How to heat your room without going broke

Taisho era kotatsu, Rijksmuseum

In December 2022, TEPCO and other power companies announced subsidized rates from January to counter inflation and rising energy prices. You’ll get a break of about 7 yen per kilowatt hour. It's a little relief as the cost of living continues to rise. A big issue in the face of rising energy costs is keeping warm this winter - we're experiencing freezing overnight in the Kanto region. 

Average electricity bills

So, to figure out how to be thrifty with my energy use while keeping warm, I did some research. According to government statistics, the average electricity bill for a one-person household in 2021 was Y5452 and it rises by about Y1000 from January to March. My electricity bill for my 1LDK apartment in December 2022 was reasonable at Y3475. How am I managing? Judicious use of heat sources. 

 
Holing up in one room

My 1LDK apartment is in a typical wood-frame building with single-pane windows and poor insulation. In the warmer months, I get good use of the whole space, but in winter I retreat to the 10-mat living and kitchen space which faces southwest. The sun shining in the southwest-facing windows warms my place, but at night, it’s frosty.

The kotatsu-aircon solution
A kotatsu is a cheap heating option. Using a kotatsu on the low setting for eight hours a day costs less than 500 yen a month. Even on high, the cost is only about double. Warming just your legs and feet helps circulation and you feel warm. There are downsides, however - you can get stuck under it! When I work at home, it’s convenient for me as a desk space. I take breaks so I don’t become one with my kotatsu.

The next most efficient is aircon. If you run an aircon eight hours a day, the bill ranges between 3000-6000 yen a month. I set mine to about 22 degrees.

Now, here’s the counterintuitive part - if you use them together, you’ll be more comfortable and reduce electricity demand. When you run the aircon only, you may be tempted to set it higher because the warm air rises and your toes freeze. Turn the aircon down, set your kotatsu to low, and you can keep your whole self warm.

Don't dry out!

Winter air is dry as it is, and the aircon unit dries you out even more. Genkidesu has good advice about dealing with dry skin, including using a humidifier.  If you don’t have one, you can humidify without a humidifier with things you have on hand.

How do you heat your room? How are you keeping your costs down?