random curiosity

[ratcreature]

It isn't all that cold here, but I dislike wearing socks indoors, and am not that fond of wearing layers constantly either, OTOH I'm not thrilled with huge heating bills and rather enjoy getting a little of my advance payments back. So winter is a time of constant compromise and dilemma. Also blankets. Unlike socks I don't mind using blankets. So now I'm wondering how cold (or comfortably warm) other people are at their place. (If it's summer right now where you are, just remember your last winter.)

Poll #9180 your winter heating: toasty warmth or extra sweater?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 53

View Respondents

How much do you heat your place?

View Answers

I don't need to heat at all in my climate zone, it remains comfortable all winter.
0 (0.0%)

I don't (or can't) heat at all, and just tough out the cold with extra sweaters, socks, thermal underwear, blankets etc.
1 (1.9%)

I heat only some rooms, and these not quite as warm as I'd like to save energy/money, and use some extra sweaters, socks, thermal underwear, blankets etc. when necessary.
14 (26.4%)

I heat only some rooms, but these are as warm as I like it.
8 (15.1%)

I heat all rooms when I use them, but not quite as warm as I'd like to save energy/money, and use some extra sweaters, socks, thermal underwear, blankets etc. when necessary.
9 (17.0%)

I heat all rooms comfortably when I use them, and only turn down the heat when I'm not there.
6 (11.3%)

I heat all rooms, but not quite as warm as I'd like to save energy/money, and use some extra sweaters, socks, thermal underwear, blankets etc. when necessary.
13 (24.5%)

I heat all my rooms as warm as like it. Saving some money/energy is not worth being uncomfortable at home.
1 (1.9%)

I heat all rooms as much as possible, but still need some extra sweaters, socks, thermal underwear, blankets etc., because winters are just that bad here.
1 (1.9%)

Comments

[laurajv]

We also have automatic thermostats, to turn things up and down depending on if we are there/time of day. But we never turn the heat completely off when we're not there -- partly bc we have pets and partly bc it takes so long to warm back up. (we own a largish house that is about 110 years old, but has been insulated; the 3rd storey is a master suite but obviously we're only really up there at night.)

[ratcreature]

Yeah, I leave the heat on in some rooms when I leave too, even though I don't have rats right now, because I dislike coming back to a cold place.

Automatic thermostats sound nice. My thermostats are just a valve on the radiator that you can turn more open or close, so you can't choose a temperature exactly or anything like that, though iirc the middle position was supposed to be 20C or so. Though afaik the building's central heating is automatically downregulated some for the night for everyone.

[laurajv]

We had to redo the heating/cooling when we bought the house anyway, so we got the automatic thermostats then. they had to replace the thermostat on the first floor, and there was no heating or cooling on the third at that time -- it ended up being simplest/cheapest/most energy efficient to put the third on a completely separate system -- and auto thermostats are basically the default on the modern market here. Admittedly a white plastic therrmostat looks damned weird in a Victorian crown-molded carved-wood stained-glass living room, but so does a television set, so whatever.