Home temperature

[ERD50]

I adjust it as a balance of comfort and frugality. I don't care what other people set theirs to, that is not going to influence my decision. I wonder why anyone would care what settings others use?

But what that means for me is I dress accordingly - shorts and t-shirt in summer, long sleeves, sweater, socks and slippers in winter, so I'm generally comfortable with a setting that is more modest than if I didn't dress accordingly.

If I'm active in the house on some project, I can set the heat way lower than if I'm sitting at the computer.

We keep the windows open when we can. A/C is sometimes driven by humidity reduction more than temperature.

I adjust it if I'm leaving the house for a few hours, and the heat temp is set to go way, way down at night, as we find once we are under the covers, we aren't bothered by the cold. Thermostat is set to bring the temp back up just before we normally get up.

-ERD50

 

[njhowie]

For those who use heat at home, what setting do you use? We have it at 69 during days and 67 at night.

That's like the tropics around here.

I try to delay even turning the heat on until Nov 1 every year ... wife was out of town this past week, so I was able to keep it off. Through the cold months, assuming we have no visitors, I keep the thermostat at 62 during the day and 57 at night. Now, that might seem insane, but the thermostats are towards the center of the house and the baseboard heating runs along the perimeter. So generally when you're in a room, it's somewhat warmer than what the thermostat is set at.

 

[Jerry1]

Wow. Those of you sleeping in the 50’s, I’m impressed. That’s cold. Brrrr

 

[calmloki]

We are having a bit of disagreement here - I'm skinny and getting thinner and my heartbeat is regulated down. The gal self-generates warmth like mad. In Oregon we have the heat set to come on around 9AM and go up to 69-70 - I wear long sleeved flannel shirts and the gal is in ounces of flimsy. Heater is turned off at bedtime and we sleep with the upstairs bedroom deck door open - me under three light blankets, her under one. In the morning it is normally 61-64 degrees downstairs.
Heat rises, so the downstairs stays pretty comfortable during hot days - we run a window AC a few days/year and an attic fan at night as necessary for the chimney effect.
In SoCal we set the AC at 77, sleep with the doors open, and find it miserable when the night only dips to 66 by 5AM.

 

[Car-Guy]

We set the AC for ~72 in the summer months and 68 to 70 in the cooler months. (Seldom is really winter, IMO, in my part of Texas)

 

[bloom2708]

71 day, 71 night during heating season. None of us like being cold.

I let it go up to 75/76 during the summer/cooling season, back down to 72 at night.

Our smart thermostat (ecobee3) can detect when nobody is home and let the temps ebb/flow during the day.

A blog I follow at times keeps theirs at 54 in the winter. That is crazy cold. I would be kicked out of the family by the 4 females if I tried to do that.

 

[Bir48die]

Summer varies and can let it get to 77 or so before we turn on air to 72. Winter we're at 68 during the day but with hardwood floors it is dang cold. So I'll cheat to 70 at times. We're at 66 after 10 o'clock.

 

[38Chevy454]

67 winter, 73 summer.

 

[MichaelB]

When in Chicago we keep a very broad range of temperatures in the house, with a low of 72 to a high of 73. In Florida we're more a bit more adventurous, keeping the same low of 72 but going all the way up to 74.

 

[target2019]

heating
68-69 when we're there and up
64-65 when we're out or sleeping

cooling
76-77 most times
79-80 when out of house

we have two separate and complete systems, and can make additional setback periods to save. for our two story with basement and high ceilings, 69 for heat and 77 for cooling are ideal settings. can go about 2-3 degrees in either direction, depending on the ambient temp.

 

[Dtail]

Cooling - mostly 77 all the time - if we kept it lower, the bills would be off the charts. Most of our friends also keep it at 77. It is cool in the house.
Heating - around 69 but probably only applies to January for the most part.

 

[sengsational]

For those who use heat at home, what setting do you use? We have it at 69 during days and 67 at night.

Same here.


I keep night day delta small so it doesn't pump real hard in the AM. If it does, it's not comfortable if you're in the bedroom with the door shut.


69 is deceiving because if you shut a door to a room, it will get quite a bit warmer. The 69 is only in the 2 story kitchen, living, dining, loft and hallways. My office, where I hang out a lot, is 75 with the door shut.

 

[timo2]

For heating, we are on the high end so our pet cockatiel stays a little comfortable. So our heat is at 76 all day and night. It's a little warm for us, but lower than that and the bird starts exhibiting signs of distress.

In the summer, we keep it at 78 during the day, 76 at night. The interesting thing to me is that I'm cold at 76 with refrigerated air running, but hot at 76 with the gas forced air heat??

 

[SumDay]

70 during waking hours, 63 while we snore.

 

[arky]

Winter - 70 during the day, 58 while sleeping
Summer - 78 during the day, windows open while sleeping

 

[RunningBum]

In the summer, we keep it at 78 during the day, 76 at night. The interesting thing to me is that I'm cold at 76 with refrigerated air running, but hot at 76 with the gas forced air heat??

Summer clothes vs. winter clothes. Change in temp from outside. Plus cold air blowing on you feels cold. Warm air blowing on you feels warm.

 

[bloom2708]

Winter - 70 during the day, 58 while sleeping
Summer - 78 during the day, windows open while sleeping

12 degrees drop during the night. That is a big delta.

Does the actual temp get down to 58 at night?

How long and how hard does it take the system to get back to 70?

If I woke up at 58 I would think the furnace has died.

 

[Alan]

We have no A/C so no cooling in the summer.

In the winter we have it set at 68 during the day while we are home and 50 at night.

 

[gerntz]

70D/66N. Sleep better when it's cooler. Have a humidifier which I think makes you feel warmer at any temperature, just as outside.

 

[gerntz]

For heating season we're at:

[*] 65° 5a-7a & 5p-9p Mon-Fri and 5a-9p on Sat/Sun.
[*] 62° 7a-5p Mon-Fri

So why are you colder 7a-5p on weekend days than weekday days?

 

[timo2]

70D/66N. Sleep better when it's cooler. Have a humidifier which I think makes you feel warmer at any temperature, just as outside.

From what I've seen on the intewebs, sleeping temps between 60 to 68 deg F are optimal for a variety of health reasons.

 

[street]

67 daytime and 62 night time settings. Summer AC comes on if it goes above 77. We live in the north country so prefer cold vs hot.

 

[W2R]

Frank keeps his thermostat at 72F, 24/7/365.

Being a woman and living alone, I have the prerogative to change mine fairly capriciously.

At bedtime I turn it down to 72-73 and pile on the comforters to stay warm. Feels snug and nice.

When I awaken, I turn it up to 73. Then when I leave the house I turn it up to 76 since I'm not at home. When I get back, I intend to turn it back down to 73 right away but often forget until the evening. If I leave it at 76F, often I end up having the most delightful naps at that warmer temperature. Then I turn it back down.

Since AC also lowers the humidity, a lot of this depends on what the humidity is. If it is cool but still humid outside, I sometimes turn the thermostat down an additional degree or so, for comfort.

These are all AC temperatures. In January and February, AC is not needed most days. Often I turn the heat up a couple of degrees higher than what I prefer during the summertime.

 

[ERD50]

Winter - 70 during the day, 58 while sleeping
Summer - 78 during the day, windows open while sleeping

12 degrees drop during the night. That is a big delta.

Does the actual temp get down to 58 at night?

How long and how hard does it take the system to get back to 70?

If I woke up at 58 I would think the furnace has died.

We do something similar. On most winter nights, it won't even drop to the set temperature. And we sleep upstairs, so heat rises. If you get in a warm bed with comforters, the colder air actually feels good, it's not uncomfortable (if it was, we wouldn't do it!).

With a gas hot-air furnace, the room feels warm very quickly, as you have warm air circulating.

-ERD50

 

[RunningBum]

^^ This is why I love a programmable thermostat over a simple dial. I can turn my heat way down, then let it fire up 1/2 or so before I get up, so it's at least somewhat normal by the time I get up. I also get the morning sun so that helps heat things up too.