Thermostat winter setting: keeping the peace

[imoldernu]

Interesting stuff... As a kid, back in the 1940's, we heated with coal (when we could afford it, coke when times were tough) and steam heat.. My dad "banked" the furnace before he went to work the late shift at 10PM, and by morning, if I had a glass of water near the bed, it would be frozen. That said, with warm wool blankets, and pajamas with feet ("Bunnies")... not too bad, as dad would get home around 6:30 AM, and build up the steam, in time for breakfast. I'd guess our house was kept at about 65, during the day.

Back to the temperature setting... In summer we keep it at about 76, and NOW... in our dotage, keep the winter temperature at 74 most of the time... The cost to heat our 1500sf house in Central Illinois, comes to about $150 -$175/mo. using gas heat. Was told by inspector when we moved in, that the walls and cathedral ceilings were so well insulated that our bills would likely be fairly low. We also use our gas fireplace.

Don't know whether that's high or low, but it works for us. The other part... air conditioning... is reasonable since our KW hour electric rate is $.0675... (about 1/2 of what we pay for Commonwealth Edison rates at our camp... 27 miles away.) A/C during the summer is an average of $100 mo.

Ten years ago we would have been aghast at those temperature settings, but as we grow older, priorities change... comfort over cost.

 

[ziggy29]

Using a programmable thermostat to take the night setting down to 55-58 is great, as long as you get it back up to 65 or so before the morning, and as long as you don't need a potty break in the middle of the night....

 

[CoolChange]

Okay, I'm the outlier here. A guy at my former job said that NASA used the IR signature from my house as a navigational beacon.

We keep it at a minimum of 78 year round, sometimes to 80 in the summer. Recently DW has been complaining about it being too hot, which is a change because we've almost never disagreed about indoor temperature.

She's wearing a t-shirt and shorts, I'm wearing thermals, top and bottom, flannel shirt and long pants, and she's complaining about it being hot. Sheesh. Women!

30° F outside this morning. This is not good trend.

An outlier, definitely; but, not unique. This is similar to what I did when living alone (in an apartment where both heat and hot water were included in rent rather than metered). Actually, in the summer, I almost always had my windows open rather than running the A/C. But, I hate to be cold; and, with free heating, no reason for me to even be chilly.

My electric bill actually went up a few dollars in the winter because the furnace blower ran so much. In the summer, it was less than 1/10 the bill of my neighbors who kept their A/C's running all the time, about 1/20 of the ones who kept their apartments really chilly in the summer.

Now: 78-80 during the day in the summer; 73 in during the day in the winter; about five degrees cooler for sleeping.

 

[Walt34]

Was told by inspector when we moved in, that the walls and cathedral ceilings were so well insulated that our bills would likely be fairly low. We also use our gas fireplace.

When our house was built we paid extra for the most insulation that would fit in the attic, wind barrier on the outside, and a couple of other things I forget about. We know we like it warmer than most people. That's also why the availability of natural gas heat was a big factor in our buying decision.

LBYM doesn't (or shouldn't) mean freezing in the winter so when the gas bill comes we don't fret about it. That's one of our luxuries.

 

[bbbamI]

Seriously, look at the Nest. Everyone who owns one seems to love it (I sure do).

Simple example:
Last summer when it was fairly hot, I had it set to "Away" during a trip. When we landed at our home airport, I pulled out my iPhone and tapped the Nest app to turn "Away" off and start the a/c going. By the time we retrieved our bags, got the car from the parking lot and made it to the house, the temperature was perfect. A small thing perhaps, but incredibly convenient. I also like the way the Nest "learns" your patterns from how you adjust it.

Thank you...

 

[F4mandolin]

Temp set at 69 during the day (61 at night) in winter.....doesn't get there normally since we burn. Problem....careful adjustments to keep the living room at around 72...rooms to the outside of the house are a good bit cooler. A quick hair dryer run through the covers of the bed take the cold off the sheets....niiiiiiiiice.

 

[NW-Bound]

In my high-country home at 7000ft, I set the thermostat at 45F year round, whether we are there or not. The heat pump has never been set to "Cool" mode, except for testing, because cooling is rarely needed. The house is chalet-style with 25-ft high ceiling, and sits on top of a sun-drenched south slope of a hill.

I just came back to town from there. Could not stay longer as we have things to do in town on Monday. The following is how our last few days were.

I woke up in the morning, came out to the living room to look at the thermometer. It was 38F outside, and the inside was 61F. I was in t-shirt and shorts, and comfortable. I made coffee, then sat in the sofa to contemplate the morning sun that would soon flood the large windows and glass doors. When my wife woke up and joined me later, the temperature was already up to 67F.

At noon, my wife would open some doors and windows; the temperature inside was already in the mid-80s, and she said it felt hot. The outside was in the mid-50s.

So, you might ask if I even needed any heating at all. Oh, I did, and it was a small portable electric heater inside our bedroom to keep the temperature in the high 60s at night.

In the midst of winter, when the average low temperature is 20F, with occasional excursions down to even negative Fahrenheit (about the same as many midwest places), the heat pump does run to keep the living space to 45F. We also turn on the electric blanket. I would go out in the morning to make coffee in long pants and a sweater. And the temperature in living space would heat up to the mid-70s in midday while outside it was perhaps 50F, and we would not open any window so as to preserve all that solar-gained precious heat. In the evening, the living room might be down to the mid-60s when we sat listening to music or watching TV. A small radiant heater was turned on as needed to keep us comfortable.

This is an all-electric home. Lowest electric bill was less than $40, and highest electric bill was less than $100. The minimum charge was perhaps already $25 even if we used no electricity at all. Quicken said that our electric bill was $499.94 for the last 12 months. I guess if we were there full-time, perhaps that might double to $1000?

Were we too frugal, and kept the house too cold? Maybe I am like the preacher in the song "California Dreaming" and like the cold. But to answer the OP's question, my wife never complains, so perhaps she likes the cold too.

 

[6miths]

It can be a bit of a battle. I tend to set it at 68 day time but it finds its way up to 72 when I'm not looking on occasion. It's programmable so it resets to 60 when house is empty in daytime. We heat the great room with wood and it can get quite toasty. I know when we are overdoing it as the dog leaves the room! Nighttime we go to 60 but I must confess that the master bedroom has a gas FP that does come on - usually just to warm up the room at bedtime and sometimes in the morning. I'm putting a NEST type thermostat in soon so will have more control but I think that the main benefit will be in the summer as cooling is way, way more expensive than heating.

 

[aja8888]

Location is important. Here in south Texas it's all about A/C. We have a two story house (mistake). We have a contract on a one story house (close next Friday).

Summer (April - October); set at 78 - 80 F

Winter (whenever it gets under 60 F) - A/C off, gas heat at ~70F

Typical electrical power bill (2,000 sq ft house) - $150 - $230 summer months

Typical natural gas bill - $70 winter months (includes gas stove and gas hot water heater).

 

[F4mandolin]

I'm planning on moving back to N Yorkshire in 3 years....I need to set the temp to "don't die".

 

[ohyes]

Keep ours at 66 in the winter--turned it on two days ago. At 78 in the summer.

We have geothermal and the instruction booklet tells us not to change the temp--find a place and leave it. Being a total rule-follower, I am scared to touch it.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I set our house to 72 during the daylight house when we are home and 64 when we are at w* rk and at night when we have gone to bed. It's programmable and has the house back up to 70 each morning before I rise to shower and to 72 by breakfast.

 

[ABQ2015]

I live alone in a large house about 2600 SF that is 60 years old with single pane windows. In winter keep thermostat about 65-68 in the day when at home and 62 at night or when at work. However, I have hot water radiators and my bedroom is the most far from the boiler and may be in the 50's by bedtime. So I have a space heater in the bedroom and turn it on about an hour before I go to bed just to heat the room up a little. I prefer a cool bedroom anyway.

Also have an old wall heater in the den which I love because you can turn it on and it just blows out the heat. It's great when it is very cold and one is chilled. You can just stand in front of it and warm right up. Then turn it back down.

My highest gas bill last winter was $220 but about $170 in the other winter months. If I kept the house in the 70's, it could cost $300 or more.

In the summer I have swamp coolers and ceiling fans so costs are very reasonable. Think I keep it about 76 to 78. These work pretty well but when the outside temperature gets about 95 or higher or if the humidity gets high, it would be nice to have refrigerated air.

 

[davemartin88]

Geothermal here as well and we typically set it at 68 or 69 for heating seasons and about 75 for cooling seasons, then leave it alone. We used to drop the temperature at night during the winter but must admit, I like having it nice and warm if I get up at night.

We also have a woodstove in the basement so on really cold days, we like to use it and sit down there where the temp will get in to the mid 70's- really nice when setting around just reading or watching tv.

 

[donheff]

I go with about 70 day and 67-68 night. If it is too cool during the day I need gloves. That strikes me as a ridiculous practice.

 

[RE2Boys]

68 in the evenings and weekends when occupied,66 at night, and 60 weekdays when unoccupied.
The two end bedrooms and the family room regularly run two degrees colder during heating season, otherwise would turn down the core of the house further at night. Have a gas log set in family room so often at 70 when family gathers.

 

[gozer]

So what do others set their house temperatures to? Any family disagreements about this one?

Programmable thermostat. In the winter we set it to 67 during the day, 55 at night and when we are not home.

Because of the houses extremely high efficiency rating, it rarely drops below 62-63 in the house at night, as long as the temp outside is above 25. We have occasionally had inside temps go below 60 at night when it's negative 20 or lower outside. But we usually only have 5 to 20 days below zero a year and negative 20 is flirting with record lows.

My biggest problem is the summer. Because of hot flashes, my wife keeps pushing the AC down to 66 at night (74 during the day). In the summer it feels like I live in a meat locker at night.

 

[Sesq]

For the geothermal folks - are the savings on the utility bills legit?

I like a comfortable house. We usually set the heat at 72-74 and the AC at 70-74. I don't hesitate to turn on either system in the spring or the fall. I have only owned modern houses with good windows and insulation, so the bills have never been to extreme I budget $250/mo and the split between gas and electric is usually less.

I wish we had zoned heat in this house as the bedrooms can be a problem.

 

[eytonxav]

We've only been in our new house for a little more than a month. During that time, the outside temp has seen a high of about 94 and low of 44. We have our AC set at 76 and we actually felt cold on the few hotter days when AC came on. When it was 44 degrees outside the house got down to 68 overnight, but I suspect this was mostly due to the fresh air system coming on and piping in colder outside air. We will probably set the thermostat at 70 during the winter as DW always feels cold. The big unknown for me, is how the fresh air system might affect inside temperatures and energy consumption.

 

[Khan]

Gas fired water, radiators and baseboard: 60, 50 at night or when away.
Window A/C downstairs: 80, or not at all if humidity is low.
Window fan for bedroom at night.

 

[harley]

For the geothermal folks - are the savings on the utility bills legit?

Seems so to me, but no science to back it up. When we built the house 5 years ago I was disappointed to discover I was paying about the same for electricity in our new MD geothermal home as I was in our previous (equally large) VA home. However, after doing some research I discovered that we were paying almost exactly double per KWh in MD, so I'm marking it down as at least a 30% improvement, even allowing for some better insulation and other energy saving tech.

Regarding keeping the house too cool, ours is currently 65, but the pug on my lap is keeping my personal thermostat nice and toasty.

 

[NW-Bound]

Location is important. Here in south Texas it's all about A/C. We have a two story house (mistake)...

Summer (April - October); set at 78 - 80 F

Typical electrical power bill (2,000 sq ft house) - $150 - $230 summer months...

The OP asked about thermostat setting for the winter, but as you mentioned cooling, my other home in the low-elevation metro area is 2,800 sq.ft., and the highest electric bill was near $400 in the summer. Setting is 78F.

This same home in the winter is set at 68F. Electric bill typically runs $150 in January.

 

[RetireAge50]

70 Day 60 Night Fall-Spring
Off during summer
Seattle area

 

[Alan]

I'm planning on moving back to N Yorkshire in 3 years....I need to set the temp to "don't die".

I know exactly what you mean. We also plan on moving to N Yorkshire in 3 years time, but only during the summer months.

 

[KB]

I'm another one with 70 during the day and no lower than 68 at night in the winter.

In summer, I set the A/C at 78 during the day and shut it off at night. I have a whole house fan that I use at night and it almost always cools down to below 70.

If I feel too hot or cold, I change those setting a degree or two. My house is well insulated and I have low utility bills so I see no need to be uncomfortable.