Gas company: Set thermostat to 58F at nite to save on heating bills

[RichardE]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ

Originally posted by: RichardE
54 here usually. (what we set it too)

That's just insane.

I'm in Northern Virginia where it's about 45 during the day and 28-30 at night. I set mine to about 73 when I'm home and about 68 when I go to sleep. I don't like waking up to a freezing cold house. I turn the heater off completely from 7am - 5pm when I go to work.

My electric bill for my 1b/1b is about $90/month but i don't mind paying it to stay warm and comfortable.

I never get *cold* at that temp.

 

[Gothgar]

slept with the window open last night and no heater and it got down to 60 in here...

California is hard living

 

[Deeko]

Yikes, 58 doesn't even sound healthy.

Anyway, I live in an apartment known for being hot - in the summer its usually hotter in here than outside. That works out well in the winter - my apartment ranges from 72-75 at all times in the winter. I have the thermostat set at 70, but I can't remember it ever actually turning on.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: holden j caufield

Originally posted by: speg
Jesus, you guys like it cold. I like it around 71-72.

Are some of you eskimos?

seriously....

 

[BW86]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Usually just turn the heat off at night.

same. 68F during the day

 

[Imdmn04]

All my computers and monitors in the house warms it nicely.

 

[sswingle]

Down to 50 at night. 65 during the day. I dont even notice it, but my wife says its cold at times.

 

[ultimatebob]

I leave my thermostat around 62 all winter, but I also have a space heater that kicks on around 5 AM to warm up my bedroom when I wake up.

When I first moved here, I had all the the thermostats set at 72... and I ended up with a $600 electric bill that month. I'm not doing that again any time soon!

 

[imported_Imp]

Around 18 C all day. Thermostat is not programmable, don't feel like getting one that is.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I set mine to 58 when I am away at work, and between 58 and 68 when I am home.


I have my thermostat programmed to go to 68 at 7:30am, so that it's warmish when I wake up in the morning at 8, at 8:30, I allow the temp to drop to 58. I usually get home from work around 7, so I have it programmed to heat back up to 64 around 6:30. At 9pm it goes up to 67. (usually playing games on the PC in the basement or in the home office at that time), then at 1am it drops to 60. (Usually in bed by then)

I live in the Chicago area, and my gas bill in the winter is usually a lot less than my electrical bill in the summer... (I HATE when it's more than about 71 or 72 inside ...)

 

[Capt Caveman]

I have multiple heating zones in my house. At bedtime downstairs is set to 58f and upstairs 62f. At work, both are set to 60. And at home, both set to 64f. Fleece keeps me toasty.

 

[Mungla]

You guys are insane or truly are eskimos. I have a fairly large 3 bedroom house. It is very well insulated (brick house too) and very air tight. The previous homeowner invested in a geothermal heatpump and it works amazingly. My highest electric bill in the winter is usually around $120 and about $90 in the summer. Since I have a heatpump, it is more efficient to leave the thermostat set at a permanent temperature and leave it. I leave it set to 70F in the winter. I shudder at the thought of waking up to 58F in the house.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Mungla
You guys are insane or truly are eskimos. I have a fairly large 3 bedroom house. It is very well insulated (brick house too) and very air tight. The previous homeowner invested in a geothermal heatpump and it works amazingly. My highest electric bill in the winter is usually around $120 and about $90 in the summer. Since I have a heatpump, it is more efficient to leave the thermostat set at a permanent temperature and leave it. I leave it set to 70F in the winter. I shudder at the thought of waking up to 58F in the house.

That's why you program the thermostat to drop just before you go to bed (if you like falling asleep in cooler air) or just after you go to bed and have it go back a little before you normally wake up.

 

[looker001]

In winter during night, we keep house at 64f

 

[heymrdj]

Programmable. During winter it runs 73-75 in the day (i work in here) and 70-72 at night.

But then again I don't pay an electrical bill because i'm in a dorm apartment .

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: Mungla
You guys are insane or truly are eskimos. I have a fairly large 3 bedroom house. It is very well insulated (brick house too) and very air tight. The previous homeowner invested in a geothermal heatpump and it works amazingly. My highest electric bill in the winter is usually around $120 and about $90 in the summer. Since I have a heatpump, it is more efficient to leave the thermostat set at a permanent temperature and leave it. I leave it set to 70F in the winter. I shudder at the thought of waking up to 58F in the house.

makes you want coffee all the much more!!

 

[43st]

64 from 6 to 10 PM, 50 all other times. To be fair we have a heat bed for our dog, since she's in the home at all times.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Gee thats funny, my gas company said never make it more than a 4 degree difference or the heater works too hard to bring it back up.

One of them is lying to make us waste gas and pay more.
Who is it?

The amount of heat lost by your house depends on the difference between the temperature in your house & the outdoor temperature. The greater the temperature difference, the more heat you're going to lose. (Newton's Law of Cooling) Thus, you'll save more money by allowing the house to be cooler during times when you're asleep/not home. However, I suppose there's the possibility that your furnace is not able to remove heat from the heat exchange in your furnace as quickly as it's heated up, causing your furnace to run at a much lower efficiency if it runs continuously. Just a guess, but I doubt this really happens; very poor engineering if it does.

 

[PrinceofWands]

We keep it between 60 and 68 at all times, but not because of costs or conservation. That's just the best temperature for living. I'd be a bit happier between 55 and 65 (at least at night), but I can live with it where it is (just NO warmer).

 

[Ricemarine]

58 F is NUTS!...
I can't even stand 60 F in my house... It's gotta be 72-74 F, where it's nice and toasty .