! I have a stinky gas fireplace that when I did turn on and try it out when I first moved in, the living room got really hot, but I don't think the chimney was working right and the fumes got really overwhelming. So... no fireplace! It just sits there and collects dust on the gas logs. Not sure how I'd yank them out either. I'm pretty sure I'd have to have someone cap the gas pipes and then deal with getting the chimney cleaned and checked out as well before I burned regular wood in it.

I love my woodstove, i dont even mind all the extra work it entails. We cut down, and chop our own wood, as we have plenty off trees on our property.Right now we are using all the left over tops, from having the property Logged as well as all the downed trees from this and last years storms.

I have a huge fear of gas, and would never have it in my house. Everything in our home is electric. It is more costly, but I think much safer. Altho, it does have its downsides, as when we lose power, we lose everything! Can be a tad anoying, since where we live, we lose Power alot!! we actually lost power today for two hours. But we always have heat!!

I can remember a couple years ago we had a horrible snow storm, and we lost power for quite some time! I was melting snow on the woodstove to water our horses! Comes quite in handy!!

In a couple of year we plan to switch everything over to an Outdoor woodstove! That is my ultimate Dream!

[jennielynn1970]

How do you heat the inside with an outdoor woodstove? I'm totally unfamiliar with those. I thought they were only inside deals??

Actually, when I bought my house, I refused to look at anything that was totally electric, lol. I don't mind oil (grew up in a house that used all oil heat), and most of my apartments were either gas or oil heat (I rented mostly in houses or old buildings, not complexes). My first roommate was actually the one who got me to not like all electric. She was frugal to the extreme, and would have the heat off in the apartment and wear her snowpants and a jacket. I heard this from the roommate she had before me. While I like to save money, I will not freeze to death, lol!

I had been dating a guy who was born and raised in Egypt, and when he had stayed with me after his father rented out their house while he was back in Egypt visiting his relatives (nice, huh?? He came "home" to a totally different family living in his dad's house!!). Well, let's just say that we had different thoughts about what was a comfortable temperature. He was home during the day, and I never thought about how warm he would make it if I wasn't here until I got my first gas bill after he was here. HOLY COW!!! During the winter, $100 isn't unheard of for me for a monthly gas bill, although it's normally about $80. When Moe was here, my first and 2nd bills were over $400. He didn't see a problem with this, because he said he was a "guest" and should be comfortable while he's staying here (and no, he didn't help to pay the bills). I came home a few times to the thermostat being 85* and him in a tank top and shorts. I was not a happy camper. Let's just say that things did not end amicably, and he has since moved,(and I also understand a little more about why his father behaved the way he did, lol).

[critter crazy]

How do you heat the inside with an outdoor woodstove? I'm totally unfamiliar with those. I thought they were only inside deals??

Actually, when I bought my house, I refused to look at anything that was totally electric, lol. I don't mind oil (grew up in a house that used all oil heat), and most of my apartments were either gas or oil heat (I rented mostly in houses or old buildings, not complexes). My first roommate was actually the one who got me to not like all electric. She was frugal to the extreme, and would have the heat off in the apartment and wear her snowpants and a jacket. I heard this from the roommate she had before me. While I like to save money, I will not freeze to death, lol!

I had been dating a guy who was born and raised in Egypt, and when he had stayed with me after his father rented out their house while he was back in Egypt visiting his relatives (nice, huh?? He came "home" to a totally different family living in his dad's house!!). Well, let's just say that we had different thoughts about what was a comfortable temperature. He was home during the day, and I never thought about how warm he would make it if I wasn't here until I got my first gas bill after he was here. HOLY COW!!! During the winter, $100 isn't unheard of for me for a monthly gas bill, although it's normally about $80. When Moe was here, my first and 2nd bills were over $400. He didn't see a problem with this, because he said he was a "guest" and should be comfortable while he's staying here (and no, he didn't help to pay the bills). I came home a few times to the thermostat being 85* and him in a tank top and shorts. I was not a happy camper. Let's just say that things did not end amicably, and he has since moved,(and I also understand a little more about why his father behaved the way he did, lol).

I am not realy sure I understand the whole concept of the outdoor stove, but I am pretty sure it is like Forced hot air. My aunt and uncle have one, and it is the Greatest!! They heat everything, including their Pool!

here is a pic of one.

[jennielynn1970]

OOOH! Here I am picturing one of those pot bellied stoves outside! I can be so blonde some times. Duh Jennie, of course there has to be a structure around it or something!!

I want to look into getting my gas logs replaced at some point, since they have been sitting there unused for 3 winters now (who knows how long the other family didn't use them!). If the time comes in the near future to get the furnace replaced (it's less than 8 years old though), I'll have to see what other options are out there.

[critter crazy]

OOOH! Here I am picturing one of those pot bellied stoves outside! I can be so blonde some times. Duh Jennie, of course there has to be a structure around it or something!!

I want to look into getting my gas logs replaced at some point, since they have been sitting there unused for 3 winters now (who knows how long the other family didn't use them!). If the time comes in the near future to get the furnace replaced (it's less than 8 years old though), I'll have to see what other options are out there.

He he he he!!! You are so funny!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I live in a condo on the 2nd floor and there's another floor above me so I stay fairly warm in the winter and it doesn't get as cold here as it does where you live Jenn. I have electric heaters but I don't use them because I don't trust them. I have carpeting everywhere except for the kitchen and bathrooms so this helps too. I just dress warmer and when I'm under the covers at night I'm fine. My cats also help to keep me warm. I'd say that on the coldest days it could get between 55-60 degrees but I can deal with it.

[Rachel]

I do like a cooler environment for sleeping, i.e. 65 F. For the day, I'm more into 70 F, but I probably could manage around 68 if I had to. In summer the thermostat is set at 78 degrees before the a.c. will turn on. What I find strange is when some people to have the a.c. set at a colder temp in summer than they have the heat in winter.

[cali]

uhh 68* with a cracked window in my winters would cause everyone to freeze to death lol. in the winter my house is kept around 78-80* with all windows shut and sealed. heck my house right now is 74* and its not even winter yet

[carole]

I have never taken the temp of my house in the winter, but i like to be warm, with all my aches and pains, it is a necessity really, i like feeling cosy and not having to wear heaps of layers of clothing as i find that uncomfortable, i think if it were me i would make the place a bit warmer when your parents visit and wear less clothing myself, i hate my guests to feel uncomfortable and as you get older you do seem to feel the cold more,it would be more pleasant for them, it puts me off visiting people when i feel cold,but if i know there house if going to be cooler than mine , then i will wear warmer clothing,your parents could do that too and probably do, but when you are elderly it is hard to retain the body heat.

[sumbirdy]

We don't even have a thermostat! When we're hot we use fans and when we're cold we use portable heaters. I love being cold. I can go out in 50 degree weather without a jacket and be fine. It's the heat I can't stand so I rarely use a heater. But in the summer you can find me sitting in front of a fan or stuck off in the living room with the air conditioner all the way up.

[jennielynn1970]

We don't even have a thermostat! When we're hot we use fans and when we're cold we use portable heaters. I love being cold. I can go out in 50 degree weather without a jacket and be fine. It's the heat I can't stand so I rarely use a heater. But in the summer you can find me sitting in front of a fan or stuck off in the living room with the air conditioner all the way up.

Wait.. so you have no heat in your house at all??? No electric, no oil, no gas, nothing??

[Pam]

I like it much warmer than my hubby does. In the winter I would prefer the thermostat at 72 but we live with 70 during the day. At night it is on a setback temp of 65, and I don't mind that except if I have to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom. I make that trip quick!

[sumbirdy]

Wait.. so you have no heat in your house at all??? No electric, no oil, no gas, nothing??

We have portable heaters in every room. They actually do a good job since our house is so small.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We used to never use the heat in the winter (okay, we live in Florida, but it does get cold here). We would just turn on the heaters in the reptile rooms and if it got cold enough the bird/rodent room too. We usually like it around 70 degrees. We've had a few cold nights (not super cold, low 50s) and Nathan does not like it! He slept with us for a couple nights until we finally found his perfect winter sleeping temperature, 76 degrees! It's a bit too warm for Justin and me, but we turned our fan on and slept in light cloths.

I love my woodstove
I have a huge fear of gas, and would never have it in my house.

I miss the wood stove we had when we lived in NY. We have a fireplace in this house and we use it often in the winter, we absolutely love it.

I too have a huge fear of gas and will never have it in my house.

[Cataholic]

I am sweaty just thinking about what some of you keep your temps at!

I keep my heat set at 60, and will use a space heater if we are sitting around watching TV. Even at that temp, I still sleep with a window open, though I do turn off the ceiling fan.

A nice duvet, as well as a feather mattress, makes all the difference in the world.