Survey: Would You Use an Electric Blanket?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 10.17.08
TreeHugger Alan was surprised by his gas bill and possibly surprised a lot of other TreeHuggers and bought an electric blanket. Was this wise?
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I voted "A" because we do use a duvet, but you left out an option: I've got a husband two cats and on cold night they usually end up sleeping on me, which is nice and toasty...if not always comfortable. Those nights we even keep the heat down to encourage more snuggling. Nothing makes you feel loved like a snoring husband and purring cats ;-)
Pre-heat only, d'uh.
We had electric blankets when I was a kid, but there were two types - ones you used with the regular blankets above your body and kept on all night, and ones you used as mattress pads that were only put on in the evening before getting in to bed, to pre-warm it. With enough duvets or blankets to keep you warm all night, you don't need to run them all night (and it always did freak me out to have electricity going all night that close to my body), but it sure was nice to jump into a toasty warm bed from a freezing cold bedroom.
It's not really cold enough around here to use the heater since it dries everything out, but we do occasionally light a fire using almond wood, which is a renewable source since the almond tree needs to be regularly replanted to produce good almonds.
My family has always used it to warm up the bed before you jump in and never turn it on while next to it. You fall asleep comfortably and dont feel drowsy in the morning. A win win situation as i see it.
We used electric blankets last winter rather using the heat all night.
Of course it sucks that our electricity is not from the most environmentally friendly source in the world but it could be worse. At least we're trying, which is more than I can say for a lot of people.
Get a feather blanket - it will feel warm the very instant you tuck in and keep you that way even if room is chilling. And for some reason they dont overheat when the room is warm, so You can use them during summer as well without waking up covered in sweat.
I wouldn't buy an electric blanket for myself. But I have to buy one for my mom. More than one blanket on her fragile 78-year-old body is way too heavy. She is not well. So I have aquisessed. So, sometimes we have to consider the circumstances.
Are electric blankets safe? What are EMFs? Should I be concerned regarding them?