Well, I dunno...
I’ve been casting about for an idea to keep the heat downstairs while the wood stove is burning this winter. I’ve actually tried a couple of things in the last couple of years, but nothing that worked spectacularly well. And then one of the people on the 90% mailing list mentioned using quilts as insulation to keep cold out and heat in. Now that was an idea, I thought.
So...I asked if anyone on Freecycle had a queen size quilt with red and green being the predominant colors. Turns out someone did. A brand new one that an in-law had given for Christmas and she utterly hated it. Hadn’t even taken it out of the package yet. All mine if I wanted it.
I picked it up today and, well, it’s got red and green in it. And a lot of brown paisley and other antique-y colors. It’s okay, but not something I’d go out and buy, either. Can’t argue with free, though. The quilt turned out to be the absolute perfect size—86” x 90”.
Off I went to Home Depot to find a dowel or some such device on which to hang the quilt. I found an 8 foot closet rod pole. A designer one, even. And then I found the rings from which to hang the quilt and the little brackets for the rod. Brought it all home and cut the rod to size and drilled the holes and affixed the brackets to the wall. For some reason nothing went wrong. Imagine that.
So, anyway. I now have the quilt hung and I’ve been standing back looking at it and I’m not sure that I like it. I think the idea has a lot of merit, but I haven’t talked myself into liking the quilt yet. It does sort of fight with my arts and crafts style stained glass lamp shades. (I think the lamp on the desk has to find a new home, too, if the quilt stays.) I could turn the quilt around—it’s a plain cream color on the back. Or I might get used to the front side.
I suppose that before I decide the quilt’s fate, I should try it out first. There is about a 6 inch gap between the top of the quilt and the ceiling. That’s more than enough to let some heat upstairs. I would like a little bit to go upstairs, but not an entire roomful all at once. This should work.
I had thought I might start a fire tonight, but I’m not cold. That’s a borderline miracle since the house is only 66° and it’s only 45° outside. Drilling holes and hanging hardware and quilts must be warm work.
I think the quilt will stay as is for the time being. I tried turning it around this morning, but the cream color is way too bland. The patterned side is kind of growing on me. I’d love to get my hands on an Amish quilt, though. Having that much color and pattern on one side of the living room is the most visual excitement the room has seen since I’ve lived here. I kind of like it.
Later last night, I went upstairs and found a pretty big difference between the upstairs and downstairs temps. What small amount of heat I generated by just being here and doing a bit of cooking stayed downstairs. And this morning it was about 63 degrees downstairs while a rather brisk 58 degrees upstairs. With an open staircase, usually the upstairs is much warmer than the downstairs. So I think this might work pretty well.
Posted by Kate on 10/15/07 at 11:03 AM
Next project should be to generate some electricity from the hot air that will be rushing through that 6-inch gap and up the stairs in the middle of the winter. Fan blades, electromagnet, ...
If I recall my physics, though, that generates DC. Converting it to AC for addition to the grid might consume more energy than you’d generate. Oh well, never mind. Still anything that would permit livability downstairs without baking the upstairs (or requiring open windows upstairs to vent the excess heat) would be a plus.
Oh man, I remember opening the upstairs windows a crack to vent the hot air. Even back before I had a stove. What a horrid waste of energy that was.
Well, so far so good. I started a small hot fire earlier this afternoon. It was really cold in here. Ordinarily it takes quite a while to warm up the downstairs, but today the thermometer was up to 73° within a half an hour. I let the fire go out without adding anything more to the initial fire and it’s still a toasty 71° downstairs. But the upstairs is 65°. That is quite nice. As the weather gets colder, the upstairs will probably cool more, which works fine for me. I like sleeping in a colder room. But I do love having the warmth retained downstairs. I should be able to burn less wood this way. A lot less, I’m hoping.
Posted by Kate on 10/15/07 at 05:17 PM
I think it looks nice. And if it helps with the heat, then it looks beautiful.
Cas
Simply put and elegantly said, Cassie. I’ve rapidly come around to total agreement. I was just counting on my fingers...excluding October, there are now just 5 months of winter heating left. I’ve already saved wood with the quilt. Not very much, but every stick of wood counts. When I can let a fire go out and, six hours later, say, “it’s still warm enough”—that counts. The weather is going to cooperate for the remainder of October, so there won’t be much call for heat. That helps, too. My goal is to get to the end of March with wood left over. Every stick of wood not burned now is one saved for those 2° days in February when I’d like very much not to be looking at a woodpile that’s dwindling much too rapidly. This will be an experimental winter and I’m kind of excited to see how this quilt thing works out. If it works as well as I hope, then I think it might be quite acceptable to invest in a *really* nice quilt next year.
Posted by Kate on 10/16/07 at 12:04 PM
Turn it around to the bland side and create a masterpiece on that side!! And if you hate it, then turn it around to the side you see now.........;)
Posted by cyn on 10/17/07 at 09:43 PM
Kate, I have a green and red (burdundy-ish and it has some blue in it, too - Bob Timberlake) quilt that you can have if you want it. I think it’s a full size instead of queen. I’ll take a picture of it - if you want it, email me and I’ll email the picture to you.
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Those earth tone colors are certainly arts and crafts though. I think it’s a clever idea, and I’ll bet it’s a very old idea too. Couldn’t you talk yourself into liking it for the season? Maybe you could keep your eyes open for a better looking quilt in the meantime.