Deleted
Joined: Jul 1, 2024 4:15:35 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 12:36:46 GMT -5
I leave my thermostat at 60 almost all of the time. I like it cooler and I have a great love of fleece pajamas, fuzzy socks, and my heated mattress pad. I am in Minnesota and last year my worst heating bill (natural gas) was around $140.
|
|
The Captain
Junior Associate
Hugs are good...
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 16:21:23 GMT -5
Posts: 8,717
Location: State of confusion
Favorite Drink: Whinnnne
|
Post by The Captain on Nov 19, 2014 14:10:44 GMT -5
Dang, Winter is here, It only got up to 72 yesterday I'm so cold. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/grin.png) LOL! We beat you! We were at 73 yesterday! ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/cool.png)
But it's raining today and we're down to 58.4
You may leave now. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/grrr.png)
|
|
The Captain
Junior Associate
Hugs are good...
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 16:21:23 GMT -5
Posts: 8,717
Location: State of confusion
Favorite Drink: Whinnnne
|
Post by The Captain on Nov 19, 2014 14:11:37 GMT -5
I have a kid and two cats. I think the insurance deductible is more than the heating savings.
|
|
mmhmm
Administrator
It's a great pity the right of free speech isn't based on the obligation to say something sensible.
Joined: Dec 25, 2010 18:13:34 GMT -5
Posts: 31,770
Today's Mood: Saddened by Events
Location: Memory Lane
Favorite Drink: Water
|
Post by mmhmm on Nov 19, 2014 14:18:16 GMT -5
I have a kid and two cats. I think the insurance deductible is more than the heating savings. I looooove my cats! I love them even more when the weather gets cold. Two of them want under the feather blanket with me. The other sleeps with mother under her blanket. Those suckers really give off heat! ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/smiley.png)
|
|
TheHaitian
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 27, 2014 19:39:10 GMT -5
Posts: 10,144
|
Post by TheHaitian on Nov 19, 2014 14:30:09 GMT -5
what kind of fuel are you heating with? Natural gas
|
|
The Captain
Junior Associate
Hugs are good...
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 16:21:23 GMT -5
Posts: 8,717
Location: State of confusion
Favorite Drink: Whinnnne
|
Post by The Captain on Nov 19, 2014 14:30:31 GMT -5
I have a kid and two cats. I think the insurance deductible is more than the heating savings. I looooove my cats! I love them even more when the weather gets cold. Two of them want under the feather blanket with me. The other sleeps with mother under her blanket. Those suckers really give off heat! ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/smiley.png) Agreed. The link to the "cheap" heating device was basically a clay flower pot on a stack of ceramic tiles over several light candles. I give it less than a week before a major insurance claim is filed in my household... ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Jul 1, 2024 4:15:35 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 14:38:54 GMT -5
Programmable thermostat - 70 when we're home and 67 I think during the day (but now there are people home during the day so it may get turned up). I think it may go to 69 at night. natural gas. budget billing for gas/electric $200 a month for 3300 square feet. I refuse to be hot or cold in my own house.
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 47,529
|
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Nov 19, 2014 14:55:53 GMT -5
I refuse to be hot or cold in my own house.
![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/yeahthat.gif)
We budget bill gas and electricc as well so there are no surprises. I love knowing what I am going to be paying every month.
The highest bill I remember for either one was $258 and that was with the house at 78 degrees in the winter. Do people with $1k+ bills have huge houses or high utility rates? I'm curious how you get a gas/electric bill that high.
|
|
ArchietheDragon
Junior Associate
Joined: Jul 7, 2014 14:29:23 GMT -5
Posts: 6,371
|
Post by ArchietheDragon on Nov 19, 2014 15:01:20 GMT -5
what kind of fuel are you heating with? Natural gas You should be good. We recently installed a natural gas boiler. It is a high efficiency boiler, but our highest gas costs during the winter are about $180 per month.
|
|
Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on Nov 19, 2014 15:01:25 GMT -5
Even with the thermostat set at 70, my hands get icy cold. I refuse to wear gloves inside my house.
|
|
The Captain
Junior Associate
Hugs are good...
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 16:21:23 GMT -5
Posts: 8,717
Location: State of confusion
Favorite Drink: Whinnnne
|
Post by The Captain on Nov 19, 2014 15:22:27 GMT -5
I refuse to be hot or cold in my own house.
![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/yeahthat.gif)
We budget bill gas and electricc as well so there are no surprises. I love knowing what I am going to be paying every month.
The highest bill I remember for either one was $258 and that was with the house at 78 degrees in the winter. Do people with $1k+ bills have huge houses or high utility rates? I'm curious how you get a gas/electric bill that high.
In my area it's usually the folks who have to keep some windows open to let "fresh" air in, then cry they can't afford their bills and the evil utilities charge too much. There's usually a senior citizen and/or kids involved and you can contribute to help them at xyzfund.com I had a 1700 sq ft ranch and never had a gas bill go over $300. I'd be curious to see how we do in a 2500 sq ft house this winter.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Jul 1, 2024 4:15:35 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 15:23:30 GMT -5
I refuse to be hot or cold in my own house.
![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/yeahthat.gif)
We budget bill gas and electricc as well so there are no surprises. I love knowing what I am going to be paying every month.
The highest bill I remember for either one was $258 and that was with the house at 78 degrees in the winter. Do people with $1k+ bills have huge houses or high utility rates? I'm curious how you get a gas/electric bill that high.
It depends what you're heating with. If you use LP and the price jumps to $5/gallon in January like it did last winter, you could be paying 2K just to fill your tank that might only last you 6 weeks. I prebuy in the summer so I know what I'll be paying. I kind of screwed myself over this year as the price has just dropped since August, but I won't be looking at buying LP until next August (hopefully). My parents heat primarily with electric in floor heat and they often get $600-$700/bills in the winter. The house is less than 10 years old, but they also have a shop that's probably 6 car? sized (also new and very well insulated). Then they heat the attached garage as well (in floor).
|
|
sesfw
Junior Associate
Today is the first day of the rest of my life
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 15:45:17 GMT -5
Posts: 6,268
|
Post by sesfw on Nov 19, 2014 15:43:18 GMT -5
Love the SW desert in the winter.
Programmable thermostat is the best way to go. When we lived in Flag our LP furnace was set at 55 all the time. It kept the house from freezing during the night and when we were gone. Our main source of heat was a Fisher Stove and about 5 cords of firewood.
|
|
sapphire12
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 19:02:12 GMT -5
Posts: 1,211
|
Post by sapphire12 on Nov 19, 2014 20:14:55 GMT -5
Programmable thermostat. When I'm home, I like it set at 78 all year. In the winter it goes as low as 68 when I'm not home. In the summer, it goes up to 82, I think when I'm not home. I heat with natural gas. My high electric bill was $90 this past July. My high heat bill is less than $200, but it depends on how cold the winter gets.
It's not winter yet, but the temp today has ranged from the 20s to the 30s. Sheesh.
|
|
GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
Senior Associate
"How you win matters." Ender, Ender's Game
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:33:09 GMT -5
Posts: 11,291
|
Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Nov 19, 2014 22:10:47 GMT -5
Oil here with hot water baseboards.
We average 3 tank fulls of oil per winter. 275 gallon capacity. Usually @ $800 per fill so @$200/month on an annualized basis. We keep it at 62. But, the new insulation we are getting in the attic should help bring that down. We only have window air conditioning units. We wanted to put AC in the house while the walls were torn out, but the best price we could get was $20K (for a 1600 square foot 2 bedroom Cape!!!) so we passed. We are getting ceiling fans in almost every room instead. Electric is usually about $95/month with July and August about $150 with the window units running.
|
|
973beachbum
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:12:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,501
|
Post by 973beachbum on Nov 20, 2014 8:40:05 GMT -5
We heat with oil and go through two full tanks so about 500 gallons in the winter. At $3 a gallon this year a not too bad $1500 or close to $400 a month in the winter to heat the house. We don't have harsh winters often. We just turned on our heat for the first time a week or two ago and it probably will be mostly off by March. We don't get very many days under 30 degrees but bad winters can blow that to hell and double our oil consumption. We have a small 1200 sq foot rancher on a crawl space so all the heat loss goes bye bye and doesn't do anything to keep the floor warm like it did when we lived in a house with a basement. Man I miss that basement! Our only choices are oil and propane. We just use propane for cooking and hot water but some neighbors use propane to heat their homes. Those people, who also live in pretty modest homes, were spending over $1000 a month last year to heat their homes and I'm pretty sure they were still not toasty warm.
|
|
CarolinaKat
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 16:10:37 GMT -5
Posts: 6,364
|
Post by CarolinaKat on Nov 20, 2014 15:33:40 GMT -5
I have a kid and two cats. I think the insurance deductible is more than the heating savings. I looooove my cats! I love them even more when the weather gets cold. Two of them want under the feather blanket with me. The other sleeps with mother under her blanket. Those suckers really give off heat! ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/smiley.png) My cats hate being covered with any blankets. However they do like sleeping on the plush blankets with DH and I. They are very warm!!
|
|
8 Bit WWBG
Administrator
Your Money admin
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 8:57:29 GMT -5
Posts: 9,322
Today's Mood: Mega
|
Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Nov 21, 2014 12:33:20 GMT -5
I have electric heat and cool. I've wondered about what the spread needs to be for those using a programmable thermostat. A few degrees might be worthwhile. But if you are jumping between 60 and 72, aren't you using more energy heating back up? I always thought it was most efficient to maintain a temperature than try to jump around.
Again, I assume that mileage is different in gas vs. electric. With gas, maybe a big spread is OK? But with electric, the thing uses energy when it runs constantly.
I haven't set the programmable thermostat yet, but I might. We've had it on 72. Do I do better leaving it there? Wouldn't any energy saved from letting the temp fall to 68 just get used when it has to go back to 72? And DW will know if I let it get really cold at night...
|
|
TheHaitian
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 27, 2014 19:39:10 GMT -5
Posts: 10,144
|
Post by TheHaitian on Nov 21, 2014 12:50:57 GMT -5
I have electric heat and cool. I've wondered about what the spread needs to be for those using a programmable thermostat. A few degrees might be worthwhile. But if you are jumping between 60 and 72, aren't you using more energy heating back up? I always thought it was most efficient to maintain a temperature than try to jump around. Again, I assume that mileage is different in gas vs. electric. With gas, maybe a big spread is OK? But with electric, the thing uses energy when it runs constantly. I haven't set the programmable thermostat yet, but I might. We've had it on 72. Do I do better leaving it there? Wouldn't any energy saved from letting the temp fall to 68 just get used when it has to go back to 72? And DW will know if I let it get really cold at night... The two days I was home I left it at 68 both days / all day and was happy with it. The house was warm but not too warm or cold. Seems the perfect temperature for us: wife and MIL not complaining they are cold and I am not complaining that I am hot
|
|
Angel!
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:44:08 GMT -5
Posts: 10,722
|
Post by Angel! on Nov 21, 2014 15:30:31 GMT -5
I have electric heat and cool. I've wondered about what the spread needs to be for those using a programmable thermostat. A few degrees might be worthwhile. But if you are jumping between 60 and 72, aren't you using more energy heating back up? I always thought it was most efficient to maintain a temperature than try to jump around. Really would depend on how long you maintained the lower temp before heating the house back up. If the minute it hits 60 degrees in the house you turn the temp back to 70, then you probably have saved nothing. If you leave the house at 60 for an 8 hour stretch, it takes a lot less energy to maintain 60 degrees than 70 degrees, so you save quit a bit even if you heat it back up to 70 in the morning.
Maybe compare it to driving a car. You would save a lot of gas if you slowed down from 75 mph to 55 mph for 8 hours (think only time, not distance traveled). The gas used at the end of 8 hours to get it back up to 75 mph cruising speed does little to negate the savings of cruising at a lower speed for a long period of time. Whereas if you kept coasting to 55, then immediately speeding back up to 75, you aren't saving anything.
Or compare it to the amount of wood it would take to keep a fire blazing all day vs the amount of wood to keep a low fire & then get it blazing again that night.
Probably could come up with a lot of comparisons that are basically something fueling an activity that is either maintained at a high level constantly or at a lower level for a while & then upped to a high level. Heating to 70 is a higher level activity because it takes more energy to maintain an additional 10 degree difference between inside & outside. Like it takes more energy to maintain a boiling pot of water than a warm pot of water.
|
|
gooddecisions
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 13:42:28 GMT -5
Posts: 2,418
|
Post by gooddecisions on Nov 21, 2014 16:51:22 GMT -5
Last year, for the most part I kept my house around 65 degrees (in an area where the lows are 10 degrees). My house is approximately 4000 sqf and we have gas. I'm home all day, so the programmable thermostat does not help me, but I don't mind wearing sweaters and prefer sleeping under blankets. The highest bill was $250. On the other hand, my next door neighbor in a comparable house, built the same year kept her house around 75 degrees and her highest bills were closer to $600- ouch.
If you want to save money, set it at the lowest you can tolerate it without being uncomfortable.
|
|
snapdragon
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:56:55 GMT -5
Posts: 2,914
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"e1f6f8"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: cd78d4
|
Post by snapdragon on Nov 21, 2014 17:09:36 GMT -5
We heat with oil and go through two full tanks so about 500 gallons in the winter. At $3 a gallon this year a not too bad $1500 or close to $400 a month in the winter to heat the house. We don't have harsh winters often. We just turned on our heat for the first time a week or two ago and it probably will be mostly off by March. We don't get very many days under 30 degrees but bad winters can blow that to hell and double our oil consumption. We have a small 1200 sq foot rancher on a crawl space so all the heat loss goes bye bye and doesn't do anything to keep the floor warm like it did when we lived in a house with a basement. Man I miss that basement! Our only choices are oil and propane. We just use propane for cooking and hot water but some neighbors use propane to heat their homes. Those people, who also live in pretty modest homes, were spending over $1000 a month last year to heat their homes and I'm pretty sure they were still not toasty warm. Have you thought of getting quotes for spray foam insulation for underneath the house? It might be something to look into. Or maybe foam board would work in several areas?
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Jul 1, 2024 4:15:35 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 17:37:43 GMT -5
I am a big believer in the human body's ability to acclimate.
I spend a bit of spring and fall being uncomfortable and allow my body to adjust to the new season.
When I am cold from sitting around, then I do things like vacuum to get warm, or go outside and then come back inside.
|
|
Angel!
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:44:08 GMT -5
Posts: 10,722
|
Post by Angel! on Nov 21, 2014 18:02:09 GMT -5
I am a big believer in the human body's ability to acclimate. I spend a bit of spring and fall being uncomfortable and allow my body to adjust to the new season. I've noticed this as well. When it first starts getting cool in the fall, I have to turn the heat way up to get warm. I find myself turning the heat up to 72 at night because I am so cold. Which kind of makes sense, without AC I generally go to bed when it is ~75 in the house in the summer. Now that it is a little later in the season I am generally comfortable with 68 at night. It just takes a bit and I acclimate to the lower temperatures & feel comfortable.
I use to go even lower during the night, but with young kids I worry more about them getting too cold.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Jul 1, 2024 4:15:35 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 18:05:42 GMT -5
I am a big believer in the human body's ability to acclimate. I spend a bit of spring and fall being uncomfortable and allow my body to adjust to the new season. When I am cold from sitting around, then I do things like vacuum to get warm, or go outside and then come back inside.I do this too. It's amazing how sweltering warm 65 feels after coming in from 10 degrees with a 15 mph wind. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
|
|
shanendoah
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 19:44:48 GMT -5
Posts: 10,096
Mini-Profile Name Color: 0c3563
|
Post by shanendoah on Nov 21, 2014 18:14:07 GMT -5
We have a programmable thermostat. We keep the house at 56 overnight, never really turn it up over 64, unless I've given the dogs a bath. 64 is a little too cold for my Terrier when he's wet. So I'll turn it up to 68 or so for a couple of hours.
We got new windows two summers ago and didn't really notice decreased heating costs last year. Had the furnace guys out this year (right before the cold snap, go us), and discovered the motor in the heat pump wasn't working properly. So it's a good chance that we unknowingly spent all last winter on "emergency" heat, with no heat pump, and that's why my bills were so high. I say this because this summer, the new windows definitely worked at keeping the house cool and so we didn't have to try and use the heat pump as an AC (which is good, because it wouldn't have worked.)
Still, it doesn't get that cold here overall. Maybe some lows below freezing, but not very often.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Jul 1, 2024 4:15:35 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 18:21:08 GMT -5
Lights make me feel warmer. I not sure if brighter light/lower thermostat or darker/higher thermostat has any cost savings though.
|
|
Peace77
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 29, 2010 1:42:40 GMT -5
Posts: 3,950
|
Post by Peace77 on Nov 22, 2014 10:24:29 GMT -5
Don't turn the heat off! That what the thermostat is for. Keep it set at least at 60 degrees at all times. With MIL and Max in the house, I would leave it at least at 68. I keep our at 69-70
|
|
TheHaitian
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 27, 2014 19:39:10 GMT -5
Posts: 10,144
|
Post by TheHaitian on Nov 22, 2014 10:30:54 GMT -5
Don't turn the heat off! That what the thermostat is for. Keep it set at least at 60 degrees at all times. With MIL and Max in the house, I would leave it at least at 68. I keep our at 69-70 Thank you and my wife and I decided that is what we are going to keep it at moving forward since someone (yes Max is someone) is always home at least 80% of the time. I am waiting to see what the first bill looks like.
|
|