To save energy we’ve shut down the upper floors of our house and are only heating the downstairs. There’s insulation between the floors so heat loss is slowed. To close it off I built a door at the top of the stairs and plugged air vents with insulation. That’s worked out really well to keep the heat on the first floor.
We’ve had some single degree nights and the downstairs is still comfortable. The kitchen woodstove easily keeps things toasty. Upstairs the temperature has dropped into the 40s. Another thing I’ve noticed is the snow hasn’t melted off the roof at all. That’s another sign we aren’t losing a lot of heat.
Should nobody be around to feed the woodstove there’s electric heat as backup. Electricity is an expensive way to heat, but it’s used sparingly. Our electric bill has actually gone down from the month before. We can also use heating oil if necessary. I’m not going to get a full tank as that stuff has gotten too expensive. Instead I’ll pick up a few jugs of off-road diesel. It’s actually cheaper than heating oil and that makes no sense to me. It’s essentially the same stuff.
It’s early in the heating season, but we’ve snow on the ground that hasn’t melted. It certainly looks and feels like winter.
-Sixbears
As long as there's no plumbing to freeze shutting off unused rooms makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI've a second bathroom on that upper floor. When I installed the plumbing I put in shutoffs and drain valves so it's easy to winterize.
DeleteGood Job, toasty nights, and clear days ahead. When we get a good coat of snow temperatures should stabilize a bit. Me, I've got my fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteI'd like a couple feet of snow on top of my water supply line -at least before it gets really cold.
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