The Winter So Far

Photo courtesy Flickr

The little whispers of spring that started right after Christmas have become a soft hum. I’ve had time to consider what’s worked and what hasn’t about leaving the heat off unless the pipes threaten to freeze.

This is the second winter I’ve tried this. Last year my oil bill was half that of the previous one, making the total one-quarter of the bill thirty years ago. We restored the wood and glass storm windows and insulated one room, but made no other capital improvements.

It may be that global warming lowers the heat bill as well as any other factor. Vancouver’s soggy snow threatens to embarrass the Winter Olympics this week, and I take an odd comfort in thinking that the rate of increase has accelerated exponentially since B.C. was awarded the games, so no one might be to blame for choosing that venue.

The three by five foot electric mat that slips under the rug in the small parlor where the two of us sit, study, and take our meals has kept us comfortable on all but the most bitter winter days. Only four or five times has it been necessary to supplement the mat with an oil-filled portable radiator. Concentrating sedentary activities on one room feels convenient rather than deprived.

The room is noticeably warmer when my large partner is in it.

Physical fitness is the key to thriving with economies in heat. A week of sitting in a conference chair and train seat leaves me craving heat like a reptile. A regular routine of bus and foot travel, visits to the gym, and intervals of standing work mixed with sedentary keeps me alert enough to respond to shifts in body heat. One has to keep the initiative to stay warm. A cold nose tells when it’s time to add a layer.

Context is everything. I was in San Francisco recently and gasped at an open window next to a hissing radiator. After a few days, I felt chilled when clouds covered the sun. Long ago, a Puerto Rican hostess told me none of her neighbors used the beach in the winter, when it was sixty degrees.

Several pieces of clothing have saved gallons of oil over the last few months: a knit fur beret from a major English label, a gauzy wool scarf from India, and a simple pair of heavy wool hiking socks. Sleeping in the scarf is as comfortable as sleeping in a heated room. A hot water bottle would be a good idea at bedtime, but I haven’t gotten around to using one. A wool sheet blanket adds a good ten degrees of comfort to an unheated room.

Can’t say enough good things about wool this winter.

Living with the heat off is for volunteers. It might be risky for someone who is not fit and doing sedentary work to choose a chilly environment. Hypothermia can dull judgement and hobble the ability to recognize chill and take an active measure against it. That said, two years ago I decided that I wasn’t willing to be so fragile that I had to live in a terrarium. I couldn’t be happier to be mining my utility bills for capital and to know that the sea is just a little bit freer of mercury for my not having burned gallons of oil.

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