Do any of you use an electric blanket at home? I'm curious about these as an energy saver and also for certain bug-in situations.

From a safety POV, I have to say that I'm pretty leery of electrical wiring embedded within flammable material. And yet, the blankets I see on the shelves are apparently approved by all the right agencies, and they can even withstand machine washing and drying. They must be reasonably robust.

I'm thinking of using it in an always chilly sitting room in our house. But I'm also thinking of it for power outages, where a small genny would be swapped around in sequence, keeping fridges, freezer, sump pump, and main furnace going. I would still have a few hundred watts to spare. The queen size electric blankets seem to run around 130 watts, which is very do-able.

And then, of course, there's fluffy car camping in the early spring and late fall shoulder seasons to save on the outrageous cost of mountain resort hotels.

I'd appreciate your thoughts, experiences, and cautions.

For many years my wife and I used an electric mattress warmer (Mattress Warmer), which traps the heat under the blankets. We normally keep our house temperature at 600F at night and found the mattress warmer a good way to warm up the bed before we would get in for the night. We would then lower the setting on the mattress warmer to the lowest level and was quite comfortable.

The mattress warmer died a few years ago and we decided not to replace it and just suck it up for a few minutes when we first get into bed which is a little cold. We now use a synthetic comforter, which works really well once our body heat warms up the bed.

Pete

One year in university, I had an uninsulated bedroom. (It was intended to be a sunroom so had lots of windows. It was kind of like winter camping with walls and a roof to cut the wind and snow. That was a really cold winter. A glass of water on my bedside table would freeze overnight but I was super toasty in my bed with my mattress heater. It was a gift from my grandparents and over 20 years ago, so I have no recollection of the make or model but, man, it worked really well, as long as I didn't drink too much before bed.

As a reformed Miinnesotan, i can say that electric blankets are cheaper and safer than space heaters, as well as using much less power....

For bug in, are you thinks of using a regular one via an inverter?

Or getting one of the 12 volt car ones?

I would suspect the 12 volt ones would be cheaper to run....

Rather than an electric blanket, try fleece sheets.

we sleep with the windows open and temps here can get down to freezing.

i like the mattress warmer - be sure to turn it on 15 - 20 mins before you go to bed! nothing like getting into a nice warm, cozy bed.

we don't use the mattress warmer since we bought a "middle weight" down comforter. love that too. it's light on top of us, cold when we get in, but is actually too warm when the overnight temp is > 50F.

y m m v

I use a Wiggy's bag on my bed. I don't think it can get cold enough in SD for me to ever need more than that!

Thanks for the responses! Living in a winter climate, I'm always looking for creative ways to beat Jack Frost and dodge high energy bills.

Sleeping warm is never a problem. Lots of warm comforters, fleece blankets, and arctic sleeping bags if needed.

I am more interested in certain waking situations -- creating a low-energy-consumption micro-climate where I can read or type without distraction (or gloves). My three-season sunroom comes to mind -- beautiful winter views on a sunny day, but not warm enough to sit and enjoy. In my little writer's cabin too, an electric blanket would give quick heat while the old wood stove slowly gets up to speed. And, it's a lot more economical than firing up an electric space heater.

I think it's worth a try. Time to keep a close eye on Boxing Week sales.

try sleeping under a electric blanket on a heated water bed!!!
i did that for a few winters in a wood heated cabin.later i got rid of the water bed and slept in a down sleeping bag with a wool blanket over it.the cold coming up from a mattress in a unheated room is the killer.sleeping on top of layers of wool blankets helped but i had some nasty back spasms until i moved to a real house in the city and a bedroom that was kept a bit warm so the mattress did not hold the cold.

I have avoided electric blankets. For sleeping I use 2 duvets and a hot water bottle. I like the feel of the weight of the duvets, and they provide a lot of insulation. The water bottle can be filled from any source. Normally I use an electric kettle, but I also have a gas cooker and, in a pinch, coal.

(I live in the UK. I gather Americans have a different attitude to kettles on account of their mains power being less.)