Winter is here....

[TheHaitian]

I guess that is official now. And it is our first winter as homeowners so trying to avoid the $400-$500 or $1,000 bills I hear about.

Do you keep it running all day? Or not? My mother in law is Rather freeze to death then turn it own and I told my wife to try to leave it on for her even if she turns it off afterwards.

My wife or I will turn it on as soon as we get home. I am ok with 65-67, my wife is more comfortable around 70-72. We have two zones: upstairs and downstairs.

When we head to bed we turn off downstairs. Should we leave it on? If it gets to hot I will wake up during the night and turn it off... Max and I cannot handle 70-72 for too long.

Anyway any good tips? For my apartment it is off when I am not there and I might turn it on for like 20-30 minutes when I get to the apartment at night (electric heat) then turn it off.

Thanks. I also figure since the house is knew and everything is new that would also save on overall costs?

[Bonny]

Carl,

Is your MIL living with you?

If not, I would invest in a programmable thermostat (not expensive) and have the heat turned down to 50-55 degrees while you two are at work and then have it go up to about 68 for when you guys are at home.

I personally turn down the heat to between 60-65 at night. I don't sleep well if the house is too hot. Of course I also have the two living hot water bottles (the evil kitties) who sleep on or snuggle up to me.

[Deleted]

We have a programmable thermostat.  It's set to 58 or 60 at night (can't remember), jumps to 65 an hour before we get up in the morning, then drops to 62 when we're gone all day.  I'll manually bump it up as high as 68 when I'm home then the program will lower it back down within a few hours.   

Everyone here is cold blooded. 68 is perfect daytime temp for me.  I would absolutely die if it was over 70 at night and my 12 year old runs around in shorts even in the basement where his room is with tile floor. 

[TheHaitian]

Nov 18, 2014 22:14:36 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Carl,

Is your MIL living with you?

If not, I would invest in a programmable thermostat (not expensive) and have the heat turned down to 50-55 degrees while you two are at work and then have it go up to about 68 for when you guys are at home.

I personally turn down the heat to between 60-65 at night. I don't sleep well if the house is too hot. Of course I also have the two living hot water bottles (the evil kitties) who sleep on or snuggle up to me.

She is living with us and both thermostats are programable thermostats. We just haven't gotten around to set them.

And yes Max sleeps with us, another reason why I turn it down at night.

[teen persuasion]

Just set it already!

We keep our heat low, but I have it set to go up fifteen minutes before DH gets up to take a shower.  Much nicer than waiting for it to warm up.  It goes down when everyone leaves for school/work, then comes back up after school lets out.

We also have one at work - at 68 while we are open, 62 closed.  They are both pretty easy to program and override if needed.

ETA: When I saw the thread title, I thought this would be about the snow!  I don't have more than a dusting, but the snowbelt to the south is getting walloped by LES. I'm hearing five feet of snow, and it's not done yet.

[giramomma]

Ours is set for 60 at night and when no one is home an 66 when we are home.

Even last winter our bill never got over $250. I would assume if your house has good insulation and good windows, you shouldn't have huge heating expenses.

We also open up our blinds during the day when the sun is out to try and warm up the house.

[resolution]

Ours is set to 70 during the day and 65 at night. I work from home so I am home all day. I also have a small space heater in my office that I use to keep the office around 75 while I work.

Insulation was a major factor for us. Our first winter in the house we went through 3 tanks of heating oil. After we blew in insulation we are now using 2 tanks each winter.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

We keep the thermostat at 58 at night, 64-66 during the day.  Neither of us like it if it is too warm in here.  

Housing retains heat fairly well for hours.  When I lost the heat during an ice storm, it took 4 days for my place to get down to 45 degrees.  The first couple of days weren't too bad, even with the temp outside below freezing.  And this was in an apartment that had lousy insulation and drafty windows.  So turning off the heat for a few hours isn't going to drop your inside temperature to outside levels that quickly.

[Deleted]

We got a new HVAC system last summer so our expectations, etc. are all messed up.  The last system had a programmable thermostat courtesy of my ex-BF, and neither DH nor I really knew how to use it.  So every day we did an override since he was home. 

The new system just seems to run colder.  DH has poor circulation, which complicates things.  I pretty much insist on 70 degrees most of the time even though he is swearing sweats including a jacket.  He has "permission" (hey, I pay the utilities) to bump it up to 72 whenever.  I cut it back down to 70 when I go to bed because he would forget.

I get my first real bill next month.  The a/c ran about the same, which was disappointing. 

ETA:  Don't turn your heat "off" at the apt.  Turn it down to maybe 50 or 60.  Your landlord is not going to be happy with you if you allow the pipes to freeze when you aren't there.  It is also your stuff that is going to be ruined when they thaw and flood the apartment.

[ArchietheDragon]

what kind of fuel are you heating with?

[Deleted]

58-60 when you are not there to keep house to not freeze pipes.

[michelyn8]

I keep my house between 70-75 in cool weather and around 75-78 in summer.  I can deal with a chilly house in the winter but hate a house chilled by AC.  It has a lot to do with the humidity because I can tolerate cold but not damp cold and we can get some really humid air in the summer around here.

I have central air and my light bills are rarely over $125 during the coldest or hottest weather.  Less than $100 in mild temps.  I don't do a lot of daytime/nighttime adjustments to my thermostat.  I turn it down to about 70 when I go to bed at night, bump it to 72 when I get up and then if the house is going to be empty all day, bump it back down to 70 (if I remember) before heading to work.  Depending on the temp when I get home at night I might bump it up again or just leave it at 70.  Since I get home around 6:30 and go to bed around 10, I'm usually ok leaving it at 70 and just curling up with a blanket while I relax. My current house is kind of drafty so the living room is the coldest room in the house but my bedroom tends to be the warmest.  And since I tend to take hot showers (combined with the moving around in to get ready) that raise my body temp and I stay plenty warm while getting ready for work on mornings like today (14 degrees outside when I woke up). In the summer, temps are kept higher and I use my ceiling fans to keep the air moving so I don't need to run the AC below 75 to keep the house comfortable.

Are you actually turning your system off and on or just adjusting the temp?  I've always heard that its bad for any heating/cooling system to be turned completely off and then back on when you get home not to mention, it takes more energy to cool or heat the house after a day of being off.  I'd advise programming the thermostat to maintain a level temp during the days that is comfortable to you.  The system will actually run less to maintain a temp than it would have to do raise it at night (no proof just experience in rentals with differing systems and insulation).

[tractor]

We have geothermal and keep the house at 69 all the time. I might bump it up to 71 later on, but for now 69 seems to be the perfect temp. The geothermal runs more than a standard forced air furnace, and it does a good job of moving the air throughout the house keeping all three floors pretty even.

Like Pat our electric bills run between $250-$300/month, but that also includes the pool pump. Our Natural gas bill adds about $100 on top of that, but mainly just for the pool. We are in central Michigan, blanketed with snow and a balmy 18 degrees outside today..

[OldCoyote]

Dang,  Winter is here, It only got up to 72 yesterday    I'm so cold.

[zibazinski]

I'm trying to get the hell out of dodge in this crap. Loading up the car. Didn't get the blizzard expected last night so need to see if it's coming tonight. If so, I will leave early today afternoon as opposed to tomorrow am.

[Blonde Granny]

Safe travels Zib, we won't be far behind you!!! Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We heat with natural gas, our highest bill last year was around $90. Our electric is on level pay, so the last one was $40. We keep the thermostat during the winter at 72 & 70, summer with a/c is about 74 & 72 (at night)

[andi9899]

Can you put the utilities on a level payment plan? Mine are and it kinda sucks in the spring and fall when I should be paying less, but there are no surprises in the summer and winter when the bills would normally be sky high. I have a very old house that is in need of new windows. I plan to replace a couple at a time since I can't do it all at once, and maybe I will get off the level pay when they have all been replaced, but for now, it works for me.

[NancysSummerSip]

Nov 19, 2014 9:29:49 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I'm trying to get the hell out of dodge in this crap. Loading up the car. Didn't get the blizzard expected last night so need to see if it's coming tonight. If so, I will leave early today afternoon as opposed to tomorrow am.

Hey, it's cold here, too, but no snow, at least. Just dark and rainy and kinda winter-y looking.

My husband turned on the heat this morning and put on his woolly cardigan. I went to swim practice. In an outdoor pool. Air temperature: 50 degrees, plus wind chill and rain. One of us is nuts, just not sure which one.

Oh, and to answer the OP: programmable thermostat, new HVAC, but the house is 30 years old. I like the house around 74-76. Hubs is older, so "extremes" of the cold and heat bother him more.

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2014 10:00:12 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Nov 19, 2014 9:29:49 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I'm trying to get the hell out of dodge in this crap. Loading up the car. Didn't get the blizzard expected last night so need to see if it's coming tonight. If so, I will leave early today afternoon as opposed to tomorrow am.

Hey, it's cold here, too, but no snow, at least. Just dark and rainy and kinda winter-y looking.

My husband turned on the heat this morning and put on his woolly cardigan. I went to swim practice. In an outdoor pool. Air temperature: 50 degrees, plus wind chill and rain. One of us is nuts, just not sure which one.

Oh, and to answer the OP: programmable thermostat, new HVAC, but the house is 30 years old. I like the house around 74-76. Hubs is older, so "extremes" of the cold and heat bother him more.

50 is not cold.  You need to excuse yourself from the winter bitching thread. 

[zibazinski]

DD and DS are bitching, too. They say it's MY fault but I'm not even there, yet!

[NancysSummerSip]

Nov 19, 2014 10:07:09 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Nov 19, 2014 10:00:12 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Hey, it's cold here, too, but no snow, at least. Just dark and rainy and kinda winter-y looking.

My husband turned on the heat this morning and put on his woolly cardigan. I went to swim practice. In an outdoor pool. Air temperature: 50 degrees, plus wind chill and rain. One of us is nuts, just not sure which one.

Oh, and to answer the OP: programmable thermostat, new HVAC, but the house is 30 years old. I like the house around 74-76. Hubs is older, so "extremes" of the cold and heat bother him more.

50 is not cold.  You need to excuse yourself from the winter bitching thread. 

I know, right? Hubby thinks it end-of-the-world cold. I went swimming today. Outside.

But y'all can come visit when you need a break. We have extra space, and I do cook rather well. And I've met a few folks on the board, who can vouch for the fact that my ax-murderer tendencies are mostly in check.

[movingforward]

I just leave mine on 68 degrees all the time.  I like it cool at night and if I am just hanging around at home I am perfectly fine throwing a blanket on while I am watching TV.  In fact, I actually love throwing on blanket.  Of course, I also live in TX so they are saying by Friday it will be back up to 70 here - LOL!  Then another cold front will move in and it will be back down in the 50s again.  The good news is my electric bill is typically around $65 in the winter. 

[wvugurl26]

It was 20 here this morning. Too damn cold!

My brother says I don't get to complain. He works outside part of the day and the heat was broke in the shop yesterday. Apparently it was 48 inside.

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 18, 2014 22:04:28 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

I guess that is official now. And it is our first winter as homeowners so trying to avoid the $400-$500 or $1,000 bills I hear about.

Do you keep it running all day? Or not? My mother in law is Rather freeze to death then turn it own and I told my wife to try to leave it on for her even if she turns it off afterwards.

My wife or I will turn it on as soon as we get home. I am ok with 65-67, my wife is more comfortable around 70-72. We have two zones: upstairs and downstairs.

When we head to bed we turn off downstairs. Should we leave it on? If it gets to hot I will wake up during the night and turn it off... Max and I cannot handle 70-72 for too long.

Anyway any good tips? For my apartment it is off when I am not there and I might turn it on for like 20-30 minutes when I get to the apartment at night (electric heat) then turn it off.

Thanks. I also figure since the house is knew and everything is new that would also save on overall costs?

You have brand-spanking-new house.  There's no way your heating bills should be that high.  They put insulation in, didn't they?  My house doesn't have ANY insulation in the walls (18" in the attic though), and I think my highest heating bill ever was still $250 or so.  And I keep the heat around 70 in the winter.  I think that, if we had insulation in the walls, we could lower the heat a bit.  70 when it's snowing outside feels way colder than 70 when it's 50 out.

[Bonny]

Nov 19, 2014 8:57:15 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

Dang,  Winter is here, It only got up to 72 yesterday    I'm so cold.

LOL! We beat you! We were at 73 yesterday!

But it's raining today  and we're down to 58.4

[Bonny]

Nov 19, 2014 8:35:37 GMT -5 @taliare said:

58-60 when you are not there to keep house to not freeze pipes.

If you are leaving water in the line I agree.

We turn the cabin heat off during the winter but drain the pipes and add anti-freeze to sinks and toilet tanks. But it's rare for the outside temps to go below 20 degrees.

[Bonny]

Nov 19, 2014 10:55:22 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Nov 18, 2014 22:04:28 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

I guess that is official now. And it is our first winter as homeowners so trying to avoid the $400-$500 or $1,000 bills I hear about.

Do you keep it running all day? Or not? My mother in law is Rather freeze to death then turn it own and I told my wife to try to leave it on for her even if she turns it off afterwards.

My wife or I will turn it on as soon as we get home. I am ok with 65-67, my wife is more comfortable around 70-72. We have two zones: upstairs and downstairs.

When we head to bed we turn off downstairs. Should we leave it on? If it gets to hot I will wake up during the night and turn it off... Max and I cannot handle 70-72 for too long.

Anyway any good tips? For my apartment it is off when I am not there and I might turn it on for like 20-30 minutes when I get to the apartment at night (electric heat) then turn it off.

Thanks. I also figure since the house is knew and everything is new that would also save on overall costs?

You have brand-spanking-new house.  There's no way your heating bills should be that high.  They put insulation in, didn't they?  My house doesn't have ANY insulation in the walls (18" in the attic though), and I think my highest heating bill ever was still $250 or so.  And I keep the heat around 70 in the winter.  I think that, if we had insulation in the walls, we could lower the heat a bit.  70 when it's snowing outside feels way colder than 70 when it's 50 out.

I think it depends on the heat source. If you're using oil filling the tank can cost $1000s of dollars. But it should last most of the winter.

Whenever a full propane tank fill is done at our cabin it's about $400. Depending on how often it's rented and whether the renters crank both the heat AND the gas fireplace we may have full fills November - February.

Definitely makes me grateful for our SF Bay Area temperate climate. We may have to turn our heat on in the summer but I LOVE our $20/mth average gas bill to heat a 50 year old 2500 sq.ft. house.

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 19, 2014 11:38:11 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Nov 19, 2014 10:55:22 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

You have brand-spanking-new house.  There's no way your heating bills should be that high.  They put insulation in, didn't they?  My house doesn't have ANY insulation in the walls (18" in the attic though), and I think my highest heating bill ever was still $250 or so.  And I keep the heat around 70 in the winter.  I think that, if we had insulation in the walls, we could lower the heat a bit.  70 when it's snowing outside feels way colder than 70 when it's 50 out.

I think it depends on the heat source. If you're using oil filling the tank can cost $1000s of dollars. But it should last most of the winter.

Whenever a full propane tank fill is done at our cabin it's about $400. Depending on how often it's rented and whether the renters crank both the heat AND the gas fireplace we may have full fills November - February.

Definitely makes me grateful for our SF Bay Area temperate climate. We may have to turn our heat on in the summer but I LOVE our $20/mth average gas bill to heat a 50 year old 2500 sq.ft. house.

Oh yeah, I forget that some people have to use heating oil.  I was just thinking about an episode of Holmes on Holmes.  After he was finished redoing the top floor of this one house with proper insulation, he said they could heat the room with a candle.  I would hope Carl's house, being new, would be the same.

[michelyn8]

Nov 19, 2014 10:36:04 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

It was 20 here this morning. Too damn cold!

My brother says I don't get to complain. He works outside part of the day and the heat was broke in the shop yesterday. Apparently it was 48 inside.

We had a guy quit yesterday because it was to cold.  I had to just shake my head at that one since it was mid-40's and last winter we had guys working outside in weather below 20.  And since they have to be here by 7 a.m., that means they started their day in temps that were below 10 some days.

Reminds me that I need to buy a new space heater for my office.  I can get it stay fairly warm but I need something at my feet because I have draft coming from the outside wall my desk is against.

[buystoys]

I haven't tried this yet, but it certainly is cheap if it works!

www.bodymindsoulspirit.com/heat-a-room-for-only-15-cents-a-day/