How to reduce heating bills and carbon footprint:

My home has no furnace, and I only rarely use my wood stove. But because my home has a quite effective solar roof and storage system, the temperature never falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, even when it is below zero and a fierce blizzard outside. Fifty degrees is of course a rather cold indoor temperature — but I stay toasty warm all winter! How? With a combination of plush fleece and a tiny amount of electricity.

This is how: I invested in several of these miraculously warm and lusciously comfortable plush fleece items: throws, blankets, pants, tunics, jackets, and a long, brown roomy robe. Also: an electric blanket, a small electric heating pad, and an electric cup warmer. I use more or less of these items depending on how cold my home gets. Thus, last winter I stayed comfortably warm and cozy with less electricity than was consumed by my laptop computer.

Most homes of course do not have a solar heating system, but instead burn enormous quantities of gas or oil, both of which are very costly, as well as hideously destructive and polluting to obtain and to burn. It takes far less heating fuel to lower your thermostat to 50 or 55 degrees rather than to keep it at the more normal 70 degrees. By warming yourself rather than your home, you can reduce your carbon footprint by thousands of pounds, and you can save hundreds or perhaps even thousands of dollars. Just be sure your plumbing does not freeze.

Here is to a warm and cozy winter for all, with freedom from crippling heating bills.

Anna Edey
West Tisbury