What makes more sense, heat the house or electric blanket?

[ThomWV]

The house is pretty well insulated but heating oil is expensive. It gets mighty cold during those long winter nights; subzero temperatures and windy nights are not uncommon here at all.

So, which makes more sense, drop the thermostat even farther (below 57) and use an electric blanket or raise up the heat in the house to say 65 or so?

[Catshrink]

1. Keep the house at 57

and get yourself a couple of wiener dogs. They are burrowers by nature so they snuggle down inside the blankets. We have just a light quilt and the two dogs and we're very cozy. It's a natural solution.

[Warpy]

2. It depends on how much you pay for electricity

but generally, you'll do better with the blankie. Just make sure your feet are well wrapped and realize it's got its limitations, like you're tethered by the cord to the outlet and those runs to the bathroom will be pretty damned cold. However, that with layers of sweaters works well for sitting at the puter or reading or just flaking out in front of the TV.

Even deregulated and privatized electricity going into that blanket is a hell of a lot cheaper than heating oil.

Being tied down gets old fast, though. I did it for a few years.

[Atman]

3. I think the blanket would be cheaper -- but --

Do you have a digital set-back thermostat? We set our heat way down at night and it kicks in an hour before we wake up, so it isn't bone--chilling cold getting out of bed. But with the electric blanket, you could set the thermostat to 45 and be very comfy. However, I know people who are too freaked out by them to use them. We've seen a neighbor's house almost burn to the ground because of a faulty electric blanket. Then there's the issue of electro-magnetic fields. I dunno if these are serious issues, statistically, but they're there.

In general though, I would guess it would save you money to use an electric blanket at night.

.

[wtmusic]

4. Compromise: buy a timed thermostat

that kicks the heater on at 5AM. Then get an electric blanket, and sleep tight.

[GoCubsGo]

17. That's how I do it.

I can't stand a warm room when I sleep. Besides, I have two cats that sleep on the bed. One sleeps in my faces and makes things extra toasty. It often doesn't get cold enough for me to need the down comforter. The "regular" one with a duvet cover is usually plenty warm.

[dysfunctional press]

5. fleece sheets and a down comforter.

ever since the time i had an electric blanket that shorted out while i was in bed, i'll never use one again.

but- i do sleep with the window open all year round.

[Sanity Claws]

7. I agree with this recommendation

I used to turn the heat down very low at night and was quite happy with sheets, a blanket and regular comforter. I don't think an electric blanket is necessary.

[Jane Austin]

10. A light spread on top of the down comforter

will keep more heat in - and keep the comforter cleaner.

[GoCubsGo]

16. Or, buy a duvet cover.

That way, both sides will be protected. It's also a way of changing the color or pattern of the comforter. You can change your bedding without having to buy a new matching comforter.

[dysfunctional press]

48. we have a duvet cover for the comforter...

the fleece sheets, and a velux blanket...and our mattress is a tempurpedic.

all in all, it's about the coziest bed i've ever slept in.

[Ms. Toad]

42. Same here.

Our thermostat is set to drop to 55 degrees overnight. There are only a few nights it actually drops that far since we're pretty well insulated, but it typically drops to the high 50s/low 60s. We pile on the blankets - no electric blankets - and we're quite toasty.

The furnace comes on about an hour before we wake up and gradually brings the temperature up to around 68 - we have a two stage furnace so it uses a low energy cycle to warm the house up slowly (then drops back to around 60 after we leave for work).

[Nikki Stone1]

47. Excellent. DO BE CAREFUL of any electric blankets

Fires can happen, especially if you fall asleep and leave them on.

[liberalmuse]

6. A Snuggie!

Yes, it looks ridiculous, but that's beside the point.

[Raine]

30. I have one and

they are pretty nice to use. :-)

[MrMickeysMom]

33. I hope it's not the camouflage one...

We laugh every single time we see a snuggie commercial, but I'll be you're right.

I should go to a JoAnn's fabric and just buy the material!

[Raine]

39. No, no camouflage LOL

it's just plain navy blue. :-)

[tularetom]

8. I think lowering the thermostat and using the blanket is cheaper but

it ain't any fun when you have to get up and pee at 4 am.

[spanone]

9. i love my electric blanket

[DemoTex]

11. Gotta say I love a warm sleeping bag.

During the snow storm of 10/3-4 (outside temperature was 17 to 21-degrees) the lookout heater would only maintain 37-degrees inside. Nick and I stayed very warm in my $20 Coleman sleeping bag.

[murray hill farm]

12. keep the thermostat at 55...and

invest in some sweat shirts and pants..and some warm socks. Wear the sweats to bed...and they will keep you warm too if you have to get up during the night. Go to an army/navy surplus store and buy a couple of the old wool blankets. They will keep you warmer than an electric blanket. 55 is not really that cold and will not even feel cold at all once you give yourselves a chance to adjust..which does not take long...and is much healthier than the hot dried out air that occurs at higher temps over the long winter months.

[uberblonde]

13. BIg upside to the electric blanket!

I find the main difference between a good comforter and an electric blanket is that when I use the electric blanket, my bones don't ache when I wake up. Even when I'm warm as toast under a comforter, I'm still creaky in the morning. Not so with the electric blanket.

[knightinwhitesatin]

14. Where

is the choice for living in Hawaii?

[Craftsman]

15. I have a large wood buring fire place

and a supply of free wood. So I keep my temp set at 68, but my home is very energy effecient. My balanced billed natural gas bill was $35 ($2240 sq ft 2 story home)a month last year without the fireplace. I live in Houston

[cowcommander]

18. electric blanket, still cheaper

[Bitwit1234]

19. Electricity is cheaper than oil here on the Iron Range

But we moved to a new house with steam heat. Oh Joy...it feels so so much better.

[dieselrevolver]

20. Electric blanket is a good choice

I also recommend a space heater if you only need to warm one room in the house. There's always safety issues, so make sure to do a bit of research :)

[hfojvt]

21. I go well below 57 at night and don't use an electric blanket

instead I have a pile of about 3 blankets and three quilts on my bed, and warmth is never a problem. I turn the thermostat all the way down before I goto bed and the heat does not kick in until about 45 degrees.

[MrMickeysMom]

34. Wow...

You're tough!

[ThomWV]

41. If I set it lower than that we stand a chance of frozen and burst water pipes

Setting the thermostat in our house at 57 just means that water pipes won't burst and not much more than that. While we have done what we have been able to insulate it to the hilt we haven't hit it all just yet.

[hfojvt]

46. I go down to 45 and don't have frozen pipes

perhaps because Kansas does not get that cold, although we have had some minus tens and a week or so when it stayed below zero all day. My house is not that well insulated either and my basement is above ground. It's a hundred year old house. I put some insulation in and taped up some cracks, but it's still quite drafty. Maybe it helps that I have a shotgun house, but I am surprised that you'd have frozen pipes at 50 degrees. That's still a long ways from 32. Unless your water lines are not buried as deep or you are far from other houses and your water comes in colder.

[Obamanaut]

45. We don't have any heat on at night either, and in the daytime

we keep the temp at 68 - 70. Living in north Fla., we don't have the same temp drop as say, Niles, Michigan, but sometimes it gets brisk at night.

[dysfunctional press]

50. ugh- that many blankets is a killer for me...

with all that weight, i can hardly breathe sometimes- i feel like hope lange being punished for being a witch in 'crowhaven farm'.

when i was a kid, and we'd go up to my grandma's place in wisconsin, that was mostly heated by an actual woodburning stove... my sister and i would sleep in the bedrooms on the second floor- they were featherbeds with lots of heavy quilts- and it was cold as ice climbing in- once you were in bed and got your spot warmed up, you were afraid to move an inch because of how cold the sheets were. my grandmother was always the first one up in the morning, and sometimes i'd be up in time to see her building the fire in the stove.

fleece sheets, one velux blanket, and one down conforter- light as a few feathers, and we're warm as toast all night long- with the windows open(a crack) all winter, and the nightime thermostat at 58 works fine for us

[nini]

22. we use these portable oil heaters

you don't have to refill the oil. It works great and doesn't use an outrageous amount of electricity.

[MrMickeysMom]

35. We have that in our rec room bathroom, which is really helpful...

... had it for at least 7 years now.

[slackmaster]

23. Get a bunch of cats instead

The colder it gets at night, the more of them will sleep on you.

[ThomWV]

28. Already got a bunch of cat-hatin' dogs, so that probably wouldn't work out well.

[MrMickeysMom]

36. LOL!

just like velcro, ain't they?

[eShirl]

24. multiple normal blankets, sheesh

And wear a night cap to bed.

newfangled razza frazzin lectric blankets, whippersnappers these days grumble grumble...

[ThomWV]

31. 70 year old country home - insulated well by me by drafty as hell by the builder

When I say set the thermostat in the mid 50's what I'm saying is just high enough so the pipes don't burst - which has happened more than once too.

[iris27]

25. Flannel sheets and extra regular blankets, plus a programmable

thermostat that kicks the heat back to a reasonable level about 30 minutes before your alarm goes off in the morning.

[pitohui]

26. i am afraid of electric blankets

i use regular blankets/duvets plus silk interlock long johns

however it doesn't often get cold here and i'm not even sure what heating oil is, down here you heat a house maybe by natural gas (not in my neighborhood but i've had it in past homes) or by electricity

if you drop the temp in the house below 55 IME then you sleep longer, which saves money two ways, because you prob. don't eat all three meals if you sleep longer...but if you have a certain schedule to keep (have a job) then this might be impractical for you

[Dead_Parrot]

27. Just put another layer or two of bedding on. nt

[WillowTree]

29. Part of it is just getting the bed warm in the first place.

With a really good comforter, over a waffle-weave thermal blanket, your body heat will usually be enough to keep the bed warm, but when it's really cold, it's hard to get it warm to begin with. You can solve that with an electric mattress pad which you turn on 20 minutes or so before going to bed. Switch it back off when you crawl in and let your body heat take over and you should stay warm all night.

Of course, a water bed is always warm. I'll never give mine up, for more reasons than just that.

[MagickMuffin]

32. Be forewarned and cautious when using electric blankets, mine caught my bed on fire

Burned a hole into the mattress. Thankfully my cat Astra Luna warned us, Good Kittie. We took the mattress outside and hosed it down, thinking that we had extinguished the fire, but several hours later, our other kitties warned us the fire started back up. We had to put out the fire that burned part of our back yard.

So, long story short, just want to make you aware of the dangers of electric blankets.


While I don't live in an extremely cold climate, it does drop below freezing. I now use a fluffy comforter and an additional heavy denser comforter on top of the other one and it provides a very cozy bed.

[Whisp]

37. down quilts and wool socks

before plugging in that electric blanket. I think

[valerief]

38. Menopausal hot flashes keep me warm. nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

40. Never mind.....n/t

[Robb]

43. If the blanket is big enough to go around the house, I say go for it. nt

[madokie]

44. We just use wood pellets to heat with

In fact we just bought our third stove in 19 years. We're passing the one we purchased about 5 years ago to the kids and taking the one we passed to them then and selling it. In the end with the tax incentives we'll be able to upgrade our pellet stove and the kids stove for somewhere around 12 maybe 15 hundred bucks. We'll heat this winter using about two tons of pellets at this years cost of 240 bucks a ton. Is going to a wood pellet stove an option is what I wonder when I read all these stories about how much it cost with electric or oil?

[SKKY]

49. I live in Spain where we don't have central heat. This is how I cope...

...Turn the space heater on only at night for a couple of 2-3 hours before I go to bed. It warms it up enough to be comfortable, almost snuggly warm. I no longer swear boxers and a t-shirt at night like I used to. Sweatpants, sweatshirt, flannel pajamas. Flannel sheets make a HUGE difference. I have 2 mink blankets from Korea that I use as well when it gets really cold.

On edit: Yes, it does get quite cold here in Southern Spain. Some people seem to doubt me when I say that.