Can having an electric heater and reducing the thermostat to bearable?
A electric blanket would. Blanket about 40 watts upto queen size. Portable electric heater min 700 watts usually up to around 1,000 watts or more. A lot less cost to stay warm during the night. Several blankets, one for each bed running on high 24/7 still cheaper than a electric 700 watt heater for a few hours. If not a problem, one more for a chair to watch TV would reduce utility bill lots. Why so little works so good. That heat is all applied directly to your body. So most of your body is warmed. Not some cold air between you and the heater. Much more efficient in warming you. You do not want to lower the thermostat TOO low, as in an EXTREME example it gets to 30 degrees F or zero degrees C. Most of the stuff inside not designed to handle that cold without damage. Also don't want to risk damage caused by parts of where you are having water pipes burst do to the water freezing, can have expensive repairs to a concrete floor like in a garage. Any concerns about getting cold enough to cause damage. Ask several people that you know about problems that occurred in the area you are living. Asking about gossip about neighbors who thought they knew everything better than people living there might be the best. And had problems because they didn't. If you live in Southern California very unlikely have to worry about freezing. If you live in Maine or New York a different story.