What's winter like, if there is one, in your part of the world and how do you prepare for it? Down here I just declared sweater season open and scheduled my tyre change.
Cleaning out stuff collected over years gives you a special sort of satisfaction. And, I guess, it helps put you in holiday mood but it might be just me. Winter holidays are the best.
I sincerely hope you, as a country, manage to avoid blackouts. We don't normally think about all the other things electricity enables, besides lights and heat -- water pumps is one of these things and it's essential.
Coastal Orange County, CA doesn’t have much of a winter. We wear layers during the day for cool mornings and evenings, short-sleeves during daylight hours. If we need to turn on the heat it’s usually for a very short period of time.
I’ve lived in Huntington Beach for over 20 years and the temperature has never dropped below freezing.
I live in Central Virginia in the USA, and we find ourselves on the dividing-line between rain and snow in more weather systems than I can remember.
Otherwise, we do enjoy four complete seasons that our neighbors to the south don't, but we're also spared the brunt of the snow that our neighbors to the north experience.
This weekend we're winterizing our summer place on the Chesapeake Bay, where temperatures are supposed to reach the mid-70's(F)!
I'm hoping to be able to sit in my beach chair on a white-sand beach and enjoy beverages with friends, just one more time.
One more example that there's always a tradeoff -- if you get four distinct, beautiful seasons, you get to have the hot summer and the cold winter. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Enjoy your drink!
I live on the coast of Maine, USA. It's cold here October - April. We have a small, well-insulated home. Wood heat is our primary heat source. We have a wood stove and 4 cords of wood stacked outside. We also have hot water baseboard heat with an oil-fired boiler, which is our source of hot water as well. We rarely use the boiler for heat, but when temperatures drop below freezing, the oil heat generally kicks on in early morning. We also have electric heat available (but rarely used) in two rooms and some portable electric heaters. Hot water is currently our biggest concern. If we run out of oil, we can still heat the house with wood, but we have no easy way to to make hot water (other than boiling on the stove). We've been considering either switching to an electric hot water heater or installing solar...
Germany here. House heat from wood stove and gas heater for radiators. I have gas water heater on demand. Heats water when flowing. Since Putler has made gas an uncertain and expensive proposition I switched to a small electric water boiler in the Kitchen and will add another electric boiler (80 liters) to supplement the gas water heater for the bath. Electricity supplemented by house and carport solar 3 KW plus 1 KW which can supply the house and charge the Bluetti 3KW solar generator with two 3KW batteries for storage. A 3Kw propane generator on standby for cloudy days if electric grid fails. Cost savings and small payment for generated and sold electricity will help offset costs, but that would take twenty years at current rates. I did it for security and lights and heat in case gas and or electricity are not available.
Electric hot water heaters are the standard here for places with no central heating/hot water. We've been very happy with ours, which is 20+ years old. I'm talking about a big cylindrical boiler thing, not the sort you attach to the shower/faucet pipes.
Texas never gets too cold - EXCEPT - once in a while we get a deep freeze like the one in Feb 2021. We were admonished for being "unprepared" and of course millions of dollars have been poured into the "winterization" effort since then. I did my part - I bought lightweight horse blankets for my mares last week [they haven't bolted, Irina!]. I don't use them unless it gets well below freezing because Texan horses love cold weather and hate the heat!
I'm going to trim some trees this weekend. Their branches are still well off the roof, but they were touching the roof when covered in ice in 2021. Gives me a different criteria for "too close to the roof".
I wear shorts and T-shirts year round. But then, if I ever got a tattoo it would read "Keep refrigerated."
I've been thinking about installing a natural gas backup generator. My house is piped with NG, so when the electricity goes out, I still have NG. But it's not in the budget this year.
As long as Texas keeps expanding wind energy our electrical reliability will decrease.
I bought 4 tonnes of wood, normally I buy 1 as and when I need it (twice per year).
And I started adjusting to having a colder temperature at night, normally 20.5, but now 19.5 (I'd go lower but I have young children to keep warm).
Also my children are in our bedroom at night, charlie and the chocolate factory style. Not for heat reasons really but I like to plead poverty where I can.
Well, I hear it's good to keep the temperature in the bedroom cooler rather than hotter for a good sleep, so you're doing the right thing. The poverty argument could be a strong and convincing one. :)
I'm in Calgary, the ground is covered in snow and it is plus 3 C today. The Sunday high is expected to be -12 C, Monday -16 C. Since we have all hell for a basement here (Kipling quote) we burn gas till mid April.
I should have changed my tires two weeks ago. That is my chore for Saturday.
You know, ever since I saw a picture of your former Premier Notley with frost on her eyelashes I have wanted to visit Alberta. I doubt I ever will but I do love the northern winter. It doesn't joke around, when it hits and hits, and it stays. Stay warm! (Love the quote)
Here in Calgary, Alberta, I make sure the sprinklers are blown out (or they'll freeze and explode in Spring), change filters in the furnace, make sure the winter tires are on (essential in Calgary) and get out the winter clothes.
We've already been at -11c overnight.
That, and routinely give thanks for oil and gas folks that make sure the natgas gets to our house so that the furnace keeps things warm. Electric heat pumps and electric heat here is not a popular thing just yet.
Do you think they could ever become a popular thing, heat pumps? Our AC in Sofia tended to give up at -1 and start coughing every time it was foggy, and heat pumps are a version of an AC, are they not?
Live in mid-west! (Indiana/Illinois border) I cannot imagine life without heating or electricity here in Winter. Another concern is food in refrigerators! If we lose power for several days we will have to move to southern part of the United States or Mexico just to survive. I hope I answered your question.
Western Oregon winter — lots of rain, occasional short duration snow in the valleys, but heavy in the mountains. On our rural property we use wood burning stove, and backup generator & hot water heater that runs on propane. Primary heat source is heat pump with electric backup.
I live in south Louisiana in the USA so the winter isn’t too bad down here. Just to illustrate how atypical it is to get super cold, occasionally we’ll have a “hard freeze” warning, which is generally when temperatures get in the 20s (Fahrenheit). We aren’t used to long freezes so some extra winterization is needed if it gets that cold.
As for heating, I am in one of the heaviest natural gas areas in the country with tons of industry around that relies on it. If Louisiana and Texas run out of natural gas, it’s because the entire country has. We’ll do fine this winter, albeit with slightly elevated bills for the natural gas.
Phoenix, Arizona is in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Winters here mostly mean heavier traffic as "snowbirds" migrate here for the winter from colder states to hike, golf, and spend. I can pretty much wear shorts and T-shirts except for a few chilly days when it gets into the 40s and 50s (4–10 C). The other big aspect is the rain: almost 40% of our annual rainfall occurs during the winter months.
Wint3ers in Arkansas are an on and off thing. Sometimes it can be frigid for a month or two or warm and breezy. Our home is a well-insulated wood and brick construction. We heat the home with a 94% natural gas unit and water is heated with the same.
We live in Dunedin. Florida not NZ. Winters are mild here, I don’t recall a hard freeze in 30+ years. The population of Pinellas county goes fro 800k to 1.1m or so for our “season.” I wonder where we get to retire and leave our left turn signal on for 3 months a year... We need generators in the summer when storms like Ian can wipe out people who had no business building in flood zones and get washed away. Collier county, home to Naples has no land higher than 12 feet. Cat 5 storm surge can be 25. Do the math. We’re at 35...
On the High Plains of Texas, elevation 3202 ft., the north wind blasting down from Amarillo can make for some really cold days below freezing Nov - Feb.
We just had a wood burning fireplace insert installed in our old inefficient brick fireplace. It’s basically a wood burning stove designed to fit in the fireplace opening. It is very efficient and give us the option of having heat if we have another 4 day winter blast blackout like Texas had in February 2021.
Now we have the option of central heat with our natgas furnace (which needs electricity to circulate the air) or wood for heat during a blackout.
So far we have been enjoying watching the fire (through its glass door) and sipping coffee on the cold mornings.
I had to google that but it does sound like a wonderful invention. I've always liked my cover in bed heavier and luckily, my husband's late grandmother provided with a traditional, hand-stitched duvet that must weight several kilos but, oh, does it keep warm in the winter!
After several power outrages, I no longer have faith in the electrical utility company to ensure power is
100% dependable. And if there is an outage due to a storm, it can take three-four days for power to be restored. Pipes will freeze. Better to have a back-up plan like a nat gas fired generator.
Cleaning out stuff collected over years gives you a special sort of satisfaction. And, I guess, it helps put you in holiday mood but it might be just me. Winter holidays are the best.
I sincerely hope you, as a country, manage to avoid blackouts. We don't normally think about all the other things electricity enables, besides lights and heat -- water pumps is one of these things and it's essential.
Here in South America the winters are mild, with rare days of extreme cold. Almost no heating is used.
Sounds like the perfect place for my husband and a couple of friends who really dislike winter. :)
Coastal Orange County, CA doesn’t have much of a winter. We wear layers during the day for cool mornings and evenings, short-sleeves during daylight hours. If we need to turn on the heat it’s usually for a very short period of time.
I’ve lived in Huntington Beach for over 20 years and the temperature has never dropped below freezing.
I live in Central Virginia in the USA, and we find ourselves on the dividing-line between rain and snow in more weather systems than I can remember.
Otherwise, we do enjoy four complete seasons that our neighbors to the south don't, but we're also spared the brunt of the snow that our neighbors to the north experience.
This weekend we're winterizing our summer place on the Chesapeake Bay, where temperatures are supposed to reach the mid-70's(F)!
I'm hoping to be able to sit in my beach chair on a white-sand beach and enjoy beverages with friends, just one more time.
One more example that there's always a tradeoff -- if you get four distinct, beautiful seasons, you get to have the hot summer and the cold winter. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Enjoy your drink!
I live in Toronto and we can have cold winters. I invested in a Generac just in case the power goes off.
I live on the coast of Maine, USA. It's cold here October - April. We have a small, well-insulated home. Wood heat is our primary heat source. We have a wood stove and 4 cords of wood stacked outside. We also have hot water baseboard heat with an oil-fired boiler, which is our source of hot water as well. We rarely use the boiler for heat, but when temperatures drop below freezing, the oil heat generally kicks on in early morning. We also have electric heat available (but rarely used) in two rooms and some portable electric heaters. Hot water is currently our biggest concern. If we run out of oil, we can still heat the house with wood, but we have no easy way to to make hot water (other than boiling on the stove). We've been considering either switching to an electric hot water heater or installing solar...
Why aren't you using propane instead of oil and a propane hot water heater?
Well, because an oil-fired boiler is what came with the house when we bought it. Do you feel propane is a better bet than oil here in the US?
Germany here. House heat from wood stove and gas heater for radiators. I have gas water heater on demand. Heats water when flowing. Since Putler has made gas an uncertain and expensive proposition I switched to a small electric water boiler in the Kitchen and will add another electric boiler (80 liters) to supplement the gas water heater for the bath. Electricity supplemented by house and carport solar 3 KW plus 1 KW which can supply the house and charge the Bluetti 3KW solar generator with two 3KW batteries for storage. A 3Kw propane generator on standby for cloudy days if electric grid fails. Cost savings and small payment for generated and sold electricity will help offset costs, but that would take twenty years at current rates. I did it for security and lights and heat in case gas and or electricity are not available.
I think you can start teaching courses in energy self-sufficiency, Greg!
Electric hot water heaters are the standard here for places with no central heating/hot water. We've been very happy with ours, which is 20+ years old. I'm talking about a big cylindrical boiler thing, not the sort you attach to the shower/faucet pipes.
Texas never gets too cold - EXCEPT - once in a while we get a deep freeze like the one in Feb 2021. We were admonished for being "unprepared" and of course millions of dollars have been poured into the "winterization" effort since then. I did my part - I bought lightweight horse blankets for my mares last week [they haven't bolted, Irina!]. I don't use them unless it gets well below freezing because Texan horses love cold weather and hate the heat!
Likewise. I'm in Central Texas (Austin).
I'm going to trim some trees this weekend. Their branches are still well off the roof, but they were touching the roof when covered in ice in 2021. Gives me a different criteria for "too close to the roof".
I wear shorts and T-shirts year round. But then, if I ever got a tattoo it would read "Keep refrigerated."
I've been thinking about installing a natural gas backup generator. My house is piped with NG, so when the electricity goes out, I still have NG. But it's not in the budget this year.
As long as Texas keeps expanding wind energy our electrical reliability will decrease.
Very happy to hear that, Terri! Give them a pat from me. :)
I bought 4 tonnes of wood, normally I buy 1 as and when I need it (twice per year).
And I started adjusting to having a colder temperature at night, normally 20.5, but now 19.5 (I'd go lower but I have young children to keep warm).
Also my children are in our bedroom at night, charlie and the chocolate factory style. Not for heat reasons really but I like to plead poverty where I can.
Well, I hear it's good to keep the temperature in the bedroom cooler rather than hotter for a good sleep, so you're doing the right thing. The poverty argument could be a strong and convincing one. :)
I'm in Calgary, the ground is covered in snow and it is plus 3 C today. The Sunday high is expected to be -12 C, Monday -16 C. Since we have all hell for a basement here (Kipling quote) we burn gas till mid April.
I should have changed my tires two weeks ago. That is my chore for Saturday.
Stay warm
You know, ever since I saw a picture of your former Premier Notley with frost on her eyelashes I have wanted to visit Alberta. I doubt I ever will but I do love the northern winter. It doesn't joke around, when it hits and hits, and it stays. Stay warm! (Love the quote)
Here in Calgary, Alberta, I make sure the sprinklers are blown out (or they'll freeze and explode in Spring), change filters in the furnace, make sure the winter tires are on (essential in Calgary) and get out the winter clothes.
We've already been at -11c overnight.
That, and routinely give thanks for oil and gas folks that make sure the natgas gets to our house so that the furnace keeps things warm. Electric heat pumps and electric heat here is not a popular thing just yet.
Do you think they could ever become a popular thing, heat pumps? Our AC in Sofia tended to give up at -1 and start coughing every time it was foggy, and heat pumps are a version of an AC, are they not?
Live in mid-west! (Indiana/Illinois border) I cannot imagine life without heating or electricity here in Winter. Another concern is food in refrigerators! If we lose power for several days we will have to move to southern part of the United States or Mexico just to survive. I hope I answered your question.
Let's hope you don't lose power this winter!
Western Oregon winter — lots of rain, occasional short duration snow in the valleys, but heavy in the mountains. On our rural property we use wood burning stove, and backup generator & hot water heater that runs on propane. Primary heat source is heat pump with electric backup.
I live in south Louisiana in the USA so the winter isn’t too bad down here. Just to illustrate how atypical it is to get super cold, occasionally we’ll have a “hard freeze” warning, which is generally when temperatures get in the 20s (Fahrenheit). We aren’t used to long freezes so some extra winterization is needed if it gets that cold.
As for heating, I am in one of the heaviest natural gas areas in the country with tons of industry around that relies on it. If Louisiana and Texas run out of natural gas, it’s because the entire country has. We’ll do fine this winter, albeit with slightly elevated bills for the natural gas.
"If Louisiana and Texas run out of natural gas, it’s because the entire country has."
Let's hope this doesn't happy any time soon.
Phoenix, Arizona is in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Winters here mostly mean heavier traffic as "snowbirds" migrate here for the winter from colder states to hike, golf, and spend. I can pretty much wear shorts and T-shirts except for a few chilly days when it gets into the 40s and 50s (4–10 C). The other big aspect is the rain: almost 40% of our annual rainfall occurs during the winter months.
Context: annual rainfall of 7 in (178 mm)
Sounds like a pleasant place to spend the winter. I love rain but don't love snow that much.
Wint3ers in Arkansas are an on and off thing. Sometimes it can be frigid for a month or two or warm and breezy. Our home is a well-insulated wood and brick construction. We heat the home with a 94% natural gas unit and water is heated with the same.
We keep the home at 66 or 67 in winter.
It’s colder than a well diggers butt, but...
Ancestral Shore
Sequestered in Sheboygan
on the shores of oceanic
Lake Michigan
for twenty years
Within one mile of where
I overlook the great inland sea
landed my Great, Great Grandfather Charles
in 1850
Alone, barely sixteen,
he braved the Atlantic passage
the Saint Lawrence seaway
to precede me here
I treasure that thought
pioneer Heins
on American soil
my neighbor
Steve Heins
We live in Dunedin. Florida not NZ. Winters are mild here, I don’t recall a hard freeze in 30+ years. The population of Pinellas county goes fro 800k to 1.1m or so for our “season.” I wonder where we get to retire and leave our left turn signal on for 3 months a year... We need generators in the summer when storms like Ian can wipe out people who had no business building in flood zones and get washed away. Collier county, home to Naples has no land higher than 12 feet. Cat 5 storm surge can be 25. Do the math. We’re at 35...
I think that in Florida what you lack in winter you make up for during hurricane season, if you'll excuse the dark humour.
On the High Plains of Texas, elevation 3202 ft., the north wind blasting down from Amarillo can make for some really cold days below freezing Nov - Feb.
We just had a wood burning fireplace insert installed in our old inefficient brick fireplace. It’s basically a wood burning stove designed to fit in the fireplace opening. It is very efficient and give us the option of having heat if we have another 4 day winter blast blackout like Texas had in February 2021.
Now we have the option of central heat with our natgas furnace (which needs electricity to circulate the air) or wood for heat during a blackout.
So far we have been enjoying watching the fire (through its glass door) and sipping coffee on the cold mornings.
Nothing like a live fire for that wonderful feeling the Danes call hygge and it cannot be translated with a single word.
New purchase.... weighted blanket. Wonderful invention.
I had to google that but it does sound like a wonderful invention. I've always liked my cover in bed heavier and luckily, my husband's late grandmother provided with a traditional, hand-stitched duvet that must weight several kilos but, oh, does it keep warm in the winter!
After several power outrages, I no longer have faith in the electrical utility company to ensure power is
100% dependable. And if there is an outage due to a storm, it can take three-four days for power to be restored. Pipes will freeze. Better to have a back-up plan like a nat gas fired generator.
Yep. Can't trust utilities.
I leave Canada and go to South Florida. I walk, work out, scuba dive and race cars....while also keeping up with your daily insights.
Sounds like a great, hassle-free solution.