No Heat Challenge

Last year, I participated in Katy’s (of The Non-Consumer Advocate) No Heat Challenge.  I pledged to not turn on my heat until November 1, and instead stay warm by wearing layers, drinking warm drinks, and snuggling up with lots of blankets.  Luckily, I live in Alabama so I easily made it to November 1 and didn’t end up turning on the heat until the middle of November.  Even then, my roommate and I were careful to only run the heat for a little while and keep it very cold in the apartment during the day while we were at work or in class.  We found that participating in the challenge and continuing to monitor the apartment’s temperature significantly reduced our heat bill.  

This year, I will also be doing the No Heat Challenge.  Well, sort of.

Since I live at home with my parents, I don’t want to subject them to my slightly eccentric habits nor do I want to make them feel bad for not participating with me.  So, in order to participate in the challenge, help reduce my energy output, and (hopefully) save my family some money, I’m going to not turn on the heat in my part of the house until November 1.

I have the upstairs of our house all to myself (not that I need that much space!) and it’s equipped with it’s own thermostat.  I can regulate the temperature to my liking without disrupting the temperature downstairs.  I realize that heat rises so I’ll be benefiting from the heat running downstairs, but I lived in a second floor apartment last year and technically benefited from our downstairs neighbor’s heat. 

Can I make it to November 1 without turning on the heat?  I think so.  Mainly, it will be the nights and early mornings that I’m affected by the cold since I spend a lot of time downstairs in the kitchen and den, but nights and mornings are when I want the heat on most.  

The coldest it’s been so far this fall is mid-40s and a quick look at the weather tells me that for the next ten days the lows are in the 50s, so I don’t think it’s going to get cold enough for me to really need the heat anyway.  

But the high tomorrow is 86, so maybe the real question is how much longer will I need the air conditioner?  Ah, welcome to Alabama where the seasons are early summer, summer, late summer, and fall, and where we’ve been known to wear short sleeves on Christmas.