Staying warm indoors in cold conditions without turning on heat

I have lived in my building 4 years now. I have often go days without turning on heat, or sometimes just for short periods. I used to have a lady living below me (3rd floor, I am on 4th) and she must have kept her heat pretty high as I rarely turned mine on.
I have a nice blanket I use when I am relaxing in my recliner.
 

Just thinking about my house I had on the Big Island of Hawaii. I was a couple of miles from the ocean, at an elevation of about 1200 feet, and the house had zero heating or cooling systems, and zero insulation. The hottest It got in the time I was there was about 88 or 89, and the lowest about 63 or 64. Most of the time we regulated the temperature by opening and closing the sliding glass door on the front (ocean side) of the house and the back of the house. There was always a breeze. I did have a small electric heater for my wife's bathroom, but rarely used it.

Mahalo.
 
I'll add that my monthly electric utility bill (no gas bill) for my 2 story (in a 4-plex) ~900 square feet unit that faces west, until recently had been about $35 to $45 a month for years. Recently due to inflation, that has nearly doubled. Actually most of that is a 1970s era inefficient noisy motor refrigerator that although draws power, is an old style model with robust parts that last forever. If it works...don't fix it.
 

We have 240 volt Electric Baseboard back up heating in case of loss of Heat pump / CNG. It's automatic and works quite well.
A 48", 120 volt easily keeps a room comfy too. Electric heat is very comfy and reasonably priced for cold weather days.
Wiring updates, sure, if it's a home built in the 30's.
 
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I am a big fan of heated blankets, throws etc. They cost pennies to run and keep you cosy. Sometimes all you need is to keep yourself warm rather than heat the whole home. (y)

Heating costs have risen and it is expensive but, thankfully it is not winter all year round so, the warmer months when heating is not needed, evens out the cost. That's my rationale anyway! :)
 
As a small person, I greatly dislike being cold. If active, one can generate internal heat while if static, say sitting at a sports stadium, ice fishing, etc, it is easy to become cold. Thin, smaller people tend to become colder more easily versus broader heavier people due to physics of mass against volume. @hollydolly recently complained about how unpleasantly chilly her residence has become during winter as she tries to be frugal turning off usual expensive gas indoor heating. By personal choice, both my summer air conditioning and winter heating have been turned off in my 2 older poorly wall insulated story residence for over two decades now.

I use other methods like letting cool air in during summer mornings and in winter shutting doors of unused rooms. Here in the SFBA winter temps at worst sometimes will be in the 30F's for days. If so, temperatures indoors may then drop to below 50F. At times I will run a higher quality hair drier on medium to warm air. But regardless will use some of my outdoor winter clothing.

There used to be a party gift of partially filled colored alcohol within a glass container that people would hold with their hands which would cause the alcohol to expand up into narrower measurement heights. A way to measure hand body temperatures. This mr dave always made others laugh because I invariably was way cooler than others.

Of course many couples sleeping cannot stand having extended period skin to skin contact due to building warmth unless ambient temperatures are especially low. Especially if that causes clammy sweating. My experience with holding numbers of women close is gals with even same body weight/volume is that their skin temperatures vary greatly. Some women are always really warm. Women tend to be surprised finding hugging coolish me comfortable at night for hours like an octopus or puppies together in a pile, even at near normal temperatures.

This thin male at 137# and BMI 22 becomes cold easily, especially head, hands, feet. Despite that, have been a snow skier for decades, often skiing during frigid windy storms in order to enjoy fresh powder snow. I have a museum's worth of cold weather winter clothing that I also often wear at home or just outdoors walking around. The key to flexibility in cold weather clothing is layering with a good outer uninsulated robust shell. I have several tops and bottoms of various polyester fabrics. My warmest gear is an older model of the below expensive, expedition 800# down and have both down tops and bottoms.

Women's Ghost Whispererā„¢ Jacket | Mountain Hardwear

https://www.rei.com/product/235299/mountain-hardwear-ghost-whisperer-down-pants-mens

8372df8d-a512-40bc-8686-e075acd83ac0


For light headgear, highly recommend this lightweight balaclava at $7:

Amazon.com

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For more serious weather, there are several down balaclavas on Amazon for under $40.

For footwear, there are endless outdoor down insulated boots products, however for home use will recommend something like these lightweight $24 booties. Note I get cold feet easily and hate trying to start sleeping if so:

Amazon.com

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There are even more choices for warm gloves with products regularly changing. Ski clothing sites are useful. Using warm mittens with a robust waterproof shell or over-mittens on warm gloves does well even in cold wind.
I need a pair of those booties!

I am always cold, especially my hands! I have tried different gloves for walking the dog, they all suck - so I use mitts, which is a nightmare when walking the dog.

I found a pair of mitts that have a split - I look like I have claws...better, but still cold and awkward.
 
I need a pair of those booties!

I am always cold, especially my hands! I have tried different gloves for walking the dog, they all suck - so I use mitts, which is a nightmare when walking the dog.

I found a pair of mitts that have a split - I look like I have claws...better, but still cold and awkward.
Donā€™t you use hot pockets? I do. I put them in my gloves
 
Right now I have on a pair of shetland wool socks... a pair of leggings, and a pair fleece lined jogging pants over those...

On top I have a sleeveless thermal vest ( tank top).. a long sleeved wool and cotton t-shirt... a Fleece lined long sleeve sweatshirt.. and a feather & Down Gilet...

I also have a pair of fleece lined slip on trainers on my feet.

here at the desk... I have a thick fleece blanket at the side of me to put over my legs when it gets freezing as it was 2 nights ago at minus 2 below zero...

Downstairs I have another thick fleece blanket...on the sofa...
Check on under desk heat pads and/or heated foot rests. Those were Santa gifts to our elderly a few years back and all are in use.
 
Right now I have on a pair of shetland wool socks... a pair of leggings, and a pair fleece lined jogging pants over those...

On top I have a sleeveless thermal vest ( tank top).. a long sleeved wool and cotton t-shirt... a Fleece lined long sleeve sweatshirt.. and a feather & Down Gilet...

I also have a pair of fleece lined slip on trainers on my feet.

here at the desk... I have a thick fleece blanket at the side of me to put over my legs when it gets freezing as it was 2 nights ago at minus 2 below zero...

Downstairs I have another thick fleece blanket...on the sofa...
That must be very difficult @hollydolly especially with your arthritis.

Do people still use parafin heaters? I remember people using them years ago and they threw out a lot of heat.
 
I've own a lot of ski gloves over decades but most mass produced less expensive models don't do well once temperatures drop below 25F. Mid winter skiers obviously need warm gloves not just because they need to endure the cold temperatures but also because as they move at speeds, wind chill is also a factor. The following link reviews numbers of warmer gloves and also provides excellent general advice. Although these are overkill for just indoors, spending enough to buy them will also allow use say when outdoors.

And yes some are quite expensive but they do review some less so. Copy the model numbers into an Amazon dot com windows to find current prices. Although mittens are apt to be warmer if hands are simply hanging out in air, they do not allow grabbing things. Generally there is wisdom in ordering one size larger size than one normally uses for ordinary gloves because there is more insulation in fingers where chill is most likely and they require less effort pushing possibly damp hands in.

One bit of wisdom. Putting cold hands into well insulated gloves, won't necessarily result in warm hands easily because the insulation will simply help keep the cold in. Thus much like when pushing cold feet into blankets, warm them up a bit (feet/hands) first with say a warm hair drier.

The Best Ski Gloves of 2024-2025

  • Black Diamond Guide Gloves $180 Nylon shell with goat leather palm Gauntlet 9/10
  • Kinco Lined Heavy-Duty Ski Glove $54 Suede and full-grain pigskin Elastic knit undercuff 6/10
  • Baist Gloves Womenā€™s Baist Classic Glove $180 Goatskin leather exterior topped with microfiber nose wipe, cordura gauntlet, and a Thinsulate-Thermolite synthetic insulation liner Gauntlet 8.5/10

  • Swany X-Cell Glove $180 LeatherShield & Nubuck Leather plus Triplex-Alpha insulation Double gauntlet 9.5/10
  • Outdoor Research Prevail Heated GORE-TEX Gloves $359 Polyester ripstop outer material with goat leather palm and EnduraLoft insulation Gauntlet 10/10
  • Dakine Impreza GORE-TEX Glove $75 61% recycled polyester, 39% polyester with PFC-free DWR, 220g fleece liner, ePE GORE-TEX waterproof insert thatā€™s PFC-free Short gauntlet 7/10
  • LEKI Copper S Ski Gloves $120 Goatskin and water-resistant neoprene plus polyester fiberloft insulation Adjustable undercuff with Velcro closure 7.5/10

  • Hestra Windstopper Touring $75 Melange fleece with a goat leather palm Short gauntlet 4/10
  • Gordini Menā€™s Cache Gauntlet Glove $95 Waterproof, bluesign-approved nylon canvas, synthetic leather fingers and reinforcements, 100% recycled and Bluesign-approved Primaloft insulation Gauntlet with drawcord closure and leash 7/10
  • Outdoor Research Womenā€™s Sureshot Pro Gloves & Menā€™s Sureshot $65 2L 2-way stretch woven nylon and spandex, goat leather palm, EnduraLoft 100% polyester insulation, brushed tricot lining Undercuff 6/10

  • LEKI Griffin Pro 3D $160 Goat leather with water-resistant neoprene cuff and synthetic reinforcements, PrimaLoft insulation Neoprene with pull strap 8/10
  • Flylow Super D Glove $125 Goatskin leather exterior, 100% polyester cuff, brushed tricot polyester liner, Greenloft insulation Gauntlet 7/10
  • LEKI Xplore S $140 100% leather goatskin, waterproof, PrimaLoft insulation Double gauntlet 8/10
  • Hestra Army Leather Heli Ski $160 Water-repellent leather with a removable polyester liner
 
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That must be very difficult @hollydolly especially with your arthritis.

Do people still use parafin heaters? I remember people using them years ago and they threw out a lot of heat.
they also caused a huge amount of condensation.:confused:

When DD was little and we had no central heating in this house , and only single pane glass in the windows... I had a calor gas heater on the upstairs lading to try and keep the cold out of the bedrooms... it caused huge amount of condensation on the windows.. fortunately we didnt get mould.. but of course the windows froze inside...... so every morning, I'd have to be cleaning the windows and the sills..

yes you're so right about the OA..not that mine is very advanced, thank God,.. but of course because my hands in particular can be so painful.. it's imperative that I keep them warm.. which is why I often have to wear gloves indoors..
 
Hollydolly, I'm shocked to hear that your energy bills have risen so much. Like many rural areas, we don't have mains gas, so most people rely on LPG or oil for heating. I suppose our electricity bill has risen by about 60%, but heating oil price fluctuate wildly. It's a matter of topping up the tank when it's at its cheapest.
We also have a wood burning stove in the lounge and buy logs in bulk every year. We buy a year in advance so that the wood is well seasoned before it's used.

As to what to wear, I have a slight problem of having very warm feet and often have to take off my carpet slippers to stop my feet getting too hot.
I wear light socks, even in cold weather.
 
Hollydolly, I'm shocked to hear that your energy bills have risen so much. Like many rural areas, we don't have mains gas, so most people rely on LPG or oil for heating. I suppose our electricity bill has risen by about 60%, but heating oil price fluctuate wildly. It's a matter of topping up the tank when it's at its cheapest.
We also have a wood burning stove in the lounge and buy logs in bulk every year. We buy a year in advance so that the wood is well seasoned before it's used.

As to what to wear, I have a slight problem of having very warm feet and often have to take off my carpet slippers to stop my feet getting too hot.
I wear light socks, even in cold weather.
Yes unfortunately the gas and elec prices are just eye watering.... and are to increase again in 2025... :eek:

I remember years ago.. being sorry for my friends and neighbours in the next village who have no gas supply there like you.. and have to use Oil fired heating, and wood. because the cost was astronomical... now I feel sorry for all of us who have gas supplies..šŸ˜€
 
Yes unfortunately the gas and elec prices are just eye watering.... and are to increase again in 2025... :eek:

I remember years ago.. being sorry for my friends and neighbours in the next village who have no gas supply there like you.. and have to use Oil fired heating, and wood. because the cost was astronomical... now I feel sorry for all of us who have gas supplies..šŸ˜€
What size of house are you trying to heat with what kind of system and where are average charges? How do others in your area deal with the problem? We had increases but no shortages and have only turned the fireplace on to check it.
 
What size of house are you trying to heat with what kind of system and where are average charges? How do others in your area deal with the problem? We had increases but no shortages and have only turned the fireplace on to check it.
I have a 5 room house... with gas central heating..

My neighbours are all multi income families .. and even they are struggling...

Up until these huge increases you could walk aling any road, in any town in the the UK, ad see every house with at least 2 o3 ights n... now in the last couple of years we rarely see that now... most houses only have ne room lit...
 
I have a 5 room house... with gas central heating..

My neighbours are all multi income families .. and even they are struggling...

Up until these huge increases you could walk aling any road, in any town in the the UK, ad see every house with at least 2 o3 ights n... now in the last couple of years we rarely see that now... most houses only have ne room lit...
A 3 bedroom in US terms. I was actually looking for numbers so I can compare.
Can you close up the UK house and spend the winter in Spain?
 
A 3 bedroom in US terms. I was actually looking for numbers so I can compare.
Can you close up the UK house and spend the winter in Spain?
No not an option now, that the house in Spain is up or sale now through this horrendous divorce ... otherwise it might have been a good idea..
 


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