Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Staying Cool/ Warm



I wanted to share what we do with keeping cool or warm in our home. We do have central air/heat now but this has not always been the case. For many years we only heated with a wood stove and two radiant oil heaters. By the way, radiant oil heaters are awesome! This is especially true if you have wee ones at home. While someone could still get burned with radiant heaters, it's less likely than using forced air.

As for a/c we use to have a big window unit and a small one. The big one was in the livingroom and the small one was in the girls' room. The boys' room was right across from the window unit that was in the living room. So they benefited from that. We also have an attic fan of which we used a lot then. There was one and a half summers where we did not have any a/c whatsoever. We lived. :D You learn to slow up and enjoy the art of sitting in the shade. It's a beautiful thing and unless my body chemistry changes drastically, if I'm ever unfortunate to live alone, I will not be running and a/c. I have learned many ways to keep cool without powered a/c. Damp sheets at night are wonderful! A wet hand towel on the back of the neck is refreshing. Cool, non carpeted floors are great too.

Now we have the two central units. We also still have the attic fan. We use the attic fan a lot, especially in the spring and fall. In the summer our air units stay at 78 degrees. We are use to the warmer temps. However, we do find it quite chilly when going into public establishments. Then it is our duty to dress warm. :D We also have ceiling fans in each room. So we keep them going all the time.

In the winter we still burn a lot of wood and keep the central heat as back-up. This year I want to put a box fan on low that will blow down the hall into the children's rooms. We also turn the central units on "fan" so that the intakes will suck in the warm air and distribute throughout the house. When we do use the central heat, it is kept on 70 or so but I do sneak and bump it up a few degrees. I hate being cold! :D

When we bake in the winter and now the our smallest is old enough to not mess with the stove, I will keep the oven door open when done baking to heat the room. When taking a shower, you can plug the tub so that the warm water will stay in the tub. It makes the room feel warmer until the water cools.

Okay, so that's all for now! Time to go. :D

3 comments:

Cathy said...

Hi Susan,
Sounds like you guys have a great plan on keeping your home cool and warm. The older I get, the less I like being cold.
But...I still am hoping for lots of snow this winter.
Love you my friend,
Cathy

Cheryl said...

We have an attic fan that we will use as well. It sure does get the house cooled down.

As I was reading your post on keeping cool I kept getting colder. We have a fire going in the living room stove this morning. It was 32ยบ when Harold left at 4:30 this morning.

Have a wonderful day with your family.

~Cheryl

Vicki said...

Hi, Susan! Our first house had a huge fan in the ceiling that would draw hot air from the house into the attic.

We hope to put a wood stove in in place of our fireplace soon which is more for looks than for heat, lol!

I hope you are having a great weekend.

:)Vicki