Keeping the Heat Low

Our super awesome new thermostat
with some laughable temperatures!

Well, it's that time of year again when the central heat kicks on and we decide how low we want to go. I wasn't planning on hosting a Freeze Yer Buns 2016-2017 unless I hear otherwise from y'all. If you want a more formal event to keep you on track, let me know! (I can't believe the last one was in 2011.)

The first thing we're doing differently this year is that we've kicked our space heater to the curb (aka storage). My older child was overusing the space heater rather than just putting on more clothes. The final straw was hooking it up to our Kill A Watt electricity usage meter. After a few calculations it looked like we were spending something like $600 a year running the damn thing! I know, you don't need to tell me.

Since my husband is off chemo for the next 3 - 6 months (more on that later), he's able to regulate his body temperature a bit better. So, the household temperatures don't need to be as warm. My youngest child walks around half dressed and is impervious to the cold, so that's not a concern there. I tend to be cold, but I have an arsenal of wool and down to employ.

Anyway, the heat first kicked on October 2nd. We chatted a bit about how we wanted to program our newish, more accurate thermostat this year and settled on the following. Our biggest limitation is that there's always someone home. Between working from home and homeschooling, we can't exactly set the thermostat low during the day like I'd want to:

Daytime:
9:00 am - 9:00 pm - set to 67 degrees

Nighttime:
9:00 pm - 9:00 am - set to 60 degrees

Now, before you start arguing that these seem like sultry temperatures, let me remind you that our central heating isn't exactly efficiently dispersed and the thermostat resides in the warmest part of the house. So, if it's 60 degrees in the living room, it might very well be 52 degrees in the bedroom. Or lower. I honestly prefer sleeping in a really cold room so it works out fine for me. And everyone has super cozy, snug blankets so it's not an issue.

What about you? How low are you going this year?

*Warning - this post contains a link to an affiliate program that might make me money, wherein I use said $ for giveaways and suchlike.

Post-Windstorm Harvest and Prepping for the Storm

Well, the windstorm predicted for the Pacific Northwest didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as originally forecast for our area, thank goodness. At the very least, it was a good reminder on how to be prepared for a long-term power outage.

Our big problem is that everything in our house runs on electricity. So, if the power goes out, we are relegated to cooking outside and we don't exactly have a great heating source (except the fireplace). We generally don't have much wood on-hand because we don't use the fireplace very often and I honestly can't remember the last time we lost power. It's been at least 20 years.

Fortunately, it's not very cold this time of year and we're sort of used to Freezing our Buns Off. Additionally, we have a lot of down blankets and other warm and woolies to tide us over. I can always strap Paco to the inside of my wool sweater. He might not like it for very long, but at least I'll be warm.

I was mostly concerned of losing electricity because we have 50+ pounds of salmon in our chest freezer that my brother brought back from a recent fishing trip up in Alaska. We were trying to figure out how to keep that packed with ice. Again, since we don't generally lose power, even in the bad windstorms around here, I can't say a whole lot of planning went in to trying to curb that concern. Plus, salmon party!

Anyway, on to the trees... I was afraid some of my fruit trees weren't going to make it, but fortunately, they all survived unharmed. (I have a few new ones I'll post about shortly.)

I surveyed the backyard this morning and everything was in order. I also managed to harvest a few things:

• some of the last of the blackberries
• a few raspberries
• the last of the green beans
• a big bowl of green tomatoes
• carrots

I'm hoping the tomatoes will ripen inside but, if not, I'll figure out something else to do with them.

The Swiss chard, spinach, green onions, collard greens and beets are still trucking along, but not enough of them to harvest at this point in time. The garlic and fava beans are starting to come up, which is always very exciting!

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Start Freezin' Yer Buns!

Ok, a lot of you on the East Coast have been freezing yer buns already, and even over here on the usually balmy West Coast I woke this morning to 38 degrees for my walk with Paco. For those of you on the Facebook page, we've been discussing temperatures and other issues for a few weeks now, but today "officially" starts the challenge. So, if you've been slacking, it's time to start thinking about keeping your thermostat lower.

It's not too late to sign up and pledge what temperatures you plan on keeping your thermostat at this year (day and night). Just head on over to the pledge post and let us know!

If you missed the last couple of blog posts on the challenge, here are some links:

*How to Acclimate to Cooler Indoor Temperatures
*Cold Indoor Temperatures and Condensation
*Freezing Friends Round-Up

If you want to stay on top of the latest conversation on who's freezing what, join the Facebook Page:

Cold indoor temperatures and condensation

One of the big issues with keeping your indoor air temperatures lower (besides feeling cold) is that, for many areas, you can have a problem with moisture, condensation and mold. Not to mention that high levels of humidity will make you feel colder than the same temperature at lower levels of humidity (the inverse is true at super low levels of humidity).

Let me 'splain. Most people are comfy at around 25% - 40% humidity. If the humidity level is really low, you'll feel colder than if it's inside this range. If the humidity is really high, you'll feel colder. And damp. Many of us have more problems being on the high humidity end of things than those of you in the desert. Our area averages over 80% humidity outside this time of year.

So, every year, one of the questions people ask during the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge is in regards to the issue with condensation and mold and what to do about it. Well, you have a few options. You can turn the heat up, you can lower the humidity with a dehumidifier or you can just bear with it.

As for condensation, it all really comes down to relative humidity compared to the outside. The University of MN came up with some guidelines for the recommended humidity levels for houses (bear in mind these are for 70 degree indoor temps):

Outside Temperature	Inside Humidity
20º to 40ºF	Not over 40%
10º to 20ºF	Not over 35%
0º to 10ºF	Not over 30%
-10º to 0ºF	Not over 25%
-20º to –10ºF	Not over 20%
-20ºF or below	Not over 15%

Since a given volume of air can only hold so much water vapor at a given temperature, one way to remove the condensation issue is to raise the temperature. The warmer the air, the more water vapor it can hold, which means the less is hanging onto your windows and walls. Of course, this kind of defeats the purpose of this challenge.

Usually, we just deal with the condensation problem. But this year, because we've had more problems with condensation and I'm sick of fighting the mold, I invested in a dehumidifier. Not too shockingly, when I started it up in our bedroom after using the shower, the humidity was 90%. It's a neat little appliance on rollers so I've been moving it from room to room to reduce the humidity. It sucks water out of the air like there's no tomorrow. My son's room is also a haven for moisture collection and, after running it for a few hours, it collects several cups of water.

So, instead of living in a terrarium, our windows are looking a lot drier. I'm assuming that we won't have to run it as often once the general humidity is lowered overall but, with showers, cooking and just breathing, fighting the humidity is a never-ending battle around these parts.

Do you have a problem with moisture build-up and condensation in your home? How do you deal with it? Do you notice if it's worse when you keep the thermostat lower?

Freezing Friends Roundup!

Here are some posts on other blogs that are participating in the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge this year. Let me know if I missed any from this week:

• North Park Homestead: Wood Stoves – Heating with Local Fuel
• Green Bean Chronicles: Hot Tips for Cold Nights
• Adventures of a Thrifty Mama: Time to Freeze My Buns?
• Life with Tim and Noah: Freeze Yer Buns
• Fast, Cheap and Good: Are you Freezing Your Buns?
• Rob's World: Freeze Yer Buns 2011
• The Pistachio Project: It's Getting Chilly in Here
• Rainy Day Gardener: Freezing My Buns Off
• Grim Wytche Farm: Freeze Yer Buns Off
• Townsend House: How Low Can You Go?

Don't forget to check out the Facebook group! I post links there as well as daily discussions regarding the challenge.

How to acclimate to cooler indoor temperatures

Everybody is different when it comes to cold tolerance. The biggest factor is what you are "used" to and, by that, I mean what you've been acclimated to. Someone who routinely lives in a cold clime can tolerate much lower temperatures comfortably than can, say, my sister-in-law who is originally from Thailand and could barely tolerate the "low" temperatures of California when she first moved here and would sleep in a down filled coat.

I was reading an article the other day about how to deal with cooler indoor temperatures and, in addition to the basic stuff, the focus wasn't so much on staying warm by alternative methods (like wearing a lot of extra clothes, drinking warm tea, or using a space heater), but more on acclimating yourself to cooler degrees. We spend so much time fighting to keep warm as if it were 70 degrees inside, it makes sense to acclimate our bodies to cooler temperatures instead.

Some of the suggestions in the article were to hold off on using the furnace and, once you do start using it, keep the indoor temperature around 60 degrees. Another suggestion was to not overdress or wear extra clothes when you go outside (assuming the outside temp is ~60 degrees at the start of this acclimatization). That way the shock from going from a warm house to the cold outside and vice-versa isn't so extreme. The author also suggested you air the house out for a few hours a day by opening the windows (although you should turn off your central heat during this).

"The lower the temperature your body is acclimatised to, the less of a shock it receives when temperatures begin to plummet. The longer you can maintain this regime, the lower your fuel consumption will be during the winter months... In a sense, you are hardening yourself off just like you do with tender plants in the spring. Consider yourself that tender plant that needs to be acclimatised to the winter cold. The hardier you are the easier you'll be able to weather the months of frost and snow."

This got me thinking of the limits of human cold tolerance. So, I did a minor bit of digging and found out a few interesting things. Laurence Irving, of the University of Fairbanks, ran a study on students that he noticed would walk around barefoot on campus (for religious reasons), even in the winter and in the snow.

He convinced them to do a study wherein they sat in a room cooled to 32 degrees. They were allowed to wear light clothing. As a control, he enlisted a healthy young man to undergo the same test. The control student began to shiver violently after 30 minutes. The year-round barefoot students, however, didn't begin shivering until 50 minutes had passed.

The students who were adapted to the cold were very conscious of what happened to their bodies during the experiment. Every time their fingers and toes dropped to about 50 degrees, they felt a tingling of warmth, which was followed by a steady rise in the temperatures of their fingers and toes to about 68 degrees. Thus, demonstrating that the human body can adapt to lower temperatures without pain or discomfort.

So, clearly, adjusting to a lower temperature is indeed possible and without massive discomfort. Hold off on turning on your furnace this year and/or keep your wood heat to a minimum. If you start slowly reducing your thermostat setting, you'll be adjusted in no time. And, to a much lower threshold than you think you can.

What about you? How low can you go? 60? 55? 45?



This post was included in Barn Hop #33!

Freeze Yer Buns Challenge 2011

It's that time of year, my fellow frosty cheeks. And, woohoo, this year it's the 5th annual Freeze Yer Buns Challenge! Unlike last year, we haven't yet had to turn on the heat so far this season. Outside daytime temperatures have been hovering just under 60, which means that it stays in the low to mid 60s inside.

Keeping the ante up
Again this year I'm going to be offering some really awesome giveaways for participants of the challenge, so you have something new and exciting to look forward to besides freezing buns and chapped cheeks. So make sure you officially sign up even if you've always just followed along in the past.

This year, as per usual, we'll all share hints and tips for keeping the thermostat low without really freezing our buns off. For those of you who use a form of heating without a thermostat, you are still invited to play. The challenge for you is to use less fuel.

How it works
Since I know a lot of you can't commit to as low temperatures as others, it's just fine if you pledge to drop it down one degree or so from where you usually keep it. Even that makes a huge difference. You'll find that, as the winter wears on, you'll be able to drop it lower as you adjust to the new, lower temperatures. So, if you don't want to take the icy plunge, don't feel like you have to drop it 10 degrees right away.

Pledge to Freeze Yer Buns
To sign up for the challenge, add a comment to this post and pledge what temperatures you will keep your thermostat. This year we're staying lower and so I'm pledging for 62 day and 55 night. You are more than welcome to meander through the posts from previous year's challenges if you want to know what you're in for.

As in the first and last year, this year's challenge mascot is the Arctic Seal. That roly poly little snow covered baby seal needs our help. Help prevent his extinction by preserving the Arctic environment by using less energy, reducing the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere and stopping global climate change.

How low can you go?

Freeze Yer Buns on Facebook
This year I've created a Facebook Page so you have a one-stop shopping place to locate all the posts on the challenge, as well as post your own blog posts, information or anything related to the challenge. So, if you're interested in keeping up with others on Facebook, go "Like" the page!

How do you heat your home?

With September in full swing and the weather cooling down rapidly, I start thinking of how long we can stretch it before we have to start turning on the heat. In anticipation of this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, I'm always trying to calculate ways to reduce our heating costs.

Since we heat with oil, I'm conscious of not only the carbon emissions impact, but the cost. We try to limit its usage by supplementing with electric heat (which is inexpensive in our area of the country and generated by wind and hydro). But, one of my fantasies is to get a fireplace insert to heat our home with wood.

Fireplace inserts these days are much more effective at generating heat and emit far less smoke and contaminants as compared to older models. Plus, I like the idea of having a back up heating source during times of power outages or just to have a nice toasty fire. It's much more homey and romantic than forced air heat.

Unfortunately, they are also expensive, which is one of the reasons we haven't gotten one. That and the fact that we would have to acquire wood in order to use it effectively. I'm always curious about what other people use, whether it be oil, gas, electricity or something else.

So, what kind of system do you use for heating your home? Are you happy with it? What would you prefer to use if you could choose anything?

Freeze Yer Buns airs on King 5

This morning, King 5, our local NBC channel aired a few different clips about my Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, the challenge where you pledge to lower your thermostat to save money and reduce carbon emissions.

If you want to check out the accompanying article, you can do so here, Seattle blogger issues a 'chilly' challenge as temperatures drop.

They managed to post online the only clip where I, in true Sarah Palin fashion, am making up new English words.



Enjoy!

And, if you haven't yet signed up for the challenge, it's not too late to join in on the freezing fun!

Biggest issue with turning down the heat

One of the questions that Teresa Yuan from King 5 television asked me yesterday morning when she came to interview me about this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge was what is the biggest issue that people have with turning down their thermostat? That question, coupled with what questions do most people have about lowering the temperature, got me wondering what you think.

For most of the general public, the issue is really just wanting to live at a comfortable 70+ degrees. But, a lot of you in the past have said it was trying to convince others that live in your house to turn the heat down. Then there are issues of moisture and mold if it's too cold and concerns of freezing pipes and freezing babies, toddlers and sensitive pets.

So, what's your biggest concern with turning down the heat? I know it's not saving too much money.

If you still haven't signed up yet for this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, git to it!

And make sure you check back this Sunday, I'm doing a huge energy saving giveaway courtesy of The Home Depot! I know, I know, but this one is worth it...

Freeze Yer Buns 2010 kick-off

Welcome to the first day of the fourth annual Freeze Yer Buns Challenge. It's the start of five months of keeping the thermostat at a lower temperature than you normally keep it, not just for saving a boat load of money, but also for reducing your carbon footprint as well.

Saving a ton of money
Last year, when I called our oil company to get some information, I got some stats about our energy usage and how it's changed. Before we started doing this challenge, we used 500 gallons of heating oil a year. The average for our area (Seattle) is 600 gallons. Last year, we used only 250 gallons of heating oil. All in all, we save about $750 a year by lowering our thermostat and occasionally using electric space heaters to heat the rooms we are in.

This year I'm expecting our savings to be even higher because we are keeping the temperatures even lower than last year. It's going to be three degrees cooler during the day and three degrees cooler at night (62 day and 55 night). Since I work from home now, I'll be cuddling under a down throw while I'm writing and so far it's been manageable. If it's gets any warmer in here, I find it to be too warm. Anything above 65 is too hot.

Reducing our carbon footprint by the ton
The average Seattle household emits 3.75 metric tons of CO2 per year due to home heating. Since we started this challenge, we've dropped our thermostat by 10 degrees. For every 3 degrees lowered, we save 1/2 ton of CO2. That means we've dropped our CO2 emissions due to home heating by about 1.7 tons of CO2 per year.

Want to see some big savings yourselves? Well, come join in on the fun! It doesn't need to be uncomfortable or cold. I'll be sharing tips on how to keep the heat you generate in your house and stay warm with the heat you do have.

Kick your carbon footprint in the balls
If you haven't yet signed up for this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, go on over and sign up! This year's participants will be eligible for some fun and exciting giveaways like a home energy audit and a few other surprises.

Freeze Yer Buns on local TV

This Friday, a local TV camera team is coming to my house to film a segment on this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge to cover some brief details of the challenge as well as get some tips on how to survive in a low-heat environment.

This year I'm planning on focusing a little less on suffering and more on making your home more comfortable with lower temperatures. I'll be focusing on that aspect rather than on the "how cold am I" one during the interview. In any case, I'll let you know if and when there's a link to the segment available.

If you haven't yet signed up for this year's challenge, the basics of it are to encourage participants to lower their thermostat in order to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.

This year I've got some great giveaways, including some gadgets to help keep your home warm as well as a home energy audit. So, if you want to be eligible for them, make sure you sign up for this year's challenge!

Freeze Yer Buns Challenge 2010

I can't believe it's already time for the fourth annual Freeze Yer Buns Challenge. I also can't believe it's my fourth year of hosting this crazy challenge. Yesterday was the first day that I turned the heat on in the house as the outside temperature was in the upper 30s and our living temperature was about 58 degrees.

Upping the ante
This year I'm going to be offering some really awesome giveaways for participants of the challenge, so you have something new and exciting to look forward to besides freezing buns and chapped cheeks. So make sure you officially sign up even if you've always just followed along in the past.

The first year we had great participation and last year there were tons of you giving your thermostat the finger. As a result, the challenge got a lot of press, so this year I'm expecting even more frozen crunchy bottoms.

This year, as per usual, we'll all share hints and tips for keeping the thermostat low without really freezing our buns off. For those of you who use a form of heating without a thermostat, you are still invited to play. The challenge for you is to use less fuel.

How it works
Since I know a lot of you can't commit to as low temperatures as others, it's just fine if you pledge to drop it down one degree or so from where you usually keep it. Even that makes a huge difference. You'll find that, as the winter wears on, you'll be able to drop it lower as you adjust to the new, lower temperatures. So, if you don't want to take the icy plunge, don't feel like you have to drop it 10 degrees right away.

Pledge to Freeze Yer Buns
To sign up for the challenge, add a comment to this post and pledge what temperatures you will keep your thermostat. This year we're going to try to go a little lower and so I'm pledging for 62 day and 55 night. You are more than welcome to meander through the posts from previous year's challenges if you want to know what you're in for.

As in the first and last year, this year's challenge mascot is the Arctic Seal. That roly poly little snow covered baby seal needs our help. Help prevent his extinction by preserving the Arctic environment by using less energy, reducing the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere and stopping global climate change.

How low can you go?

Freeze Yer Buns wrap-up

The 2009 - 2010 Freeze Yer Buns Challenge has come to a close, although many areas (including Seattle) are still experiencing cold temperatures. So, even though the challenge is over, now's not the time to crank up the thermostat. Not that any of you are going to.

This year's challenge has been completely crazy, mostly because of all the press that covered it between USA Today, the NY Times and even the National Enquirer (see the media page for links). I think it's great that it got some coverage because it helps encourage others to give it a try and not feel like what they are doing is out of the ordinary.

It sounds really stupid to even say that, as if turning down the thermostat is some rocket science to saving energy and money, but there definitely are barriers to keeping your home cooler. Most of them are social. Nobody wants visitors to be uncomfortable and nobody likes feeling like they are weird.

One thing I learned during this year's challenge is that I like the temperature really cold at night. I'd say I prefer 55 at night, especially when I can cuddle under our down comforter. I rarely needed to use my bed warmer this year, just because of the down.

We recently switched out our blanket to our wool one because it's been warming up, but I still prefer the loft and heat retention of down. I think I'd much rather compromise with über cold temperatures at night, just to keep the daytime temperature up a few degrees so it all evens out on the cooler side in the end.

I know some of you out there kept your thermostats very cool. How did that work out for you? Did you run into any resistance from family and friends or was it fine? Did you learn anything from this challenge by keeping the heat down (aside from lower bills)? Would you have kept it colder if you could (because of roommates, kids, etc.)?

Thermostat Poll

For those of you officially (or unofficially) participating in the thermostat reducing challenge, Freeze Yer Buns, I thought I'd check in with you all and see where you are keeping your thermostats these days.

Half the U.S. is experiencing bun freezing weather and the other half has seen warmer conditions. How has this affected where you keep your thermostat? Have you found that, as the winter has worn on, you are keeping it at lower temperatures, the same or raising it because it's so dang cold?

What do you keep your thermostat temps at during the day when you are home (in degrees Fahrenheit)?

DIY Life article - Living without heat

Here's another article that came out yesterday that mentions the Freeze Yer Buns challenge. It's called Making News: People Who Live Without Heat By Choice.

The most interesting thing about these articles is reading the comments. My post tomorrow will address some of the issues I keep seeing crop up with the general public's response to the challenge.

Globe and Mail article

Here's the article about Freezing Yer Buns in the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, titled My war on the heating bill: I’m buying slippers. It all sounds rather reasonable to reduce the heat, no?

Snuggie Sutra - don't Freeze Yer Bits

I'm going to be on a local news station next week talking about the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, and I was preparing some information for them to make graphs and whatnot when I stumbled upon this really funny website, The Snuggie Sutra.

For those of you who are lowering your thermostat to save money this winter and to reduce your carbon footprint, you may have run across problems when it comes to getting it on. Given the fact that the ambient air temperature in your bedroom may be a bit too nippy when you're fully naked, the author of this site has come up with some suggestions of how to work your Snuggie into your lovemaking. In other words, it's the Kama Sutra, but with Snuggies.

Now, I'm in no way promoting the Snuggie given the fact that it's a totally unsustainable product and, from what I've heard, really poorly made, but if it keeps you warm enough to lower your thermostat, then go for it! If you are a DIY kinda person, there are tons of patterns online for making your own

And, once you've got your Snuggie or Slanket, spend the rest of this year's Freeze Yer Buns Challenge working your way through the Snuggie Sutra. That's an order.

Image courtesy of The Snuggie Sutra

Related posts:
NY Times: Chilled by Choice
USA Today: Freeze Yer Buns Challenge
Freeze Yer Buns Challenge

NY Times - Chilled by Choice

Holy smokes! I'm in the NY Times again today. This time they are referencing my Freeze Yer Buns Challenge, but mostly talking about folks who use no heat.

I have to admit that I think people who live in sub-freezing and 15 degree temperatures are a bit off their rockers. But, either way, it's interesting to read their attitudes about the cold.

So, go check out the article! And come back and tell me what you think about going with no heat. Would you do it?

Being unprepared for no heat

We returned home from San Diego yesterday afternoon, expecting the house to be coolish since we left the heat down to 60 (which means it is more like 57 in the house - I didn't want the pipes to freeze since we have a lot of cold spots in the house). My mom had complained at how cold our house was when she stopped by during our trip to check on things, but we both just figured it was because she's used to her hot, top-floor condo, which tends to run more like 75.

When I walked in, I noticed that the house was actually colder inside than outside and went over to the thermostat and noticed that, although it was set at 60, the actual temperature inside was only 48 degrees. Needless to say, it was pretty damn cold.

I turned up the heat, but nothing happened. To make a long story short, we had run out of oil in our tank while we were on vacation (normally we are on an automatic refill). We had the oil company come out and make an emergency delivery, otherwise we would have just repacked our bags and gone to a hotel.

We left for a few hours since it was so painfully cold in the house and even our space heaters weren't doing much to heat up the place. Basically, the end result is that, if we don't have oil (or electricity for that matter), we are screwed. We are woefully unprepared to deal with really cold temperatures because even if we wanted to use our fireplace, more heat would be sucked out of the room than emitted into it. If it were an emergency situation, I'm sure we could easily survive with our sleeping bags, closing off rooms, and piling on the clothes and down. But we would still be uncomfortably unprepared.

What back-up heating plan do you have for your home if you lose your main source of heat, short of leaving the house?

Side note: Since the oil guy came while we were out of the house for dinner, he was sneaking around inside and outside with a headlamp on. Our neighbor from behind us saw this, and knowing we were out of town, he called the police, which surrounded the place. I don't know exactly what ended up happening, if the oil guy was still here or what, but it's nice to know that the neighbors are watching!