Thank you, mike_home. I have a similar heater on the sun porch, but it doesn't do much beyond a 2' arc. I'm hoping for a solution that won't require me to huddle next to a portable heater.

I thought you were looking for something that kept your space warm without affecting your husband’s. I think an oscillating design would be more appropriate if you are looking to cover a bigger area.

The issue is that portable electric heaters are limited to 1500 watts. That is usually enough to heat an average size room on a very cold night. There are many choices in heater designs. Read the reviews as a guide.

Maybe my problem is not paying enough for a space heater. The one in the sun porch only cost $20. It was originally purchased for an office when I was working from home. This smaller house doesn't have a separate room for an office and it doesn't help much where it is.

I agree, oscillating would be better. I'll look at them more closely.

Since there's no way to close off the kitchen, would it work as well as in a closed room?

Is there a trick to being more electricity efficient? Should I leave it on at a low setting, or turn it on only when I'm near it?

When we bought our last house, there was a large finished room in the walk out basement with no registers for the duct work that ran through the rest of the house. Due to most walls being taken up by a sliding door, multiple closets, etc., an electrician suggested installing cove heaters (on two walls) instead of baseboard heaters. The space was too big for a portable heater to work. When the room flooded anyway and drywall was off I just had the HVAC guy tap into the duct work, so I don't know personally how effective cove heaters are, but you could look into it. Also, could you install small French doors or even barn doors to separate the living room from the other spaces? That would help with any heating solution.

These heaters are not going to be able to heat large open floor plans. I think you should turn it on when you are near it.

My son's last house had interior French doors with glass and grills. Could you have a set installed in the living room?

In order to keep the heat in, you have to block off the flow to colder areas of the house. Heat moves from hot to cold, not to mention heat rises and cold falls.

When it comes to electricity efficient strip heat (typically with a fan to blow across the strips) It's not efficient in what you pay for it. It is efficient because for 1kw of energy you burn you get 1kw of heat.

As opposed to gas heat, it typically provides more heat for less cost. Obviously, this greatly depends on the gas that is burned... but no matter what this is least efficient because worst case scenario these days 20% of the heat will go up the flue as waste. (If the furnace was made in the 80's the waste could be as much as 40% if you can imagine that.)

So there's efficiency one way... and there's what you actually pay for on the other.

For nearly 20 years I've been saying open floor plans are a fad... and here we are still talking about the problems associated with them.

Something that might work for you... buy a space heater and buy some thick heavy curtains to cut off the flow of cold air and to keep the warm air in the room you are in. If you decide to buy a neon green curtain to go with the orange wall color... that's your business. (Trust me, I've seen worse. LOL)

champcamp: I would love to install doors. It would require reducing the size of the openings, which I seriously considered, until we remodeled the kitchen. Suddenly the reason for the large opening became clear. It's the only way to get appliances, cabinets or large furniture into any room, other than the living room, of course.

The short hall to the back door is framed smaller to support the stairs to the basement, and is a weight bearing wall, so it can't be widened. Thus, everything comes up the front steps and in through the front door. Old appliances went out the same way.

I'm old enough that my family survived the orange walls (kitchen) and bright teal hallway. If you look at my ideabooks, you'll see that I still like bright colors, especially on dreary overcast days, which this area has a bunch of all spring and fall.

One of my wilder ideas was to put up cloth strips instead of a solid curtain, a cloth version of the 60s and 70s bead curtains. I figure something with lots of openings rather than a regular drape would last longer around dogs, cats and toddlers. Our daughter and her youngest occupy our basement apartment, so the 2yr old is upstairs daily; she's a runner and a climber.

Kathleen, my son's French doors were in an opening wider than yours. It was like a door to the outside. There were two doors and both opened and met in the middle. One had a latch and was semi fixed in place and the other had the door knob and opened. They used to keep them folded back to the side most of the time.

https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=indoor%20french%20doors&rs=typed&term_meta[]=indoor%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=french%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=doors%7Ctyped

Respectfully, why is your husband taking precedence when you are suffering from medical issues, too. A house temp in the 50’s seems abnormal and I think a compromise to an in between temp is sensible. I would reasonable expect him to adapt in a short time. Otherwise, I would be cranking up the heat everywhere I go until he relents to a compromise. I truly mean this in a kind and empowering spirit. This is your home, too.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/room-dividers-now-premium-heavyweight-room-divider-curtain-panel/3296352?categoryId=12198

Have him change to shorts and a short sleeve shirt inside. I wear shorts inside most of the winter, because I don't get as cold as my husband.

I'd put a heating blanket on that couch and turn it up to high!

Thank you for the encouragement. This year is our turn to host family Thanksgiving, so I will turn up the heat to accomodate the 3 girls under age 5. I will have a good reason for heating the bottom half of the rooms. He can sit in the swing on the front porch to cool off, assuming it's not pouring rain or snowing.

Sherry_7bAL: your link was to pinterest, which I also use. Does your son have the bifold doors? I would have to have something like those to avoid colliding with the dining table, which extends into the "hallway" space.

I hadn't seriously considered that type of interior door, but it is appealing.

50’s ? Does he have a medical condition ? If not, I’d just set it in the upper 60’s & suggest he wear lighter clothes. I can’t imagine 50’s in the house ( but I live where temperatures are extremely mild (60’s & 70’s year around)...

I agree with the others - this is a husband problem, not a heating problem.

Yep, a husband problem. Is it about his discomfort at the temperature you need, or his discomfort with the resulting bills?

I think your husband needs a slap up the side of the head really.

One of the reasons we left California was because he had become heat intolerant. Winters are his most active season here. Found out this morning he is also dreading winter heating bills, so it's both his extreme discomfort and money anxiety.

Either way, I need to find a way to compromise or start paying the electric bills myself.

what would you think about a temporary or permanent fix, by using a rod and curtains. Close them to keep the heat inside a room. You could either use a tension rod or something more permanent. Also does your doctor have you on a vitamin regime of Vit C, E, selenium and fresh fruits and veggie diet with no processed foods. No caffeine either and lots of water. Also try those microwave bean or rice neck pad to place around your neck while you cook and such. You can also place them inside a sweatshirt front pocket area for your hands. You can heat them up about every hour. I use them all the time. Hope your project goes well.

I wondered if part of it was the cost of heating. The best way to save money is to set the heat and leave it alone. Check doors and windows for heat loss. Use insulating drapes on windows at night.

Turning the temp down to 50* is NOT going to help, because y'all will spend more on medical bills than on heat.

I made most of the diet changes about 2 years ago before the Reynaud's diagnosis. I wear gloves most of the time, even to bed at night. afghans and mexican blankets are in every room but the kitchen and bathrooms so I can wrap up when I sit.

"West Virginia about 10mi from Virginia and Maryland, 15mi to Pennsylvania" -- I'm guessing Eastern Panhandle. How is your husband going to handle the summer heat and humidity? A/C is going to cost also. You guys really need to talk.

Being too cold actually causes your blood to thicken slightly and circulation to not be as good, which significantly increases risk of stroke. I think husband needs to think about how he is dressing and maybe speak to a doctor - 50 is far too cold for either of you.

Take steps to improve the insulation in the house, get it to 65 or so, and leave it there. (I say 65 because that is about what I recall reading was where the health problems started, although darn if I can find the article now.)

(For hubby, is it warmth or airflow? I often want it to be cooler than my partner in the house, but just having some air flow does the trick - I feel cooler without the room being very cool. A little portable desk or travel fan is adequate usually.)

I suggest you get your hubby to strip down to his skivvies and get him a mister fan or a mister hat to wear. Buy yourself some electric socks and cap. I find if my feet an head are warm I can tolerate cooler temps.

I get that in my hands at the grocery store. Usually when I have handled wet produce and when its cold and when I push the shopping cart. The ends of my fingers look there is no blood flow at all. Yikes! Have hubby cook the dinner from now on so you can relax in front of the new fireplace once its installed or in the new hot tub.

OP - has your husband had the reasons for his heat intolerance diagnosed? If he has an underlying condition, of which there are various possibilities, then that needs to be addressed first.

"Either way, I need to find a way to compromise or start paying the electric bills myself."

Sorry, I'm having an enormous problem with this sentence. My wedding vows said "...for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health..." This might not be any help but *you* are not the one who has to compromise here. There is no compromise you can make; you have a medical issue that demands certain conditions. Your spouse should be understanding of that. I would strongly suggest having a very firm discussion with him, maybe in the presence of your doctor, about your physical *needs.* His "heat intolerance" can be handled with lighter clothes. Or he can sit on the porch, rain or snow too. There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes and I would think the cool rain would be comfortable for him if he likes his house at 50. The money can't be an issue, it must be something you both planned for when you decided on moving.

Or go hang out with the granddaughter in the basement; surely she isn't living in 50° conditions?? Let Hubby fend for himself for a while and I'll bet he shells out for the heating bill.

And yes, I know, don't give advice you haven't been asked for.

lindsey - it just occurs to me that we are looking at two people with medical issues here, not just one. Wanting a temp of 50F is pretty unusual and may reflect an underlying health issue. There are lots of causes of heat intolerance from what I've read - some of them minor, a few of them major. So, it just seems to me that that needs to be looked at first.

If hubby is just being cheap, sure I agree with you, but if he's in genuine discomfort himself, that's a whole other ball of wax. But either way it's one they have to work out together, bcause that's what those vows mean.

Lots of medications cause heat intolerance. My daughter is on three different medications and is constantly complaining of the heat. She turns on the ac when its 70 degrees outside.

You're right jmm1837, if he has a medical condition that is different.

Truthfully though, he can step outside and Bam! the temp is 50°. In the summer, he can have the a/c blasting and she can step outside for her 70+° Compromise :-D

Thank you all for the lively discussion and encouragement.

Yes, hubby has his own medical problems: a 5-way cardiac bypass in 2008, a stent in 2009, diagnosed Type II diabetes in 2015. He deals with summers using a combination of a window AC units and fans.

PirateFoxy got the part about air movement right. The fan on his side of the bed is rarely turned off. The one in the living room is on continuous from April - October.

He read the first half of this conversation yesterday morning, had a minor over-reaction about budgeting $600 for heat (it's never been close to that), then calmed down by evening. He did promise to stop turning the baseboard heaters off.

I still like the idea of doorway curtains, although I can't afford the fancy heavy ones, only what I can sew myself. I might try semi-sheer panels so there's multiple openings to walk through. It's not a 100% solution, but would decrease airflow between rooms. Thanks to Austin Air Companie, Design by Christina Marie and Sherry_7bAL for the drapery suggestions.

Sherry_7bAL, Hubby looked at the bi-fold French doors and liked them. We'll research that idea some more also.

jmm1837 and lindsey, you both have identified some of the core issues.

My concern is that winter cold hasn't even set in yet and we already have a problem. I want to find the compromise(s) that will allow us to enjoy the beauty of snow season as much as our health allows without being in constant relational turmoil.

Thank you all.

suzyq53,
I suggest fingerless gloves and I don't mean the ones with the
fold-over mitten section they are selling in Target, Walmart, etc. If
you know anyone who knits or crochets, there are lots of free patterns
for them, some are like mini-leg warmers with a slit for the thumb,
others extend to the middle joint on the fingers and thumb.

I have a pair I use for driving that are form fitting compression, designed for
carpal tunnel problems. Found them at a yarn shop, but they're available
online too. I suggest buying one size up if you don't want the
compression.

Mostly I wear a crocheted pair with me from fall to late spring and they are really helpful; much better than wearing regular gloves indoors all the time. I find that if I can keep my wrists warm I have less trouble with my fingers.

Too bad I can't wear them while I'm cooking and cleaning. Haven't found a water-proof pair yet.

Kathleen, You both are on the right track! Just keep talking, It will all work out. If you have a place to put this near your chair, I ordered this heater to use in my greenhouse/she shed. I like it because the air is pulled in at the top and the warm air is put out at the bottom.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lasko-1500W-Portable-Automatic-Heat-Regulator-Floor-Level-Air-Flow-Heater-5812/10752554

My mother had Raynaud's also and I know how painful this disease can be. Being cold is the worst situation for you and 50 or even 60 degrees in your home is too cold. Husband has to compromise! I would look into pocket doors for your kitchen opening even if the whole wall has to be ripped out and redone to accommodate them and add your heater so that you are comfortable.

Sounds like an ideal little heater Sherry_7bAL.

We hung a cheap Ikea curtain in a doorway to give our guest room more privacy (we will eventually put in a pocket door) and it isn't very thick at all but it makes a big difference. So it doesn't need to be heavy to help, it just needs to impede airflow. :)

I am concerned still that 50 is too cold even for him. Please do look into or ask your doctor about that. It would be better to keep it warmer but use other tricks (like fans) to keep it tolerable for him, so it isn't actually so cold.

Kathleen you are an amazing person. And I'm glad to hear you and Hubby are on the path to better communication and compromise :) Truly.

We lived in a drafty old mobile home with addition for too long and I found hanging blankets or Walmart curtain panels in doorways to block the cold zones could raise the temperature in our 15x25 addition by 10° without any other changes. So yes, I think hanging something over your open doorway will help so much.

If you use the panels with grommets at the top, you can drive nails or pegs and pop the grommets over those. I found it more durable than a curtain rod with little kids because if they run through and it falls off, you just pop it back. Not so with a rod which continually crashed down for us. Not super pretty though but one can make a fairly tidy job of it.

Lindsey - we did that but with command hooks, the big ones. We like them because if someone actually gets caught up in the curtain somehow, they'll pull off but they handle normal use fine.

Kathleen, you're welcome.

Main reason I mentioned heavy curtains is that they can easily be taken down when / if you decide to move from this home. You always have to think about resale value. A new home owner looking for an open floor plan will probably not like accordion type doorway closure. Because the doorway typically is so wide an accordion style door is probably the only thing that would span across the wide opening. Either that or you're taking on a major construction project that may effect resale value if open floor plan remains in vogue.

As far as thickness or heaviness of the curtain, the better insulating factor between rooms that are heavily heated you will make up the difference in how much that heater has to run. So operational costs will make up for the cost spent on whatever curtain you decide on over time.

With that said, if you can stand the aesthetic look of a blanket used as a curtain... it's not a bad idea.

It's curtains for us.

Is that too much of a bad cliche or campy movie line?

Not sure about whether to use command hooks or nails. This house has low ceilings, 7', so there's only about 6" above the doorway trim. Not sure there'd be enough room for the removal technique needed for command hooks. Might be easier to patch and paint nail holes.

And, yes, I have to keep resale value in mind, especially at our age.

A trip to the local thrift stores is needed. We have a couple nearby that have bedspreads and table cloths. I've been wanting a new grommet tool anyway, mine is leftover from either mom or grandma, a WWII era version.

A heavy fabric would provide the most insulation value. I think a cafe rod with hooks pinned into the fabric would work well. Even easier is to fold the fabric or the top and sew a pocket for the rod. Using three brackets with two screws per bracket should be sufficient. The screw holes can be easily patched up when it is time to take it down.

Your husband should consider a trial of a ketogenic diet under MD supervision. It is great for diabetics and makes people feel colder generally. It is hard initially to tolerate but the gains for some people are extraordinary. There is nothing listed in his history that should give such heat intolerance so dietary manipulation should work. Calorie restriction works very well for heat intolerance. He should try it for your sake - IMO.

Also give consideration to buying a single minisplit to help with heat and a/c. Getting a COP of 3 is pretty easy and that would cut your heating bill by 2/3. It won't really because you will supplement in other rooms but 50% may happen. That would pay for itself in a couple of years. That is not counting a/c which not really clear what you have. If it is window units, a 50% savings is about right.

Window units are what we live with in the summer, good enough for me. Hubby adds a fan.

He is interested in a mini-split but is waiting until we have to take out a loan for a new roof.

Keep in mind the basic two designs of portable electric heaters. Convection types (natural convection or fan-assisted, disperse the heat via air flow sorta like a forced air heating system. Radiant types, as the name suggests, primarily radiate heat like a wood stove, fireplace or (hydronic, electric or steam) radiators. These can be oil-filled or glowing electric coil. The radiators should not be confused with baseboard convectors (covered fin-tube). Some people really like the feel of radiant heat. Think about standing near a fire toasting on one side and cool on the other and turning around to warm the other side. Get it?

We have two oil filled radiator heat electric heaters. They produce a surprising amount of warmth and they feel a lot safer to me because they are really sturdy furniture-looking (they actually closely resemble end tables) and they have a digital thermostat so you can set a temp and they will click off when the room reaches that. They have remotes too! Sadly I cannot remember the brand (maybe duraflame?)

This is very similar, possibly identical (I didn't read the specs on it):

https://www.google.ca/search?q=duraflame+electric+heater&client=ms-android-motorola&sa=X&biw=360&bih=512&tbs=vw:l,ss:44&tbm=shop&prmd=sivn&srpd=6150026957969882027&prds=epd:7088166527818959397,paur:ClkAsKraXwmwVr7GTL2JW69-CenlDJy5VSw9DmYlnqXejgSGLONDZrf18xVJKDaVpTQBwe3DLY02rwGJK0d0ATReX0ijOoHdm_wSuh8dYDaY2IOrZRx3qz4muBIZAFPVH72dLKhSgM3iPxFCdN3oFkS8TZgPww,cdl:1,cid:1494488254133749599&ved=0ahUKEwjQ-tiproPYAhVU9GMKHW4pAKgQgTYIigQ

I feel your pain! I was thinking maybe hubs should invest in some wick away underclothes for comfort and you might want to consider wearing thin wool vests over silk underwear.....you can find them online I believe and that will help you to both moderate your body heat. There are some amazing clothing companies with all types of specialized clothing for any concern.

Also check with your energy company and see if they will come out for free of course, I think they want their customers to be comfy, lol, and check all your heat registers and heat vents to see if they are clean and working properly. They can also make suggestions on more efficient base board heater placement and they might work for you to be more efficient and more comfortable. I am also wondering if there is a computer program the energy company might used to regulate heat? Worth sitting down with Hubs to see what you agree on and disagree on and move on from there.

I agree with the lined curtain ideas; makes a big difference. Another fun idea would be a padded barn door in wool felt for noise and sealing ability. Good that you are looking into all ideas. Good luck.

Thanks for the info on the heaters. I've been thinking this week about what I can set in the fireplace to heat just that area. It's become the book shelves, stitching and game table (just a card table) room.

I had never thought of wool felt mounted on a barn door track. It would be unique and convertible. I could take it down and roll it up for summer storage under a bed or in the loft (a very large upper level of the attached garage).