Lazy Saturday

On a day like today, I give thanks for the time we spent in selecting the site so we could build our home facing solar south. It’s minus 10 degrees on the outside but inside, thanks to southern exposure, the heat pump turned itself off around 11:00 a.m. With the sunlight streaming through our windows the house was a very comfortable 20 degrees.

It might be too late for you to think of changing the orientation of your home, but there are other ways to raise the temperature inside while reducing your energy cost. We recently purchased another infra red heater. At night we turn the heat pump down, and heat the bedrooms with these incredible little heaters. Rather than heat the whole house all night long, the heat is concentrated where we need it. The gentle hum of the heater helps lull me to sleep. Personally I would rather throw another quilt on the bed, but DH and kitty love their heat.

My favourite way to way the house on a cold day is to bake something. Today’s it is a a batch of morning glory muffins While baking I place the tea kettle on the back burner, another bonus. By the time the muffins are ready the water thanks to the residual heat will be hot enough for a pot of tea. Not a bad way to spend a cold winter’s afternoon.