Heat savings?

[GREENBACK]

Since the winter heating season is approaching I thought this might be interesting. I live in west-central Ohio and the winters can get a little cool here. I also live in a '50's wooden home. I heat with heating oil as my primary source but I supplement with a wood stove that heats the entire house until about mid-December or so. I have access to a lot of free wood which is great

By about early January we're in the zero range or below. The wood stove struggles to make things warm by then. Anyone have any good thought's on staying warm then? I'm considering radiant space heaters, more insulation, and anything else that might help. Heating with wood is great but is a ton of work. I don't mind the work but would like to see how others stay warm


If you live in the south, you may disregard...lol.

[cooliemae]

Are you putting plastic on your windows to help keep the drafts out? Does your stove have a blower on it, or do you heat basically through radiant heat?

[Ima saver]

I live in the south (Georgia) but we are in the mountains and it gets cold here. My only source of heat is propane. I keep the temp set down to 63 degrees.

[GREENBACK]

I haven't tried plastic on the windows. Is that real effective? I use a house fan near the woodstove to circulate the heat which works pretty well. I'm thinking of radiant electric space heaters. The electric bill will go up but can't be as bad as buying heating oil.

[bjl584]

Does your woodstove have a blower motor on it to circulate the warm air? If so, you can tie it into your existing duct work to help heat the entire house. You may also want to consider upgrading to a stove that can burn coal. You'll get a ton more heat out of it.

[GREENBACK]

No blower on it. I get free wood most of the time so I wouldn't upgrade until this option runs out. I remember my Grandmothers coal stove years ago. It did real well.

[momof1in150]

A programmable thermostat is very helpful on any heating system. I know your pain. We live in RI and heat with oil and I am very concerned about what it will cost this winter. It just went down to $3.40 so I will most likely fill our tank very soon.

Fortunately, my kids are in school full-time this year so the house will pretty much be empty most days. I am going to work out of my office at the work instead of at home so I can keep my heat down.

[GREENBACK]

Thought about the thermostat but I work at home quite a bit and have control over that. Anyone ever had an energy audit done? I hear they can point out a lot of things you can do to keep the cold out.

[irmanator]

I spoke to a rep the other day about an audit and it seemed to me to be the best thing as it only cost 250 but free if your low income. I am in NY and there is a program i am getting into where you get the audit and ny will contribute 1/2 the cost up to $5000 of energy efficient improvements.

[GREENBACK]

That's a good deal. If you use heating oil you'll recover the cost pretty quick.

[minnie1928]

I haven't tried plastic on the windows. Is that real effective?

The plastic is super effective at fighting drafts, while you're at it insulate your electrical outlets too. They sell foam insulating gaskets really cheap (maybe about $2 per pack?) at home improvement stores.

[GREENBACK]

Thanks, will look into it.

[JBinKC]

Honestly, buy a new stove with a larger firebox would probably be the cheapest option in the long run.

What stove are you using by the way and what sqftage are you heating.


Bubblewrap on windows work well if you are not concerned about looking out the window. Weatherstripping and caulking are cheap solutions also.

[irmanator]

get an energy audit because people on the internet can not accuratly predict the best way to save your heating $$

[osadg]

One piece of heating advice I've heard, but could never bring myself to try.....put a filter of some kind (like a stocking) over your dryer vent, and turn it backward into the house. ?? Like I said, I've never tried it, but a few friends I have in very cold areas swear that it heats the house (although only when you're doing laundry), but also cuts down on the heating costs.
--Not all free advice is always great advice:-)