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The Kitchen Table

Is Your Home Easy to Keep Warm or Cool?

Marilyn Sue McClintock

12 years ago

I think our home is easy to keep either warm or cool. Right now it is 45 outside and I have no heat on and have not had any on and it is 71 in the house. I find it is pretty much the same in the summer. We only have room air conditioners which are still in the windows, but not in every room and they do not run all the time. How about your home?

Sue

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Comments (12)

chisue
12 years ago
Our house is ten years old and pretty 'tight'. (Neither we nor our Westie can hear a car coming up our gravel driveway if the windows are closed.)

We have natural gas forced air HVAC and a small boiler that feeds tubing under the floors of north-facing rooms. Having flow-through humidifiers on the furnaces makes a big difference in winter comfort.
lynn_d
12 years ago
It usually is. Our house is 26 years old but is extremely well built, the only problem we have is the the size. It is a multilevel so that in itself makes it harder to heat, but add to that the 3800 sq feet and you can understand the challenge. The good part is the insulation, doors and windows are good. We usually use 300 gallons of oil, due in a large part to the pellet stove in the family room!

Since we are in the mountains we seldom need A/C but we broke down and bought a portable A/C this past summer, we run it in the bedroom a few nights a year.
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patti43
12 years ago
It seems to be pretty tight. It's total electric and the highest bill we've ever had was $124+. That's when Harry's daughter and family were here (4 extra people for a week).

We do have to run our air in the summer, but we keep it on 78 and run the ceiling fan in our bedroom at night. If it's ultra hot, I'll set it on 76 for a while.

Chisue, am I right in thinking those tubes warm your floors? Wowzer! That's too cool--or, I guess, warm. I sure would've loved that when I lived up north.
oldgardener_2009
12 years ago
Our house heats up easily with the wood stove, which is the only heat we have. The bedroom is an open loft, and it gets toasty warm up there as the heat rises. It's a small well-insulated house

In the summer, the house stays cool because it's in the woods. We don't have or need AC around here.
azzalea
12 years ago
Our house is over 90 years old. We still have the old-fashioned removable wooden storm sash and screens. Since DH keeps them well-maintained, and since wood and a 3" airspace are about the best insulation you're going to get, yes, our house is very cozy in winter. Of course, we're not interested in it being totally airtight--that's not good for the house (causes condensation and rot), nor healthy for the inhabitants (that's when you get radon build-up, among other issues), so we do make sure the house is breathing some, even in winter.

The country house is only from the 50's. But it's got hot water heat, which of course, feels much warmer--we keep it at 55-58, and it's very comfortable at that temperature.
vala55
12 years ago
We bought this home in Sept 2005 and I was really shocked at how low our gas and elec bills run. It is better insulated and the furnace and A/C are are energy savers. We moved in August my last A/C bill at the old house was $220. and the cooling bill here has never been above $160. something.
michelle_phxaz
12 years ago
We have an 8 year old house and it costs, in the summer, upwards of $600 to cool. In the winter it is fine, we rarely if ever turn the heat on, but that is gas, the AC is electric.
sjerin
12 years ago
Azzalea--I do think you're right, which is why I haven't been more proactive about insulating our house. We could definitely use some since there is only a little in the attic and my room is very cold in the winter, but I can't think it is healthy to have houses completely closed up, given the chemicals that make up our furnishings.
lazypup
12 years ago
Our house is over 100 years old and it is very easy to keep warm & cool...It is warm to hot all summer and cool to cold in winter....LOL
dirtundermyfingers
12 years ago
Lazypup,

I too live in a over 100 year old house and boy we keep it hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Don't even ask me about the North wind. This is even after putting in all new windows and insulation.

Stacie
tobygirl
12 years ago
Our ranch home is easy to heat and get up to temperature with the hot air/oil furnace. It is fairly inexpensive to heat, too. But I still don't care for this kind of heating system - hot air heat doesn't seem to hold the temperature for very long. I am cold all winter long and run a quartz heater when I am watching TV or at the computer.
wildchild
12 years ago
We have a forced air funace in our ranch home too. Like Tobygirl I dislike it. Hate it really. We use electric oil filled radiators in the rooms we are in. Cheaper than that damn furnace. Room by room as we change out flooring hydronic radiant is being set up. Hopefully by next year.

This month new roof.

Our house is easy to cool. Nice cross breeze and a two story next door that blocks the western sun.

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