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I actually don't enjoy A/C below 80 or 79 F because the colder drafts from the A/C needed to chill the air cooler than 79 F are often cold enough to make my toes uncomfortably cold, clamy and as irritated is if they had a dozen or so mosquito bites on each foot. This is with or without socks. I will say that while I always enjoy 90 F outside I don't appreciate indoors at 83 F or higher when it's muggy. (versus 79-82 F; I'd rather it be 84 F than 74 F indoors anyday)
Yes I might have a few small beads of sweat and be a little thirstier, but that is more comfortable that the mosquito bitten feeling of cold A/C collecting on the floor. Sometimes it can feel like walking through ice cream.
Also as far as heat and mugginess goes, I've spent several years of my life in houses without A/C so the way I grew up, I noticed there are days where I sweat, but when I thought about how I'm feeling I noticed that I didn't feel overheated at all, the temp was fine but I was sticky sometimes anyways. In that situation, a fan or a breeze would be just right for personal comfort. So I don't equate sweating by itself an indicator of too much heat.
Anyways, this thread was supposed to be about Need_affordable_home moving, not about my personal weather preferences. I hope getting off topic hasn't annoyed you too much.
Need_affordable_home; Did you find my responses on life in a northern climate helpfull? I tried my best to include experiences of many people I've met here, society etc. Obviously it doesn't bother a lot of people or like you asked, why else would people live here. I just happen to be quite different than the majority of people who live here. Do you have any other questions like about living up north, dealing with ice or snow or anything else we haven't brought up yet?
Yes I do. What happens if I leave the heat off in an Ohio winter to save energy and it drops to 32f or less? Will anything happen to the plumbing or wires or whatever? What if I leave for the winter to visit family and dont want to heat an empty house?
Yes I do. What happens if I leave the heat off in an Ohio winter to save energy and it drops to 32f or less? Will anything happen to the plumbing or wires or whatever? What if I leave for the winter to visit family and dont want to heat an empty house?
I would not recommend that. If it drops below freezing, obviously any water or moisture will freeze and when water freezes it expands and sometimes creates bursts in pipes, cracks toilets, seals and gaskets etc. Also some materials meant for homes might not be designed for such cold temperatures and might become brittle and crack when left so cold for so long. Heating also lowers humidity, so without it you might also get more mold and mildew problems.
When my family has gone away on long winter vacations we've left our thermostat at 60 F. I've been in rooms without heating, like a cellar where people might still have a fridge. They're often between 48-55 F year round. Anyways, that wouldn't be too much of a problem with damage to electrical components, but you also notice more "mustiness" from mildew in those kind of rooms.
Another thing you can do when you leave for the winter is put something insulating over the windows, inside and/or out to keep it warmer. Heating needs go by the square of the difference between indoor and outdoors, so just by dropping your thermostat from 72 F to 60 F might cut your bill in half, even if it's -20 F outside.
Generally speaking, heating bills aren't brutal up north; it's just that a few years ago it used to be cheap, like $200-$400/yr instead of over $100/month. It's just not cheap anymore. Many people get heating bills between $150-300, sometimes higher, in months like January.
Does that help?
Last edited by ColdCanadian; 11-05-2006 at 11:46 AM..
Yes I do. What happens if I leave the heat off in an Ohio winter to save energy and it drops to 32f or less? Will anything happen to the plumbing or wires or whatever? What if I leave for the winter to visit family and dont want to heat an empty house?
ColdCanadian is right. You NEVER let your house fall that far down in temperature inside. It will burst pipes underneath the house, inside the house, cause all kinds of problems. There used to be a Wive's Tale in Missouri that you had to close the vents around your foundation when the temperatures dropped to below freezing, but that's wrong. You want the vents open to allow water vapor to escape, otherwise you get closed vents, trapped vapor, and possible ice buildup. You leave the vents open summer and winter. In the house, if you're going to be gone, leave the thermostate at 55F to 60F. I leave it at 55% as that's warm enough to prevent problems, but low enough to not use too much propane from my supply. Today I woke up to the house being 58F. That's cold for inside as I'd turned the heat off last night at midnight. I have it on again at 65F and just dressed more warmly.
guess ill leave the heater at 36 degrees and insulate all the windows as I dont need the window views when no one is there to see them When im in the house I guess ill heat it to 50f and pay only like $50 a month
guess ill leave the heater at 36 degrees and insulate all the windows as I dont need the window views when no one is there to see them When im in the house I guess ill heat it to 50f and pay only like $50 a month
Ummm, If you leave your house at 36 F it will probably quickly start to smell like a cave!
Even this far north we often get a day or two at 40 F and raining in January. With a house that cold you will get dew forming on the inside. I would strongly recommend not having your thermostat set below 55 F at any time, because of issues with dew, mold and mildew. Yes, you will spend more on heating but if it saves you mildew or mold damage even from an economical point of view it is still worth it.
Ventillation helps a lot, but still, no amount of circulation will entirely prevent dew from forming if your indoor air temp is even a hair lower than the dew point. What's wrong with having a cold house, like 50 F is that if you also wait until it's 72 F or warmer to turn on your A/C, you've left a large window of days open per year when it's possible for dew to form. Pretty much it'd be like for half the year, any day it rains a lot you will have some dew forming inside.
I'd never actually thought about it before today, but up here I've never been in a house that wasn't heated to at least 68 F. Many homes probably have small areas where water might drip and collect, but with everyone's home being heated almost 7 months a year, the relative humidity stays low enough that no dew forms (at least during those months) and it would usually only cause mold near the site of the drip.
When I visit historic homes and buildings, near 100 yrs old or more they always have a bit of mildew smell. Even if you don't mind it, most people won't buy a home if it smells. Also there is also a variety of mold called "Black Mold" that's been known to cause chronic illnesses.
I'm only familiar with a cold humid climate however. If you wanted to move out west, like Wyoming, Colorado or Montana you might be able to have a colder house without worries about dew or condesation.
Also another thing to consider is that a house even at 60 F you will notice that your hot water heater has to work a lot harder than it would around 70 F and it will take a lot longer for the hot water to come out. (like maybe over 30-40 seconds, versus 15-20 seconds) Our tap water is cold enough to stop a nose bleed. In WV the water still isn't much warmer. Maybe low 60's at the highest which still makes it feel frigid.
In the summer we have our house air-conditioned to 78-79 F and winter heated 70-72 F. There's a definite noticeable difference on how much longer it takes for the hot water to come on even between those temps.
Last edited by ColdCanadian; 11-05-2006 at 01:21 PM..
Also there is also a variety of mold called "Black Mold" that's been known to cause chronic illnesses.
This is a major concern in OH--especially in homes with basements-- and if you like I can show you pictures of what happens when pipes freeze--and they froze with the heater turned up to 68 degrees.
I did not know this. Will have to research how to save $ on heat without the problems. I thought mold prefered hot and humid! Can I use a dehumifider? I can live with 55 degrees if itll save me $ on mold and I wont have to wear a coat. Isnt dew a problem anywhere, even Florida? Howcome youve never been in a house colder than 68 degrees? That much heat doesnt come cheap! Where do you live? As for black mold, ill use bleech to kill it. Wyoming is so cold even if I could heat the house to 45 degrees, it would not be cheap because it can snow almost anytime. I have been there on vacation and there was ice on the ground in the summer and the air was chilly and once even saw snow! Yes snow in the summer in Wyoming! The air is 40 to 60 degrees in the summer and easily freezing in the spring and fall and winters are just brutal! I think the biome was taiga or coniferous forest. One step warmer than tundra and two steps warmer than icecap. Wyoming is wonderful in the summer with all those majestic mountains. I probably would go there in the spring and fall too. The extra 40 seconds it takes to heat water is well worth saving money by heating the house less. I wont be needing air condition in a cool/cold climate LOL. Why are houses in WY much more expensive than OH? Are there any areas of WY as cheap as OH and where I can get a nice big house for $50k?
IHowcome youve never been in a house colder than 68 degrees? That much heat doesnt come cheap!
No one wants a house cooler than 68 F here? 68 F is kinda cold for an indoor temperature for many people who live here. Maybe a cost break down, in Canadian dollars would explain it:
*House; $300,000 plus
*Mortage; $20,000-35,000 per year
*Property Taxes; easily $4000 plus per year
*Combined Income Taxes for median income earners; 30-40%
*Sales Tax; 14%
*Gasoline; 50% higher than average U.S. price
*Electricity and Water (assuming gas heating); $500-1000 per year
*Groceries for a Family of 4; $2000-3000 per year
*Car Insurance for 2 adults, clean record, ordinary cars; $2500 plus per year
*Phone Bill for a "Land Line"; $500 per year
*Home Heating and A/C; 70-75 F year-round, current prices; $2000-4000 per year (depending on size of home, thermostat settings etc.)
To convert to U.S. Dollars, divide all figures by 1.14.
As you can see the cost of heating and air with todays inflated gas and electricity prices are still not even 10% of most people's annual expenses. Also notice how that with todays high utility prices, it still costs roughly the same relatively small amount as feeding a family of 4. Property taxes are commonly higher than heating and A/C costs.
For people without a mortgage, heating and air still don't even cost a quarter of all their expenses.
Our homes are built with much thicher insulation, like 6-8". I hear in the South they use 3-4 inches. Most of our windows are double-paned while probably no homes in the South are. Some Florida homes have Jalousy (sp?) windows that can't completely seal; generally speaking they don't exist or are exceedingly rare here. Same with "doggy doors;" I've never seen one in real life.
Does this make any sense?
Last edited by ColdCanadian; 11-05-2006 at 08:08 PM..
Wow those expenses are crazy! Is food that cheap up there or do they eat out every day? I was spending almost $100 a week on groceries/food just for me alone back in college! Thats alot for a phone bill! Mine will be zero as I dont use phones(poor hearing) Car insurance arent cheap but thats the price of driving. Gas and buying a car isnt cheap either. I envy those who are in great shape to bike anywhere they want! Your sales tax is insane! What kind of luxury house costs $300k? I would never buy that much house, try $50k of house! I plan to spend nearly $0 on air condition except on hot summer days(which are about 80 degrees up north) And hopefully $100 or less a month on heat for the winter. I have more questions in my post above this one.
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When im in the house I guess ill heat it to 50f and pay only like $50 a month 
