On Sep 6, 1:16 pm, dpb wrote:
terry wrote:

...

Conventional (incandescent) bulbs in this home contribute heat to our
residence which directly offsets the electric heating; so it is not
really wasted. ...

Of course, those same incandescents add the same heat in the warm months
as well, so the benefit in the winter may be canceled by higher cooling
load in the summer...

--

Yes dpb; that could be true.

In the evenings which of course are longer in summer so lights go on
later and evening is when it's almost always cool here.

So very rarely does anyone here have or use AC units (unless it is one
of those reverse cycle heat pumps for heating the house in winter) and
doubt even then that they would keep changing back and forth between
heating and cooling modes?

Last few days of August (which we consider late summer) it's been
around 15 degrees Celsius (Approx mid 60s Fahrenheit) during the day.
Some 5 C, degrees cooler at night; or approx low 50s. F. No trouble
sleeping!
Lights go on later in summer/fall and do contribute slightly to home
heat. In fact only today, Sept 6th, is it cool enough to even consider
switching on any of the heating thermostats. It' s now past midday and
haven't done so yet.

So we don't have any cooling load at all. Do occasionally run a
dehumidifier in part of basement during the summer to keep down
dampness due to warmer more humid outside air seeping in there.

Otherwise our almost completely in ground basement stays at around
55-60 deg F. most of the time, except very coldest and windiest
weather when it may occasionally dip to around 50 deg. F.

You have to think in terms of a climate that never gets warm enough
(or only very rarely for a few days a year at most) to need any
cooling. Only a short distance from the North Atlantic this is
considered a 'maritime' climate; heat and cold being modified by the
mass of the ocean.