I've not tried anything quite as extreme as zero food and zero power. But I have over the last two winters as well as this one, not turned on the heating system. -This was to save money on heating bills, as well as to experience what it would be like to deal directly with cold for a few months.
-I set the thermostat so that should the indoor temp drop below 6 degrees above freezing, it would turn on the heating system. -This was to avoid damaging the plumbing. The heating typically comes on two or three times per Winter during those dangerously cold nights. It's pretty disgusting when it does as dust collected in the heaters produces a nasty-smell. Cooking flesh, if I understand it correctly. Yuck. I don't like it when the heat turns on!
Anyway.., aside from saving about $1500 per Winter on electricity, I have learned a few things...
1. My body takes about 2-3 weeks to adapt to the onset of the cold season. I'd feel cold and unhappy, until... Something shifts and then 10 degrees above freezing, while still not comfortable, doesn't really slow me down. The most difficult aspect is that my hands become cold and it is hard to work with them. -But I find that going over to other people's houses which are heated to normal "room temps" has me sweating and feeling uncomfortably over-heated even in light clothing.
2. Sleeping in a cold environment is really quite enjoyable. Getting into a cold bed is challenging, but after a few seconds, things warm up and it feels great to be under a heavy load of extra blankets. It can take quite a while for my toes and knees to warm up if I've gone to bed really cold, but in the morning it's like waking to find yourself in a lovely warm burrito hug. On really cold nights, I find breathing to be uncomfortable; my mucus membranes don't like it at all. I discovered that bunching up a bit of one of the thin cotton sheets near my face solved that; like breathing through a puff ball, it leaves enough gaps for fresh air to come in, but holds enough heat from my breath to keep the inside of my nose from freeze drying. -I recall reading that foxes and other furry animals would tuck their muzzles into their tail fur when sleeping for similar reasons.
3. The first Winter was the worst! My nose was constantly red and dripping from the cold, eventually became raw and painful, and I just couldn't seem to get warm enough ever. Two pairs of wool socks, many layers of leggings and sweaters.., and I'd still get so cold that I'd lose feeling in my toes and fingers. I was only a few months into Keto adoption the first time, so I was also feeling weird and a bit sick to my stomach. The whole experience was thoroughly miserable, but I stuck it out, figuring, "It's only four months. I may have to do this for real, so let's buck up and quit complaining." It was a very pleasant surprise when things got better after the first three weeks. Still, even then I'd sometimes get so cold that I'd be shivering uncontrollably and have to take a hot shower to warm up. With no hot water during a real emergency, I don't know what I would have done! -Probably have spent more time in bed under all those blankets. -And bear in mind, this is all in an environment which was *above freezing* at all times! My apartment retains some heat from cooking and light bulbs and body heat and such. I keep blankets over the window wells, and that helps keep some heat in. But being reduced to a shuddering mess in 12 degrees told me I wasn't doing well.
This (my third) Winter is much easier. Partly this is due to my having the routine down; I know what to wear and when to retreat to bed before I get too cold. I haven't needed any emergency showers to warm up. No deep shivering episodes. With my Keto diet well established, I notice that my hands and fingers rarely get so cold that I can't work; my circulation is obviously much better than it was. (Thank-you Pork and Butter!)
Mind you, I also spend time going out to heated places; my job place is very warm, and I'll visit cafes and such during my days off. I spend about a third of my total time away from home in warm places, so the experiment is not entirely realistic in terms of what an actual society-wide extended heatless Winter would be like.
The big lessons I've learned from the last three Winters are these: "Before you get too cold, retreat to bed with a book. There's a reason animals hibernate! Once you've warmed up you can get up for another couple of hours. It's okay to swing between certain body-temp boundaries, but getting too cold is hard to come back from, and without any heat resources, (like hot showers), it can be dangerous."
And the other lesson is that it's *not* business as usual in the Winter. I'm not an Eskimo; as well-adapted as I've become, I find I'm never quite comfortable; I vaguely feel like I'm surviving rather than living. I really value the warm months now!
And finally, I'd like to move at some point to live in a house with a wood stove. Electric heat is not a good plan.
