Home owners: what's the minimum safe temperature for home in winter

[zephyrprime]

i would think it would take more energy to heat the house back up to a comfortable temp if you kept it that low, than it would just to maintain a better temp in the house. say like 65 at least.

Heating that back up is going to cost a hell of a lot.

You guys are wrong. It's definitely more efficient to let it cool and then heat it back up than to keep it warm.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: quentinterintino
whoa, never pour ethylene gylcol into your plumbing! keep it in your car or a closed system.
Talk about poison..... sheesh.

There are biodegradable anti-freezes made for exactly this purpose.
Bill

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
be sure to open any cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls to let air circulate...

^^^

this is important as dead spots will drop much lower than your thermostat

50F is the lowest i would go if nobody is going to be there to check on things

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Maybe leave all blinds open so that you get as much sunlight as possible heating up the place?

 

[rh71]

some of you mentioned flushing pipes (while assuming he was gone all winter)... what if you don't flush it but turn it off ? I've done that with my in-ground sprinklers (didn't flush them) and it's been fine. What are the chances of damage ? Or is it just a better safe than sorry deal ?

 

[welst10]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Maybe leave all blinds open so that you get as much sunlight as possible heating up the place?

good tip

 

[RU482]

the problem with letting your house get too cold during the day is that your walls, floors, appliances, ect will be large heat sinks when you do want to heat the house back up. The most efficient thing to do would be to keep it within 10F (pulling that number out of thin air) of the temperature you can tolerate while you are at home.

a big factor here will be how well your house is insulated

 

Originally posted by: welst10
Ok, I just programmed my digital thermostat as follows:

8:45AM 53F (leave for work at 8:30am)
5:30PM 66F (get home around 6pm)
12:00AM 63F

right now my room temp is 66 and I feel pretty comfortable. We'll see how much my monthly heating bill will be in the coming months. I have a feeling this year is gonna be brutal. I have been living in apartments until a few months ago.

why not set the morning temp drop to 8am...or even 7 or 7:30
it will take a while for the house to cool down

last winter my furnace failed sometime in the afternoon (according to digital thermostat)
i didn't noticed until 7pm or so (and by 8:30 i was fricken frozen)

 

[Cable God]

I dunno but my 4.5ghz dangerden water cooled prescott is at 18c now 🙂

edit: my windows are open and air (pretty cool) from outside is blowing over my radiator.

 

[BHeemsoth]

We leave my ski house in New Hampshire at 50 degrees during the winter when we are not there.

-Brian

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: bsobel

Originally posted by: quentinterintino
whoa, never pour ethylene gylcol into your plumbing! keep it in your car or a closed system.
Talk about poison..... sheesh.

There are biodegradable anti-freezes made for exactly this purpose.
Bill

RV/Marine antifreeze is one that i can think of.