This winter I have been trying to do with less heat. Instead of running the HVAC through the chilly months when the temperatures plunge, we've only used a few space heaters to keep pipes from freezing. It has actually been rather liberating, but there have been a few drawbacks — all of which are in the kitchen.
I currently call a 100 year old church home and although we turned on the main heating system last year, we realized we don't need to heat space we aren't using at the moment. Because of the high ceilings and large open spaces, we can't exactly close off doors, so this year we chose to turn off the heat instead. Here's the hiccups we've experienced with temperatures lower than 45 degrees:
1. Refrigerator Mayhem: Earlier in the season I asked readers what might be happening with my refrigerator. It was freezing everything and long story short, it was chilly enough in my house that it wasn't having to keep things cool anymore and instead, was having to keep them warm enough not to freeze. We adjusted the dials inside in the opposite direction you'd normally keep them and things were functioning much better.
2. Did You Know Oil Freezes?: We didn't either. The first bottle we noticed the floating chunks in we tossed. It didn't look right and we went with our gut instinct. The next bottle did the same thing and we finally caught on to what was up. The icebergs in our oil were there to stay. Although it didn't seem to effect the taste any, it still makes you raise an eyebrow of caution. We wrapped a towel around the bottle and it's been fine ever since.
3. Doing Dishes Sucks: Dishes aren't high on many people's to-do list, but when your kitchen is cold, they're even more difficult to tackle. Not because the dishes themselves are chilly (which they are), but because once you get wet, any attempts at retaining your own warmth are out the window. I spend my days with a few thin layers for extra insulation, but when you take off the hoodie and push up your sleeves to get things rinsed, um... brrr! Sure you could use gloves, but I've still never found a pair that fit me well enough to use with confidence.
4. Baking Temperatures: We use a toaster oven for most of our oven needs and although it's the little oven that could, the cold takes a toll on it. It appears to run about 25 degrees less than it should during these colder days. It's not a big deal, but to get breads and cookies to come out correctly, it does need to be checked so it can be adjusted properly.
5. Flowers Like Dang: I'm not sure this could actually be called a pitfall. In fact, it's rather awesome. Because things are chilly, we've been able to keep the same bouquet of fresh flowers alive and well for weeks. Remember this bunch I showed you earlier this month? Well it's still sitting on my island a full 20 days later. 20 days people, how's that for a fresh, inexpensive investment for your home? Booyah! (Wait, do we still say booyah?)
Have you had any cold weather experiences? Share your own words of wisdom and caution in the comments below!
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LOL! Yeah, cut flowers like temps between 38 and 45 degrees a LOT.
Another downside to cooking in a cold house? Yeast. It needs warmth to raise, which is sort of non-existent in a cold house. I keep the house at 62 during the day (obviously not as cold as you, but hey! I'm on the couch covered in a down comforter and wool, okay?), but if I bake bread I crank the heat a little temporarily and set the bread to rise on the nice flat radiator in our kitchen. It's absolutely perfect for letting bread rise. Way better than a slow oven as it doesn't get as hot, but it distributes heat more evenly than the top of a preheating oven (which tends to cook the bottom and leave the insides cold).
Can't believe your oil froze. But I bet your electric bill is down a bit now that the fridge isn't having to cool things down a lot. Unless your oven is also electric, in which case they might be cancelling each other out.
And honey isn't too happy. I have to say that in our house we are happy to do dishes in the warm water in winter. Much nicer than summer!
"Watch Out We Got A Badass Over Here"
Wow. I mean, I keep it on the cool side in our house in winter but if you're hitting temps where your oil is freezing, I'd be pumping in a little more heat however you need to!
I relate. Since I can only control whether the heat in my NYC rental is on or off, I choose off and let the hot pipes carrying heat upstairs to my neighbors do the work. I've never had frozen oil (maybe that is too cold to be good for your pipes?) but I have had my honey go solid.
Another plus: excuses for winter baking! an hour with the oven at 350 and my apartment is the perfect temp!
I remember the first time I tried to make bread, I was so confused when I left it out to rise and nothing happened. I did a ton of googling to try and see what I could have done wrong and felt like a huge failure until I realized my house was just too cold for the yeast to deal with. Between that and doing dishes in the cold, I have pretty much decided I am done being a tightass about the heat. This winter I am loving having my apartment maintain a steady 60°+ and it is more than worth whatever my electric bill will end up being (though I say that living in a small apartment; I would probably feel very differently if I had a high-ceilinged old house like the writer).
The place you're calling home sounds beautiful but hideously inefficient. Wouldn't it be worthwhile in terms of long term finances to wall off certain rooms? (I'm not an architect so I don't know the terms, but obviously insulation of some kind may be necessary for next winter).
Yeah, I would think trying to proof any kind of yeast dough would be impossible.
i love reading about you guys and your no heat experiences, but i think you could really benefit from a $0.99 pair of rubber gloves to put over your regular gloves to do your dishes!! 45 degrees and doing dishes sounds HORRENDOUS! look forward to reading more stories from you :D
Yeah, I love doing dishes during the winter (wearing gloves) because I get to run my hands under the hot water for much longer than I could otherwise justify. To be fair, though, I live somewhere where the low temperatures are around 45 degrees OUTSIDE, so I probably wouldn't know.
Wow. I live in southern Louisiana, and I feel like I'm saving money by keeping my thermostat at 70 and opening the windows on sunny afternoons in the winter. If it falls below 67 I wear gloves and a hat. I'm so impressed you're doing this!
Cut flowers will love it, but you must not have any houseplants. Mine would definitely all die in a house that cold. Sad.
While not nearly extreme as this, I did keep my thermostat down for a couple of winters. The truth is I was driven as much by frequent hotflashes as reducing the electricty bill. However, there was a huge downside -- my windows frosted up inside and seals broke. As a result, I had mold/mildew growing in the lovely moist environment. I ended up having to replace a half dozen windows. Lesson learned. My thermostat is set at 62 for now on -- unless I've got the yeast out!
I would much rather (and actually do) live in a tiny, kind of ugly space that I can heat to an unconscionably high temperature (nothing less than 72 degrees in the winter) than a big beautiful space where I'm miserably cold all the time. This, coming from someone much more preoccupied with the aesthetics of my surroundings than other people! Just goes to show how much I value feeling comfortable (or how unbearable the cold is to me). I know it's too hot when the coconut oil in my kitchen goes liquid.
We keep our heat around 63. Generally it's not an issue but I do like doing dishes much more than usual (the only time in the winter I will actually have warm hands). Also I usually have to place my bread dough near a heat vent to get it to rise in any normal amount of time.
Am I the only one wondering how you can stand to take your clothes off for sex?
Bklynbaker - we call that "wintercourse" in our house! Though perhaps sex for warmth is something only "old marrieds" do...
My mother couldn't afford heat (lack of funds) and I hated it. I couldn't get confortable, my poor dog couldn't stop shivering, and I hated wearing 2 or 3 layers of clothing to bed. Electric blankets and the stove were our saving grace.
Don't forget this could cause you water heater to kick on more to keep itself @ temperature.
Since you have High ceilings and logically the heat rises, look into a way of drawing the air up high down and pumping it out at floor level. It will normalize the air temp in the room and keep air circulating. I've seen a design that uses 4" PVC and a high capacity computer fan to do the job.
While I don't keep my house anywhere near that cold, I've found that turning on the light in my oven & having dough rise in there works just fine. It doubles in an hour.
Love the term wintercourse :)
Am I the only one who's tired of hearing about how cold these people are? If you don't want to turn on the heat, that's fine, go ahead and suffer. This whole martyrdom, "I'm so much better than all of you because my house is 45 degrees," thing is getting old.
Honestly, I'd be a lot more supportive if there was evidence that you really can't afford heat, but I don't remember ever reading that.
@Hbrogan, maybe they are doing it to save energy. My guess is you don't live in a drafty old house in a cold climate. I keep my thermostat at 60 during the day and at night, warmer in the evening and morning, and my winter energy bills are around $400 a month. That's a lot of gas. Being cold is just how it is for some of us in the winter. I appreciate the general idea of only heating the rooms I am in and seeing issues it could cause. If I didn't have a roommate right now, I may try the same.
I can totally relate.
We live in a late 17th century building in Paris (so not energy efficient AT ALL) and only have inefficient wall heaters in the living room and bedroom. With the price of electricity, we can't afford to heat the whole place (even if it is only 30m2, it's also a triplex that's loft-like as it's open from the top level to the bottom) so we have the heaters on timers to only go on when we absolutely need them (a little before we wake up and a little before bedtime for the bedroom basically).
The two kitchen things that suffer in the winter (besides the aforementioned dough rising and sucky dishwashing experience) are softening butter and defrosting anything (fortunately, our freezer is the size of a shoebox, so not much to defrost).
We are taking advantage of the cold weather however - our living room windowsill has a nice railing to keep things from falling off. This time of year we have what we call the "winter fridge" - juices, beer, etc. keeping cool just outside the living room window.
I keep the heat at 60 for day and 58 for night. It's not martyrdom, it's economy. I would rather spend what little I have on food and the mortgage. It is also better environmentally. Hbrogan, you don't get it. Believe it or not, the body gets used to it. I roast at 70.
Like another commenter (annstarrr), I'm in south Louisiana. Two days ago I actually had the AC on to cool the place down. And it's the third time this month I've done that. Most of this month (and December as well), no heat or AC has been necessary. At other times, I keep the heat around 64 when I'm home and around 58 at night. I find my much bigger issue is summer, when I have to keep the AC set at least at 88 while I'm not home to prevent the smoke alarm from beeping like crazy all day.
I make a challah like bread for easter every year, some years it's so cold at home I not only wrap it in blankets, but I find a seat in the living room on the couch and crank up the heater in there, in short I treat the yeast like my grandmother.
@Kassie, I live in a house built in 1927 in New York state with original plaster walls and not much insulation. So...yeah. Drafty house, cold climate. I keep the house at 68 when I'm home and 60 when I'm out during the day and I am still dressing in layers and wrapped in a blanket most of the time. Monthly combined gas and electricity is less than $200. I have a pet bird and I won't allow it to get too cold in the house for his sake.
Now, in the summer I won't turn the AC on until it's into the 90s in the house, but I'm much more comfortable if I'm too warm than if I'm too cold.
@HBROGAN, yes, I'm getting sick of these posts.
I'm all for efficiency and economy, but it seems incredibly extreme and silly when it causes so many other problems. What happened to doing things in moderation?