Jan 4, 2008

A heating alternative for nighttime: a heated mattress pad

We had guests stay with us over Christmas, and I was concerned about keeping them warm enough in our downstairs area while we slept upstairs. Our townhouse unfortunately has a crazy way of being significantly warmer upstairs, such that turning on the heat to make the downstairs comfortable makes the upstairs feel like a desert. In fact, living in Southern California, we really only use our heater for 20 to 30 minute stretches a couple times a week to give the downstairs area a little bit of help warming up first thing in the morning.

But sleeping downstairs all night is a different matter from coming down in the morning. I was toying with the idea of a space heater, despite the safety concerns, when I read this post over at Money Changes Things, recommending a heated mattress padas a means of keeping heating costs down.

I loved the idea and immediately ordered one. And my guests loved it too. They turned it on a little while before they got into bed, and if it was really cold, kept it on low all night. It was especially nice in the morning, when temperatures hit their daily low. I've packed the mattress pad away until we have overnight visitors again, but wanted to suggest this method to anyone looking for an alternative means of keeping warm at night.

6 comments:

Denise Mall said...

I think most homes have an issue with the upstairs being warmer. We have the same problem. I close the majority of the vents upstairs and this way only the heated air that drifts up warms there. It helps to maintain temperature a bit better.

My bedroom is on the first floor - I would love this mattress pad. I bet my son in the basement would also love this.

MetaMommy said...

We have the same problem with warmth on the 3rd floor. It's because heat rises, so the upstairs is the warmest area in our home, while the bedrooms on the first floor are usually freezing. It's actually a good sleeping set up because you don't want excessive heat when you sleep.

As an alternative, we have a space heater in our bedroom, and it's worked great. That said, I might have to look into your mattress pad suggestion ;-)

Rudy said...

I think the main problem with my house is with heating loss through the windows and vents. Expensive to retrofit those!

My SoCalGas bill last month was $98. ouch!

Anonymous said...

I can attest to how great these things are. My wife and I bought it. She's always cold, I'm always hot. Now she can crank up the heat on her side of the bed and I don't have to leave the thermostat on 70 all night heating the whole house!

Anonymous said...

We got electric blankets this year. Soooo much cheaper than space heaters!!

I hear the mattress pads are even nicer, but the electric blanket is great. We have the dual-control style so my husband's can be on low and mine can be on 3 ... love it.

Charles said...

Than is a great article. Thanks for sharing.