Winter is here...

Winter is here...

Since moving into an 1960's/'70s era house, I've become a lot more conscious of heating costs. My first heating bill in this new place was $178. That's compared to $104 for the same period at my old house. Keep in mind that this new place is roughly 1/5th of the floor space, with no basement!

The difference is, at least partly, due to insulation. In the 70's everything was 2x4 walls and, if they're insulated at all, nobody really paid much attention to how carefuly the job was done. I haven't inspected this one too carefully, but it has some obvious problems. My old place was 2x6 walls, carefully insulated, with a good 12" blown into the ceiling.

So I've got a setback thermostat and I'm trying to manage it. It cuts back to 55 at 10pm, so I'm often climbing into a cold bed.

But I have the perfect solution. Last year #1 daughter made me a rice bag for Christmas. Basically it is a soft terrycloth towel sewn into a 12x8" envelope, and filled with uncooked rice. You pop that baby in the microwave for about 6 or 7 minutes and when you pull it out you have a piping hot foot warmer that lasts for at least half the night. It sure beats sliced bread on a cold night!