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We're looking at temperatures here in KY dropping to the negatives on Monday with wind chills from -20 to -30.
I am concerned for our heat pumps. They will probably be running constantly on emergency heat starting Sunday night and going on into Tuesday or Wednesday.
Does anyone have any advice on keeping the house warm without having a huge electric bill?
We have 2 pumps and 2 furnaces - one for downstairs and one for upstairs. No basement, only crawlspace, if this makes any difference. No fireplace at all.
Take whatever you have laying around the house (fleece throws, comforters, heavy blankets) (old used moving blankets are best and cheap) and use thumb tacks until this cold spell is over to cover windows. This will make a great improvement in heat retention.
Might leave outside faucets dripping to keep pipes from freezing also....
Since the OP is concerned about a huge electric bill, probably not. Most likely the "furnaces" that he/she is referring to are air handlers with auxiliary heating strips, which cant be thought as an "electric furnaces".
I agree, cover your windows with thicker blankets to minimize heat loss, put on an extra layer of clothing for yourself and curl up on the couch with a blanket and read a book . The wind chill has no effect on the temperature your furnace senses. That is strictly for exposed skin. If you have reasonable insulation in your home, you won't notice THAT much of an increase in your electric cost for a couple days of cold.
First - once you compute in the losses from ductwork, the normal part of the heat pump is going to LOOSE heat at those temps.
Second - betcha have insufficient insulation to keep pipes from freezing if you don't run small streams of water from BOTH the hot and cold faucets. Plan on doing so or facing a plumbing bill that will cost ten times the water you waste.
Third - in extreme cold weather, once you have the plumbing issue secured, it is FOOLISH to attempt to heat the entire living space.
Pick a smallish room, invest in an electric space heater, live in there primarily and keep the rest of the house at about 50 degrees.
FWIW, this is why our place has an unvented propane wall heater and a fireplace in addition to the heat pump. We'll cut the heat pump low and use the propane, which will be cheaper than electric resistance heat. It is also why I insisted on 6" insulation on exterior walls. Coming from Vermont, cold like this is normal and the comfort and savings of insulation make it a no-brainer.
One other fun fact - sometimes in extremely cold weather the electricity can go out. I fired up our little 2KW generator today to verify that it worked ok, and will keep it indoors the next few days. If the power does go out, I'll take it about 40 feet from the house and fire it up. (It cuts down on noise and any fumes to do that).
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. The wind chill has no effect on the temperature your furnace senses. That is strictly for exposed skin. If you have reasonable insulation in your home, you won't notice THAT much of an increase in your electric cost for a couple days of cold.
