What temperature do you keep your house, in the winter? (2 Viewers)

Larry that looks like a made up creature.

What kind of turtle?
 
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72-75 (or higher), but that's partially because I live in an old house in DC, and the thermostat is upstairs in the middle of the hallway, away from exterior windows. It's commonly 8-10 degrees (or more) colder on the first floor. It can be 66 degrees in the living room on the first floor, but when I check the thermostat upstairs it's 74.
 
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Winter = 72
Summer = 69

It all depends on your house as well obviously. My newer addition with well-insulated walls and blown-in insulation in the floor stays comfy but the older (70 years old) portion of the house is a little chilly at those temps.

I am curious to hear the debate about fluctuating the thermostat depending on whether you're home or not. I had bought a Nest thermostat for the contractor to install when we had the addition done recently, and I was told to not waste my money. He not only said that the product is unreliable but he said that it actually costs more to reheat your house, after dropping the temp down, and bring it back up to the desired temp when people are at home. Thoughts on this? I am genuinely curious to hear what others know or have experienced as I have never had a "smart" thermostat.
 
I am curious to hear the debate about fluctuating the thermostat depending on whether you're home or not. I had bought a Nest thermostat for the contractor to install when we had the addition done recently, and I was told to not waste my money. He not only said that the product is unreliable but he said that it actually costs more to reheat your house, after dropping the temp down, and bring it back up to the desired temp when people are at home. Thoughts on this? I am genuinely curious to hear what others know or have experienced as I have never had a "smart" thermostat.

I have been told by HVAC guys that it doesn't do any good to adjust the temp when you are gone during the day for just a few hours at a time. Now if you are going to be gone for a few days or a week then yes it can save some money, but moving the temp up and down for a few hours is not efficient, won't save you any money and could cause uneccessary wear on the unit.

Like the Ronco guy says, "set it and forget".
 
I have been told by HVAC guys that it doesn't do any good to adjust the temp when you are gone during the day for just a few hours at a time. Now if you are going to be gone for a few days or a week then yes it can save some money, but moving the temp up and down for a few hours is not efficient, won't save you any money and could cause uneccessary wear on the unit.

Like the Ronco guy says, "set it and forget".

Lol, I call bullshit. This honestly makes so little sense that it must be a ploy to get you to run your HVAC system more so they have more business. Empirically, our utility bills are nearly double for the past year since we are home full time, rather than leaving the house at higher (summer)/lower (winter) temps when we are at work/school.

Edit: we keep our house at a @liftapint approved 72, so maybe there’s some equilibrium there if you only run your heat to 63, but keeping the house as warm as we do when we aren’t here can’t possibly be efficient.
 
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I have been told by HVAC guys that it doesn't do any good to adjust the temp when you are gone during the day for just a few hours at a time. Now if you are going to be gone for a few days or a week then yes it can save some money, but moving the temp up and down for a few hours is not efficient, won't save you any money and could cause uneccessary wear on the unit.

Like the Ronco guy says, "set it and forget".
Not true. Systems run more efficiently when running full bore. It takes more energy to keep your house warm (cool) when no one is home than it takes to heat (cool) it back up (down).

Your guys are misinformed.
 
Yeah I was told by my contractor who couldn’t care less about hvac maintenance/service. He just said that it takes more heat/cool and cost more to bring your house back up to say 72 from say 66 rather then leave it at a constant temp. Shrug.

Honestly I want a smart thermostat because they look cool and have some great features but I need it to be worth it.
 
65 in the winter (I'm frugal and spouse is a knitter--if anyone complains its cold, told to put on a knitted item)
75 in the summer
 
65 for heat, 68 for A/C.

Heat runs probably 6-12 days a year, A/C the rest of them.
 
60 over night
64 during the day

Heat costs money kids, daddy needs more pokers (that’s what my kids call poker chips) :LOL: :laugh:
 
When it's 110 outside, 80 feels pretty damn cold! And we have ceiling fans in every room - makes a big difference. The bedrooms are 77 or 78 at night but 85 during the day (when no one is in them).
I'd still die. The dead heat of summer it's 68 during the day and usually 67-65 at night. And that's with ceiling fans in every room.
 
Damn these ads are on top of it! Just taking a look at the thread, scroll to the top and this is what i see.
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Not true. Systems run more efficiently when running full bore. It takes more energy to keep your house warm (cool) when no one is home than it takes to heat (cool) it back up (down).

Your guys are misinformed.

Had the convo with more than one service guy in the past and not really knowing for sure but the HVAC guys I talked to are not my service guys so don't think they are just trying to scam me for a few more bucks. I have a small home that is pretty efficient. Logically it makes sense to me that having a compressor only kick on for short bursts to maintain a constant temp would use less entergy than having to run longer periods to recool after it gets warm but I'm not an expert, or nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn last night. I've actually read both opinions FWIW.
 
64 during the day in the winter, 61 at night.

70 during the summer.

i like it on the cooler side. whenever i get to a hotel room (if i'm staying alone for work) the first thing i do is put the AC up all the way (or the heat down all the way) and don't touch it again for the entire stay.
 
i think the efficiency gains are coming from the fact that when you lower the thermostat in the winter your house temperature is closer to the outside temperature so heat loss slows, and thus you want to be in that state for as long as possible.

i have a nest and when i leave the heat at 68 the whole day it might run for ~6~8 hours total, but when i turn it off during the day and back up to 68 at night it only runs for ~3-4 hours. I think it's a massive amount of savings.
 
also i am a thermostat nazi

winter: 65 max
summer: 79 min (and never between 1-7pm)

if it was up to me i would probably do 60 max in the winter and just never use AC but need to keep wife somewhat happy
 
My cabin has old school baseboard heaters and a wood stove. No thermostats. It drops to 60 at night until I crank the fire in the morning...then it’s as hot as we want it...Juniper wood power.
...and yeah my wife keeps at damn cold.
 
Growing up 60 in the winter no AC in the summer. At college third floor dorm room closed the radiator valve, windows open all year fans got shut off when snow was falling (I think). I remember someone stepping into the room with bare feet and jumping back into the hall.
Now wife has gas insert fireplace running constantly. I prefer the cold but as I get older like warm clothes for outside.
 
Thermostats are at 14 Celsius (57 Fahrenheit). At the computer, there is a small space heater. I have an electric blanket on my bed.

I used to be a lot more concerned with changing the thermostats when I was awake/asleep or in the room/out of the room. I don't bother anymore. I try to never fire up the heat until November 1st and turn it off ASAP in the Spring.

The kitchen is noticeably colder than these standards. It's often single digits in there (Celsius).

These extreme measures result in a heating bill of over $1000 Canadian per year for about 1000 square feet.
 
Thermostats are at 14 Celsius (57 Fahrenheit). At the computer, there is a small space heater. I have an electric blanket on my bed.

I used to be a lot more concerned with changing the thermostats when I was awake/asleep or in the room/out of the room. I don't bother anymore. I try to never fire up the heat until November 1st and turn it off ASAP in the Spring.

The kitchen is noticeably colder than these standards. It's often single digits in there (Celsius).

These extreme measures result in a heating bill of over $1000 Canadian per year for about 1000 square feet.

$1000 for the entire year?!!
 
$1000 for the entire year?!!
We got some cheap electricity in Quebec. Entire bill (hot water, stove, heat - everything) $2000 per year.

EDIT: I just got a bill today. Last 365 days - CAD 1,357.19. But it was a really mild winter last year. In the past, that number has been much higher. It's essentially CAD 50 per month plus heat.
 
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