Can you afford heat in winter?

33 comments

1. Right now, no. But then I don’t need it.

2. There are many programs to help provide heat, and both natural gas and electricity are relatively cheap here compared to much of europe, for example

   I would guess it’s fairly rare to be completely unable to heat your house, but have no data offhand

   Certainly though, people will use LESS heat this year due to higher prices – but that’s not to say they’ll use NO heat

3. I still have my air conditioner going

4. Yes, it’s not much to keep the AC/Heater at @78 throughout most of the year.

5. Actually, quite a few can’t, and it is a rather big deal in this country. There are programs to help, but realistically quite a few people will spend the next couple of months covered in multiple layers of clothes and blankets in their own home.

6. I can afford to heat my home just fine. My furnace is down at the moment for a failed overtemp sensor, so I’m on my backup heater at the moment.

7. Yes.

   I grew up in a “we aren’t turning on the heater until December. Put on another jacket” household and so now I budget so I can crank up that baby as high as I want.

   I refuse to be cold again

8. It’s barely cold enough out for heat, but yeah it’s fairly inexpensive here, so on the rare occasion it gets really cold, we’ll be a-ok.

9. While prices of nearly everything are up, and wages aren’t keeping up with inflation let alone the other increases, we aren’t exactly going through an energy crisis like much of Europe is.

10. Yes. And for those who can’t there are government programs to help with the cost.

11. Yes, but I don’t need it every day. Or even most days.

12. Yes, but only to bring the temp up to late 60s°F. Definitely no heat warming the house into the 70s

13. Sure. It’s about 2-3% of our income.

14. Yeah, I have some of the cheapest power in the nation. Costs me around $40 per month to heat my home (a little less to cool) and the temperature averages below freezing in the winter to the 90’s in the summer.

    My power is provided by a public utility district which has some pretty good programs for those who struggle with power bills.

15. I can afford to run the boiler continuously, which I kinda have to to keep the house above 65. It’s old and drafty.

16. Yes. Which I am happy about, particularly because I grew up in a place that gets very cold in the winter with very thrifty parents who not only barely let us turn on the heat or have a fire ever, they also felt like we needed to have windows cracked open most of the winter for fresh air. It was very cold and I got tired of being bundled up in heavy clothes and blankets indoors all winter. Enough heat to be comfortable is one of the last things I would give up if I needed to save money. Fortunately it’s not that expensive where I live now.

17. Home energy costs aren’t something I put much thought into. I do keep my home fairly cool in winter (64F/ 18C), but that’s out of a personal preference to sacrifice a bit of comfort to reduce my energy usage and carbon footprint.

    I live in a fairly moderate climate by American standards. Home needs at least some heat just about every day November- April.

18. Yes, its only a tiny portion of my income.

19. Yes it’s quite cheap in my area.

20. We rarely turn on our heater. It helps that we’re in California, and we don’t get snow where I live. I also hate the feel of heated air – it makes me feel claustrophobic.

21. Most people can afford heat in some form

22. Yes but I like the cold so I don’t turn it on often and my heater is electric.

23. I haven’t turned on my heat yet, but yeah I can afford it along with my air conditioning.

24. yes

25. It’s not bad now living in the Midwest. It’s been more expensive the last year or two. Still it’s nothing like what the UK is facing now.

    About a decade ago living on the east coast it was a serious struggle. I didn’t understand the price of heating oil skyrockets in the cold months. I was newly married at the time and we were beyond broke. It was a long awful winter in a house that had huge cracks in the foundation & bad windows. It was the worst year of my life.

26. Now I can but growing up not so much. I grew up not having any kind of utility heat. In winter it was a wood burning stove in one part of the house that provided some warmth but not enough. Often times the pipes would freeze so there was no water either. Good times.

27. I live in the desert Southwest – I barely ever use my heat. Now AC in the summertime is a whole different scenario. Lol

28. Not particularly, no. I have electric heating via baseboards with at just have a knob that turns, and old windows that that constant blow in cold air. I avoid using my heat as much s possible and only turn it on when I’m too cold to function. Otherwise I just bundle up and wear a blanket inside my apartment to stay warm.

    My electric company also increases their rates in the winter, so even if I’m using the same amount of electricity in the winter as I did in the summer, my bill will be almost double.

29. It’s not even cold out but when it is I’ll be nice and toasty thank goodness!

30. Not a concern for most people. Sorry, Brits.

31. Sure can

32. It’s going to be a burden, but it’s not going to come close to sinking us. I just wish I’d picked up a few cords of firewood before winter hit, as I’d have kept the wood stove going all winter to cut down on our fuel bills.

33. I have my ac going non stop during the peak of summer and winter. Compared to everything else I spend money on, it’s trivially cheap.