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Now that I am somewhat menopausal, I like the house cooler... I am one that hates being hot more than I hate being cold. I love cycling in the cooler weather! During the day I have it about 66-67 depending on whether I am upstairs or downstairs.
Does anyone else play the thermostat mambo with their husbands? I used to bump it up and then he would come along and turn it back down, but nowadays it's the opposite! I keep turning it down and he is freezing! I don't understand it! :confused:
I live in a condo in a brick building with windows on the north and south walls. I have long insulated drapes on the north windows, and they help alot in the winter. In fact the whole north wall of my bedroom feels so cold in winter that sometimes I think I might just put up a curtain rod that extends across the entire wall and cover it with insulated drapes.
The windows on the south wall get nice direct sun, and I like the light but it still feels cold around them in winter. I have blackout liners on the curtains for one window (in the bathroom), which also work to keep the hot sun out in the summer. On the other window, which is in the kitchen, I used to hang a plastic drop cloth over a tension rod for cheap insulation that still let the light through. Since I renovated the kitchen last spring, I just ordered a double-cell honeycomb shade for that window. It's a pale gray color, so it won't totally block the light, but it should help a bit with the cold.
Before the kitchen renovation, I had a circa-1970s dropped ceiling that allowed the warm air to escape easily in winter. Last year I hung a long curtain in the doorway from the kitchen to the dining room, and I actually saw a difference in my heating bills as a result. The first part of the renovation was replacing the old ceiling with drywall, and I made sure they surrounded the new recessed lights with insulation.
I've also done things like put foam insulation around electrical outlets and light switches in exterior walls.
http://www.amicusgreen.com/browse.cf...ack/4,374.html
I still need my shearling slippers to keep my feet from turning into blocks of ice, but it does help to try to reduce the drafts as much as possible.
65-66 at night and all day when I'm at work. 68-70 in the evening or whenever I'm actually home, depending on how sunny it might be. My house is poorly insulated and really needs all new windows and doors. I wish I had a programmable tstat.
:eek: :eek: Yikes, there must be something really wrong with your home's design! We finally broke down and turned the AC on when it got to 89° in the house, but that was after it had been in the 90s outside for several days, and we only ran the AC for three or four days this summer. I can't believe it would ever have got to 98°, let alone being "not unusual."Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot
Really it was the humidity this summer more than the heat. Everything in the house was turning to mold - we didn't have much choice but to turn the AC on (either that, or tear out all the carpet and throw away the beds and books). It was just like Florida.
I don't have a programmable thermostat, but turn the heat down to 60 at night; up to 68 in the morning, turn back down to 60 when I leave; and back to 68 when I come home. However, I do have a wood stove in the living room. So much of the time, the heat is turned way down and the woodstove is keeping me warm.
My main house with the woodstove can get up to 75 - nice and toasty! I like it a lot! Can't stand to be cold when I don't need to be.
No it's just old and the main living area is on the west side of the house so it takes a beating from the sun. It didn't use to get that hot until the city cut down my beautiful, non-infected ash tree that did an awesome job providing shade. Also, the days that it got that warm it was >100 degrees outside.Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
I don't have AC either, and this summer was worse than before. The house just to the west was torn down in the spring; when it was there my house was well-shaded from the afternoon sun, but not any more. I never hit 98, at least not downstairs, though!Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot
My upstairs gets wicked hot in the summer. I think partly because it was designed to be warmer in the winter and partly because someone built a wall in the middle of the room. The east and west walls are half window, which add radiant heat in the winter and should allow a nice cross-breeze in the summer (especially combined with the dormer windows on the south side). But the wall blocks the breeze, now all it does it slam the bedroom door shut. Downstairs stays tolerable because the east wall is now a laundry room and the west wall windows are covered by the porch.
59 during the day if we're not home and also at night for sleeping. 62 or 63 when I am working at home if I get so cold I can't stand it anymore. 67 at night when we are home having dinner,etc.