Fortunately, where I live in Florida, we don't use heat more than a few times in Dec./Jan., but when we do, it's electric. Last year, we didn't need it at all.

My heat is natural gas. But at the moment, my heat is warm clothes.

Similar to spring/summer time, I hold off turning the heat on. Ok, well, not all together... I do use a small electric space heater in the bathroom in the mornings to get dressed, and if the house feels chilly, in the evenings while taking my shower.

But the whole house heat isn't on yet. It is supposed to be rather COOL tomorrow, with clouds, it may get chilly in here.

I am still finding out, how I can manage my bills here, at my new to me little house.

Moni

Lotsa' good red oak! ... and body friction. *wink*

We ended up with three heating systems because the HVAC guy didn't figure our gas forced air system correctly, and our north rooms were cold. We added a little boiler and tubing under those rooms. We'd already put electric heat under the master bathroom floor.

It's worked out fine. The forced air system provides cooling in summer and heats and provides humidity in winter -- and the Aprilaire filter cleans the air. The under-floor heat is the most comfy. We can transition between seasons using only that, plus the heat gain from all our south-facing glass.

It's only 54F here this afternoon and overcast. No freezing temps predicted at night for the coming week. LOTS of nearly bare trees after the drought, but our ornamental pears are just starting to turn color.

We have an electric heat pump/AC and a wood stove. And our master bath has a built in wall unit that is thermostatically controlled so I can heat the bathroom up more when it's time for a shower. LOVE THAT! We have one in the laundry room, too, but I don't think we've ever turned it on. It was put there to keep pipes from freezing in the winter, because when we built the house, we didn't put in a heat pump. The locals convinced us we didn't need central heat/air. That was a big fat lie! It's hotter'n heck here in the summer! After our first summer and winter, we had one installed.

When we moved to rural TN 15 years ago the house we bought had a mennonite wood stove. These stoves are as large as a oil burner & is connected to the duck work & thermostat. In the middle of the winter we have had 18 hr fires with the house at 74 deg. We have a friend who is a logger so we are able to get the wood. It takes a lot of work to cut & split all the wood but it sure save us a lot of money.

My house has gas central heating. I've never used it.

Natural gas. My furnace came on twice last weekend even though it was 63-65F in the house. The thermostat was set for 11C so the furnace should not have come on. My newer programmable thermostat must not be working right. Someone told me there was on off button on the thermostat so I clicked it to off and will turn it back on when I feel it is too cold in here, hopefully I can last until November.

I was glad though when the furnace came on that at least I know it still works because it is more than 40 years old. I was told that the furnace is really good and to keep it as long as I can. The blower was cleaned a few years ago, something was repaired after the last basement flood and I change the filter frequently. I don't have central air so that helps a bit too on the life of the furnace.

Anne

I live in S. Central MO and we did heat with wood,had outdoor wood furnace ducted into the house. However, now my DH is unable to cut the wood and I have a small heater, like an Edenpure, in the living room and it keeps it pretty comfy. It it gets real cold I let the electric furnace come on. We keep most of the rooms shut off in the winter and just heat living, and kitchen areas and the dining area where I have my computer.

I live in the Northeast and we use oil. Our heater contains a heated coil for hot water so it is always on although it doesn't circulate heat in the warmer months.
Joann

Natural gas furnace and a yummy heated bathroom floor. I love that floor. Haven't had the heat on yet this year, but I think it will be on this weekend. A high of 58 degrees is predicted. I just can't stand to be cold. I dread the utility bills in the winter. Last winter was so mild,but I doubt we will be so lucky two years in a row.

I could use the fireplace, but I hear that all it does is suck the heat out of the house and up the chimney. It's cozy when you sit next to it, but that is all. Also, it heats up my living room where the thermostat is and the rest of the house gets cold. I have to leave the flue open all night after a fire so the loss of heat is enormous.

I envy those of you who can heat with free wood, although I think it is kind of polluting. Not sure.

We have a woodburner and oil forced hot air furnace. We cut down, split and stack our own firewood. o.k., DH does almost all the work....I help split, stack and toss loads in the basement window.

We use about one tank of oil a winter. Thank goodness, the year gas prices were so high, fuel oil was $4.58/gallon. It cost us $850. to fill our oil tank. In winters that we didn't use wood, we burned approx. a tank of oil a month. Ugh, prices are horrible.

Oh, and I have an electric fireplace that also has heat. Very rarely have the blower on, just the "fake flame" for ambiance.

here in SD we have natural gas for heat.

I have a boiler. Apparently the natural gas heats the water that provides baseboard heating in every room except my kitchen. I also have a small electric heater in my bathroom because I like a warm room when I shower. I don't worry about my heating and cooling bills because I am on budget billing and that evens out the cost of gas and electricity over the year. My house is small, less than 1,000 sq ft.

I want Dedtired's heated bathroom floor. My main heat source is a woodstove. Heat from the stove rises directly into my bedroom upstairs, and a fan pushes the warm air around downstairs. But it can't move the heat around the corner to the bathroom. It usually takes an act of will to turn off the shower and step out into the chilly bathroom.

I have an oil burner, but don't use it very often.

The central heat in our Maryland house is natural gas. But we USUALLY choose to keep the thermostat very low and just run the heat from our CEILING FAN in the 16 x 16 sunroom we use as a family room. Most people have never even HEARD of a ceiling fan that also heats!! We've had it 15 years!

We don't have a working furnace in our South Florida home. I think we may have a small electric heater in a closet somewhere.....

We heat with natural gas. Its the lowest cost and cleanest source available here. I ran the numbers over 40 years ago; the results still hold true at today's prices, in fact, gas heat has become less costly compared to other sources.

It gsts too cold here for heat pumps unless you have a deep water source that does not freeze at the bottom. Trying to use a well results in a frozen well and little heat output. Last winter was not as severe as some in the past. The worst one I endured was in the late 70s when it hit 25 F below zero one night. We had 30 days straight of below zero nights. That was bitter and not the norm, but you had better have a heating plant and insulation for that condition. My furnace is rated for 125,000 btu per hour. it does have to heat a 2 story and wind does have an effect.

We have a woodstove and use that until it gets below 30. Our system is oil hot air, but we are switching to gas next spring after all the oil is gone. Our furnace is ancient. We have lived in the 175 year old house for 30 years and it was old when we got here.

The sun. :) We just put on sweats and socks in the winter.

We have two electric heat pumps/AC (zoned heating). It's very efficient, and our electric bills are reasonable.

We got tired after years of paying for oil deliveries, so we switched to natural gas. After the pilot light went out a few times, the plumber showed me how to re-light it, push a button, not with a match or anything dangerous. I've had no problems since the first year, it is very quiet compared to our old oil burner. Heats the house very toasty,even in our North East winters.

Alisande, could you add one of those combo exhaust fans and electric heaters in the ceiling of your bathroom? You would only run it for a short time so it would not cost much to run. The thought of a cold bathroom is painful.

I had insulation blown into my attic a couple years ago and that makes a HUGE difference in retaining the heat and lowering my heating and cooling bill.

Another amazing thing for cooling is an attic exhaust fan. It's the kind that goes through the roof and keeps the attic cooler. I can't believe the difference that thing makes.

Only 45 today and will get close to freezing tonight.

I have two wall furnaces (natural gas). Got them cleaned and lit today. They are as old as me, but have never been a problem. :)

Natural gas. It's my preferred heat source. Lately it's been cool and windy. Was in the low 30s last night and only about 42ð right now. I close off rooms I don't use so that saves a lot. My sister keeps her thermostat low but can't/won't close off so she heats more and accordingly we pay about the same as each other, sometimes I'm even cheaper and keeping it warmer.

I do have an auxiliary heat source though.

Natural gas here in Alabama but we don't turn it on until freezing temps which are usually Nov/Dec. We love to sleep with the bedroom windows open in the Fall and we pile on the quilts!

The furnace is natural gas; we have radiators. We have a fireplace in the living room.

Until it gets really cold, we'll just use electric space heaters to warm the area where we are. Can't see the point of spending $$$ to keep an entire home cozy for only 2 people.

when it gets a little colder, this wood stove is my main source...for now a heat pump.
When I go to bed, my furbabies keep me toasty!

Sorry for the terrible picture and messy stove area...not normally my style...

100% gas, although i have used small space heaters for the days it wasn't quite cold enough...we have baseboard hot water heaters...supposed to be the best, but boy oh boy the pumps cost more than entire forced air!

natural gas

Natural gas...I miss coal.

We have a pellet stove. After many other heat sources this one seems to be the one we like most. Very clean! Theres a glass window and the flame makes it feel cozy on cold Winter nights. We have electric heat as a backup but rarely use it.