So far we've only been down to -1C in frosty Canberra this autumn, but tonight, after a few above zero nights, we're heading down to -3C! I've covered the maize and the remaining tomatoes, but the poor dears must be feeling the cold. If only I could bring them in at night . . .Speaking of which, I'm curious about what people consider to be adequate heating in such a climate as ours. We set the thermostat (yes, we are blessed by ducted gas heating) to around 17-18C (about 63-64F) and turn it off when we go to bed. We only turn it on if we really need to (often we don't bother in the morning before we go to work), preferring to warm our bodies with extra clothing, rather than to use excessive amounts of fossil fuel.
Talking about heating at work the other day, I was surprised to hear that my colleagues thought our house must be freezing and that the minimum they would consider was 20C - btw, that's our maximum if someone is ill or we need to get some clothes dry. Some heated their homes to 23C or even 25C.
So, how hot is hot enough? I'd be interested to hear your views. See the sidebar for a poll on this.
love and light
naturewitch
11 comments:
Hi NW
I don't know what our temp is, we have a small fan heater we turn on to warm the room in the evening, max about 30 mins, then it goes off and we are snuggly in oour PJ's with a knee rug and slippers.
What I do notice is that in the middle of winter, some waltz around inside in shorts and shirts cos they find it comfortable, in the meantime they are burning power no end to dress as though it was summer!
Some strange ppl and they call us hippies! LOL
Blessings:)
I agree, Molly - I think they just want to avoid the season. Personally, I like the seasons; they are a great reminder of the cycle of life. Each one has its own unique personality and should be cherished for its own sake.
xx
No problem with the tag Naturewitch, I chose to do it......
We have oil central heating.....it is our only option living in the country. The house is 400 years old....so it is cold.
I refuse to have the heating on after April....we have had cold nights recently inclusing a frost two nights ago.
Extra layers and if its really cold a log fire.
I personally think we are too soft now. Growing up as a child we had no heating and winters were really cold then....I can remember having ice on the inside of my windows....I survived!!
I saw your comment on a post at Cheryl's and thought I'd drop by. So I was a little confused at first till I realized you are in Australia! No wonder--I have had the furnace turned off for a month and refuse to turn it back on even though we've had some cool nights.
I'm afraid we're spoiled--I have it set at 68 degrees in the winter, which must be about 20 C.
Of course, if I keep busy working, I can stand it much cooler!
Hey gorgeous!
It's been 17 in our house today and we don't use heating. We must still be in Canberra mode because none of us are feeling the cold in Perth! It was a chilly (snort!) 10 degrees here overnight, I say "Heatwave!!!!!"
When we lived in Canberra we kept the temp at 17 during the winter and also switched off the heating overnight (you could blame the cold for our large family ;) )
Ours is on 20 degrees, but doesn't usually kick in during the day (hasn't yet this season - although I keep trying to sneak it down a couple of degrees and turn it off in the morning, although the husband turns it on earlier than I would like in the evenings). At night it's on 16 degrees, mainly because the kids still kick their blankets off and end up freezing (and then waking up and hopping in with us with their cold feet!).
Hey there! We keep our thermostat about 62 degrees in the winter, or about 16-17 C. Our temps can get to -10/-20 F below in the coldest of times without factoring in the wind chill. It still sames the same, all winter, haha.
I think it comes down to what you get used to. WE are never cold, but other people are. I also SWEAT my fool head off in a 70F house though.
Take care!
Uh, by the way, I voted 63-66F for you poll. I really think anything over 68F, for heating, is too warm and I've read before it's even a tad bit unhealthy.
I'm a few hours north of you on the Central Coast - mid winter we get down to the low single digits (too close to the ocean to get much colder). I don't use a heater at all - I LOVE the cool weather! The best bit about a cool night is wearing a wool jumper and sitting curled up on the lounge with a blanket! That being said, my Mum always says it's 'freezing' in my house (and she grew up in Adaminaby!) in winter - it could just be that she wants me to pull out one of her many hand crocheted blankets she's made me and show them off! I think 17-18 is more than enough to be comfortable and still know it's winter. If I could only convince my staff - some mornings I walk into the lunch room and it's like Jamaica in there!
Dear All
Thanks for your comments. Glad to hear I'm not on my own! I think it's great to experience the different seasons and also lovely to curl up on the lounge with a warm cuddly blanket.
I'll try to put up some "cold beaters" on the blog as winter close in. And you'll all be pleased to know we haven't had any heating on for two days now.
NW xx
I feel the cold and have been trying to kick the heater habit. We have our heating set to 16 degrees during the day, but will bump it up on a cloudy day if we're feeling the cold (it's currently bumped to 18 degrees because the baby's getting a snotty nose), will usually turn it up to 20 degrees in the evening, and it turns down to 14 degrees at 9.30pm (but doesn't usually hit 14 degrees until 3am-ish).
I'd be happy to do without heating at night if I weren't getting up so often to feed the baby - but I must confess to feeling so cold at 14 degrees that some nights I bump it up to 16...
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