What do you keep the thermostat at in the winter?

[DCal430]

I got rid of the thermostat that controlled the coal stove & replaced it with a simpler control. 40-60, it's set at 2, if it's on. 20-40, 3; 0-20; 4, below 0, 4.5

I try to keep the dining room, living room, kitchen in the mid 70's. Bedrooms are low 60's.

I never heard of a coal stove, do you buy boxes of coal and throw it into the stove each day to burn? Is it dirty? Is it efficient?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

About 64 during the day and 58 overnight. When I'm home, comfy and not going anywhere I like to wear sweats around the house. They're plenty warm, so having the heat set at 64 is not the least bit uncomfortable.

 

[MongGrel]

76 at the moment, but still have the AC on.

 

[Strk]

About 64 during the day and 58 overnight. When I'm home, comfy and not going anywhere I like to wear sweats around the house. They're plenty warm, so having the heat set at 64 is not the least bit uncomfortable.

That's what mine is set at

 

[Ferzerp]

Downstairs is gas, upstairs is a heat pump.

Downstairs 72 during the day, 65 at night
Upstairs always 70.

The cheaper gas covers most of the heating during the day, at night I am mostly only heating the upstairs.

 

[Raizinman]

We have a set back thermostat. For winter:

7:00AM Wake up - 70F
8:00AM Leave for work - 64F
4:30PM - 70F
5:00PM - Arrive home from work
10PM Bedtime - 68F

 

[thecoolnessrune]

75 degrees during the day, 70 at night. I work long enough, if I'm doing anything with my money its being comfortable in my own home. I don't care what it costs. I'll run air conditioning in the afternoon and heat in the evening even.

 

[EliteRetard]

Using energy to heat a house is a waste of money. I just bundle up more and even bought a sleeping bag to use instead of blankets when it gets really cold. I've seen the temperature in my bedroom sometimes go into the 30s.

This.

Though I usually am using the PC when I'm awake, and it keeps the room warm enough. I do have a heater I occasionally flip on, I cant let the room dip into the 30's or pipes will burst. I rarely have to use it though, only get a few days of snow a year.

 

[Harrod]

When I was single, I had the heat set to come on at around 50 degrees, now that I'm married . . . well, I don't really want to talk about it. Besides there is no reason for what it could be set on day to day.

 

[Linux23]

About 64 during the day and 58 overnight. When I'm home, comfy and not going anywhere I like to wear sweats around the house. They're plenty warm, so having the heat set at 64 is not the least bit uncomfortable.

do you also wear mittens, earmuffs, and a wool hat while inside too?

 

[EliteRetard]

do you also wear mittens, earmuffs, and a wool hat while inside too?

Is there a reason not to? They protect against the sun as well as the cold.

 

[John Connor]

About 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[tortillasoup]

off. If I wanted more warmth, I'd add more insulation. People don't give enough credit to having a well insulated house.

 

[Red Squirrel]

off. If I wanted more warmth, I'd add more insulation. People don't give enough credit to having a well insulated house.

I'd love to build a house or oversee the building of a house from scratch. Insulation and vapour barrier would be one of my top priorities. Probably double up the outside walls with staggered studs so that every last inch of house can be insulated. Traditional insulation methods are actually quite sub par because of the way studs, window/door headers etc take away from insulation area. Even if you do spray foam, if you're only spraying each individual stud cavity you are not getting a continuous air seal. Wood is porous. Traditional plastic vapour barrier is better in that sense, but it is also much easier to install improperly, or cut corners. Acoustic sealent at joints is a must, the tape can get undone over time. You also want cuts to be pushed on by the drywall or other, as a cut mid stud span will potentially get undone over time.

I'd also try to find a way so the insulation and vapour barrier can link properly to the ceiling, and even floor. I don't believe basement floors are even insulated even in modern construction though, and not sure how easy that would be to do, can you pour concrete over foam without it compressing? Though if basement is dug deep enough and the walls are insulated as part of the same envelope as the upstairs walls, then it would probably be pretty good.

Key is to have a continuous insulation and air seal envelope for the entire house, and this is not done that greatly, even in modern construction. Of course you want some kind of heat recovery air exchanger so you can still get fresh air in the house, but at least then it's done in a more controlled way. The air seal is probably almost more important than the insulation actually. Insulation without proper air seal is just a filter.


That said, my thermostat setting tends to vary. When I'm not home, or sleeping it's set to about 12-15C. It's a range to cause less short cycling of the furnace. Basically I just keep it at that temp so pipes don't freeze. When I'm home but upstairs I tend to keep it at about 18C, if I'm downstairs (split level house) I keep it at 22C or so.

 

[rh71]

Definitely depends on insulation in your house. Our old house we wouldn't be comfortable despite it being 72 (still drafty), but here it's 67 and pretty good. Bedtime we don't have it higher than 65 since we're all bundled up. We added a 2nd floor and made sure a high R-value batt insulation was put into the attic and the rooms' walls. The first floor only a few walls were touched unfortunately. WHen we had an energy audit done where they put a huge fan at your front door to test for vacuum seal, we failed it nicely... but still, 67 feels fine.

As for new windows, they don't help as much as you would hope - not even the nice Andersens - you can still feel the chill right on them. Of course if you're coming from crappy replacement windows, that may contribute a little bit.

 

[waffleironhead]

The lowest setting on my pellet stove in the garage/living area is 66 iirc. It stays that way most of the time. The heater in my kitchen/milk house hovers around 60 and the house/sleeping area is set to be 60 most of the day and 68 when we are in there.
I also run multiple 1500 watt heaters all winter to keep water from freezing, so I guess they need to be counted in somewhere.

 

[Meghan54]

71-72F pretty much year round. We refuse to be uncomfortable in our house. Then again, we're both old so probably a tad more sensitive to cold/heat than youngsters.

The real expense isn't heating in the winter but cooling in the summer. But that's the price you pay for living in the south.

 

[lxskllr]

I like my house drafty. Houses that breathe feel better. This year the heat's set to 56F.

 

[rpanic]

71

If your loosing heat through old windows you can try this to get you through the winter.

http://www.amazon.com/Duck-281506-1...471&sr=8-1&keywords=insulating+window+plastic

 

[clamum]

72 usually, maybe 73 if I'm feeling particularly chilly.

At night, and when I'm not home, I turn it off. But the temp really frickin drops if I do, even though it hasn't even been *that* cold out yet. I'm gonna have to leave it on at like 65 when it actually gets cold this winter. Guess this apartment don't have much insulation.

 

[Anubis]

68 from 5pm to 11pm
62 for the rest
weekends its 68 from 7am to 11 PM

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

To the people who keep their thermostats low or off, where the hell do you live?

In the south?

61 degrees in northwestern IL, and I just put on a sweatshirt. Not that big of a deal, tbh.

 

[slag]

It's freezing in NJ.

What do you keep your thermostat at?

The wall, the same place it always is. It's wired into our furnace and AC unit so it's not exactly mobile.

 

[William Gaatjes]

15 degrees Celsius when i am not home. And 19 to 20 degrees Celsius when i am home.
17 degrees Celsius when i am sleeping.

 

[OverVolt]

Between 70 and 77.

Really all I need is a big kick of heat in the morning to get moving then it can be set to 65 for all I care. I can wear layers inside.