Thermostat at 63

[Dicey]

My MIL has Alzheimer's and lives with us. If the heat gets the least smidge below 68 she will come out of her room with a scarf over her head, a beanie on top of that and a long coat. On top of a warm shirt and long pants. The main part of our house has 14' ceilings. If we set the thermostat at a constant 68 degrees, the heating cycles on and off much less often. We are also inside most of the day. For as long as she is living with us, it is what it is. Happily, since I hate to be cold, I get the benefit of warmth without guilt, so win-win, sort of. One of the benefits of years of striving to get to FI is that when we get clobbered with a $400 gas and electric bill in the same month that the oven required $400 worth of parts so DH could make it bake again, it doesn't upset the apple cart.

[lizzzi]

Just noticed the above post about the elderly relative and keeping the heat at 68. We did the same thing exactly for years., for the same reason. Hey, ya do what ya gotta do.

[mizzourah2006]

I too keep mine at 62-63. We just use a space heater in our room at night and wear pants and sweatshirts around the house. With a hoody and a blanket on the couch 63 isn't that bad. My wife is from Florida so I got her an electric blanket for Christmas last year, which helps curb her issue with keeping it so cold.

We have a 4 month old, but right now she is sleeping in our room in a rock and play next to our bed, so keeping our room at 68-70 at night with the temp controlled space heater seems to be working. When she moves to her own room we may need to up the temp a little bit :(

I also keep the house around 80 during the summer :) My wife doesn't mind that as much though, lol.

[Helvegen]

I keep the house at 60F all of the time we are not at home and at night. When we are at home, I have it normally set to 65-66F. The only time it might be a few degrees higher is when our kid is sick, but that's not all that often. We live in a mild climate and generally don't even have to bother with heat until Thanksgiving and it is off by the middle of March. Generally, I only need to purchase propane twice a year. Once in April and once in December.

[REAL WORLD EXPAT]

Chicagoland resident here:

65F - when we are home
55F - when we are not home
58F - night-time

[ilsy]

I would like an advice, folks. After reading, I've realized that I can do way better with the heat in winter. I now keep it at 68 when the kids and my BF are home, at night it goes down to 66. When I'm home alone I am fine with 66, an additional layer and no prob, I actually went to 64 yesterday. My kids may complaint, but I can tell them to get dressed.

The problem is my BF, he can't stand it. I can't tell him to get dressed, he is an adult. And I'm the one who is skinny... (I thought that a natural "insulation" layer gives an advantage).  How can I persuade a grown up boy who actually seems tough and likes to do DIY projects with me, how can I convince him that  66 is NOT cold, and for sure 68 isn't cold.

p.s. He doesn't pay my heating bills, so "saving money theory" won't work. He did hint that when and if he moves in, he would like it to be warmer. My plan is to lower the temp even more. How do you guys convince your SO?

[REAL WORLD EXPAT]

How do you guys convince your SO?

You're an adult use your imagination!;)

[use2betrix]

I'm at 68 right now (it's in the low 70's to low 60's outside). Once I'm home it's straight to my boxers. I'd probably need below 65 before I start putting clothes on. I like the cold, which is why I hate living down south.

[ilsy]

How do you guys convince your SO?

You're an adult use your imagination!;)

1. the first part is debatable
2. I cannot use my "imagination!" when the kids are around
3. I was hoping to get some simple generic answer, like tell him casually "you know, honey, Schwarzenegger wear boxers at 66." Is that something? Would that motivate a guy to be more weather resistant. 

[Bracken_Joy]

How do you guys convince your SO?

You're an adult use your imagination!;)

1. the first part is debatable
2. I cannot use my "imagination!" when the kids are around
3. I was hoping to get some simple generic answer, like tell him casually "you know, honey, Schwarzenegger wear boxers at 66." Is that something? Would that motivate a guy to be more weather resistant.

My DH is a nerd, so YMMV, but he loves the badassity/improved immune system arguments. Also, anytime Brother complains, he likes to say "the colder it is inside, the easier it is to convince yourself to go hiking/workout outside/etc!"
Example Study: http://www.nature.com/icb/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/icb201599a.html

[zephyr911]

Our current setting is also 63. DW is a delicate tropical flower so she occasionally breaks (or I surprise her with a morning at 64) and we go higher. I also crank it down to see how far it falls before we notice - sometimes we get to 60 or less. Always push your limits! :D

[big_owl]

We keep the main floor unit at 60 degrees all the time.  The upstairs unit controls the bedrooms and we have yet to even turn that one on this year.  Some mornings our bedroom is 49F when we wake up for work.  Electric blankets work wonders, but it does suck until I'm up and fully dressed.

[MandalayVA]

Capital of the CSA here (don't remind longtimers that the CSA lost that war)

Haven't had heat or AC on since September.

Current house temperature:  65F.

When it's cold, Mr. Mandalay and I roam about in ancient sweats and slippers (I CLAIM A 20-YEAR-OLD CAROLINA PANTHERS SWEATSHIRT).  The Mandalay Beasts (cats) curl up under a heavy 30-year-old couch throw made by Mr. Mandalay's mom but will come out to snuggle with Mr. Mandalay (Pittsburgh Steelers) or me (Pittsburgh Penguins) when we're watching football with the throw blankets out.

[Elderwood17]

 DW keeps it at 61 during the day.  Sometimes when she isn't looking I bump it up to 63.  Ironically, whenever friends come over they act like they are going to die and chastise me for "not letting my wife turn the heat up"!

[onlykelsey]

I'm in a 110 year old converted condo in NYC, and I have not turned on my heat this season.

We recently had a frantic building email from our neighbors, who insisted we needed increased security measures in the building as their apartment had been broken in to.  It turns out that because during the entire year, they leave their unsecured, uninsulated air conditioners in all their windows, and someone had removed one of them and helped themselves to their electronics and jewelry.  That is definitely one way to increase your heat bill.

[JPatch]

Thanks to the unusually warm weather in the Southeast, I haven't used heat (nor A.C.) for 10 days.  My goal is to not use heat unless temp drops to 55 inside, then hold it steady there.  Unless I have company over.  One must be considerate in addition to frugal.

[Making Cents]

OK, this story may belong on the Wall of Shame and Comedy, but you guys will probably be more interested.

I just returned from relatives' house for the holidays. They own their home, but since they live in a large city it is more of an apartment-like set up on the second and third floors of a building that has maybe 5 units.

Their neighbors on two sides turn up the heat in winter so high that said relatives do not ever have to turn their thermostat on and are often TOO HOT from residual heat. My husband and I are always sweltering on visits there in winter.

So this year took the prize because one particularly ridiculous neighbor must have had the heat cranked in the 90s  since our indoor temp was in the high 70s. Our family got so toasty that at some point said hosting relatives TURNED ON THE A/C to counteract the neighbor-heat!!! (You know, there are these things called windows...)  Did I mention that this city is very far north?! Temps outside were unseasonably warm in the 50s, but I am told the situation is the same even when there are large snowdrifts.

Crazy wasteful.

[lizzzi]

I continue to keep the thermostat set to 65 during the day and turn it down to 55 around 8pm for 12 hours. It has finally started getting cold here (27-30 at night), and last night for the first time the house actually went down to 55. My flannel nightgown, wool socks, flannel bed linens, and two down comforters keeps me toasty. When I get up, I immediately jump into wool long john bottoms, Uggs, a long thigh-length cotton sweater over wool long underwear top...and put a long knee-length wool sweater on top of that...while I eat breakfast and the house warms up. I don't shower until it's 65. It's working well. No heat bill yet...that will come later in the month. No pets, no kids, no old people...poinsettias and green plants seem quite content.

[Making Cents]

^ Kudos! Glad your poinsettias are on board with the new program. That is awesome.

[Chavak]

I shut the heat off when I go to bed and have an electric mattress pad that keeps me toasty all night long.
I also leave the heat off when I am out of the house; when I am home I leave it at 63 and if I get cold I toss
on a sweatshirt or light jacket. I also have a electric heated throw I use if I am watching TV.

[Rosy]

It was 58 outside last night and will get up to 65 today - so no AC needed - yeah:) and certainly no heat either. In the summer he likes 79 and I like 76 and occasionally I need it to be 72-74, you know: Is it warm in here or is it me:)
I turn it to 79 when I leave the house to hopefully save a couple of bucks - not sure if that really helps, but it makes me feel better.
... and yes, it is possible to somewhat adjust to temperature control - at first I had to have 72 degrees all the time, took me a couple of years to adjust to 76 and like I said sometimes my internal thermostat is set on boiling and I need relief.

Ours is set at 67F all the time. Two days a week, we have a sitter come to the house so we want it comfortable throughout the day. We also have a wood burning insert that keeps the living room/dining about 70F. The bedrooms stay much cooler, since the thermostat is about 5 feet from the wood burner. Before we had kids, we'd keep the house around 64-65 (and use a wood stove in the family room), but our 3 year old is not capable of keeping covers on his body all night, so I don't like to let it drop that low. I have found that the temperature of my house has a direct correlation to my mental health in the winter. We can easily go all summer without using A/C, but I cannot tolerate being cold in my house. I layer up at all times, and rarely got too warm, even when standing directly in front of the wood burner. I've had my living room up to 78F at times, and I still had a blanket on. My internal thermostat is broken, and my psychological well being depends on me not feeling like I'm risking frostbite inside my house.

Semi-Related story/rant: When I was growing up, my dad and stepmom heated with a wood stove and kept the central heating set VERY low, with the stairway to the bedrooms closed at all times. My stepmom is pushing 60 years old and has permanent nerve damage in her feet due to suffering frostbite INSIDE her house. Now that they are empty-nesters, they have built a new home and have filled it with absolutely useless amounts of stuff. My dad has had to build 3 pole barns to hold all of his auction/swap meet shit. They each have multiple vehicles, etc.  I just want to ask them...was it worth it? Was it worth being so frugal all those years, just so you could blow your money on useless shit now? (and no, it wasn't that they couldn't afford heat way back then) /end rant

My point exactly - why make yourself uncomfortable? To actually get frostbitten in your own abode, because you want to save money on heating cost - well, damaging your health is not smart and potentially quite expensive and miserable.

 My DIL is always hot she would probably be happy with 58 year around. Their house is freezing cold to me. Living in Florida I was thrilled to finally see some cool temps. X-mas was almost 90 degrees.

[Making Cents]

Well to get frostbite with central heat, you'd have to have no heat on at all in temperatures below freezing for quite a while. So thermo set to 30s, not mid fifties to low sixties. I don't think anyone is pushing that here.

I was very comfortable working from home yesterday at 58 degrees in a long sleeve tee shirt but the heat was kicking on to keep it there so I threw on a sweater and turned it to 57.

When summer rolls around I'll be happy at 78 or 79.

Seasons are good. Spice of life. Trying to get better about respecting the seasons in the food I buy too this year -- also easier on both environment and budget.

[big_owl]

Well to get frostbite with central heat, you'd have to have no heat on at all in temperatures below freezing for quite a while. So thermo set to 30s, not mid fifties to low sixties. I don't think anyone is pushing that here.

Technically you can't even get frostbite unless it's below freezing, so yeah, it would have to be pretty damn cold in the house for a long time in order to get frostbite.  I'm thinking temps would have to drop into the 20s (I'm assuming she would also have warm clothes on so just hitting the freezing mark wouldn't be adequate to give true frostbite).  If that actually happened then it was pretty intense, like in the olden times.  I doubt it's even possible for my house to get that cold between thermal inertia and passive solar heating, but I live in the relatively balmy mid-atlantic.

[Neustache]

I suspect the 'frostbite' is actually due to some sort of underlying health issue - bad circulation or diabetes. 

Just my hunch.

[onlykelsey]

Agreed, Neustache. 

When I lived in Austin we tried to go a winter without heat, and it took my boyfriend having to carry me from my desk chair to the tub because my feet had gone yellow-purple and numb to turn it on.  I suspect I may have Raynaud's disease, but who knows.  I had actual (selling girl scout cookies in single digits for four hours) frostbite when I was younger, and it was a similar progression of colors from white to yellow and purple and then to red when feeling returned, even though I was wearing sweatpants and socks in a 50 something degree house.

We keep our house around 65, and I can take pretty much any temperature so long as I have an electric blanket for my extremities when I'm getting in to bed.  Everyone has their own comfort levels.

[Neustache]

Onlykelsey -

You just reminded me I have Raynauds.  Or had.  Haven't had symptoms in ages!  Weird.  Totally forgot all about it until now. 

[Bardo]

Instead of using the thermostat I try to use active heat management.  The thermostat is set at 55F, so the heat doesn't come on automatically at all.  If it gets too cold, I turn up the thermostat and let the room heat up.  Then I turn it back down to 55F.  The idea is to mindful of heating and to avoid having it just run automatically in the background.  In the summer it is the same with AC.

[hoping2retire35]

67 downstairs, and we have little kids. Just always keep socks and a sweater on them and they are fine.

Ill try this for a while maybe even try to bump down to 66.

[Making Cents]

So I started my whole doubling-down-on-the-energy efficiency thing in about April, and I've been using Mint to track expenses since Jan 2015, which means now every month, I can see my utility savings for same time of year, and it is a thing of beauty!

Last year in Jan:

Electric (including heat): $125
Water: $38


This year in Jan:

Electric: $58
Water: $14

Total savings this month - $81


Jan bills are a little weird because we travel for the holidays in Dec (the billing period). I think we are actually doing better than this on average. My goal is to save $1000/yr on utilities over pre-April 2015 expenditures. I'll have a better idea in February if this is realistic.

[albireo13]

We had those round Honeywell thermostats in our house (4 zones) and they were always left on, wasting heat.
This Fall I replaced them all with programmable thermostats.  During the work week I set night time for 58deg,  from 6 to 8:30AM I set them to 64 deg and from 6PM to 10PM I set them to 64 deg.  During mid-day they are set to 58deg.


This has helped a lot in our oil consumption.  I haven't run the numbers yet but, the programmable thermostats are a good idea.

Rob

[zephyr911]

We had those round Honeywell thermostats in our house (4 zones)

How f'ing big is your house???

[CheapScholar]

Bring it down to 62 before bed.  Wake up and we send our son to school and go to work.  Before I leave for work I set it at 56.  If it's a sunny day the light comes in through the large slider door and has a greenhouse effect.  We get home around 5pm and bring it up to 68 or so.

Biggest advantage is to compartmentalize.  We have a 3 bedroom house and shut the vent in the 3rd room (used for storage) and close the door.  Also keep the vent in the basement closed.

Weekends use a bit more energy but we try not to set it over 65 on the weekends and dress warm.  Our house is not huge and our utility bills are very low.  I keep the energy usage low more for environmental reasons than saving a few bucks. 

[Mr.Tako]

Wow, some of you folks are pretty hardcore.  I've read that Americans use twice as much energy per capita as the rest of the world; You wouldn't know it from reading this thread.

We only really heat the house for about 1 hour in the morning and a couple hours in the evening.  The rest of the time we just accept what temperature it is.  It probably never gets above 68, and hardly gets below 60 indoors. 

The kids do just fine, even the infant.  We put a couple layers on them and they stay plenty warm.

[Tony_G]

65 during the day, if it is a very cold day, we may bump it up a degree or two.
60 before we go to bed.

[FIRE me]

Here are my energy bills from last Winter 2014 / 2015. This is for both electric and natural gas. It includes fixed charges as well as actual usage.

Billing date / Bill Amount (rounded to nearest dollar)
11/08/2014   $  91
12/10/2014   $140
01/12/2015   $166
02/10/2015   $152
03/12/2015   $150
04/10/2015   $100

Unfortunately, while the local utility charges less than the national average for natural gas and electricity, it charges higher than average fixed charges, such as “meter charges”, “delivery charges”, and “customer charges”. That it reduces the financial incentive to conserve.

In fact, despite having average Sun, my city is rated one of the worst in the U.S. for solar power due to lack of financial incentives and the perverse incentive of low energy rates but high fixed utility charges.

Here are my electric and gas bills for this more Mustachian season, I will update as they come in.

11/08/2015   $  73   ($18 less than same period last year)
12/11/2015   $  91   ($49 less than same period last year)

January update …
 
01/12/2015  $166
01/14/2106    $99  ($67 less than same period last year)

I can't take full credit for this 40% savings. December 2015 was much milder than December 2014.

I've cut back the nighttime temperature even further, to 52. I find that I actually sleep better! With all the blankets and clothes, I find that after about six hours asleep with the thermostat at 55, I tend to wake up too hot (especially my lower body).

[Making Cents]

^ That is awesome!

Yeah there have been some studies that temperature fluctuations are what cue sleep hormones (even more than light) and so allowing temps to drop at night helps with insomnia. I definitely sleep better when it is cooler at night than during the day.

[wienerdog]

January update …
 
01/12/2015  $166
01/14/2106    $99  ($67 less than same period last year)

I can't take full credit for this 40% savings. December 2015 was much milder than December 2014.

I've cut back the nighttime temperature even further, to 52. I find that I actually sleep better! With all the blankets and clothes, I find that after about six hours asleep with the thermostat at 55, I tend to wake up too hot (especially my lower body).

You should also post degree-days so people have an idea how cold your climate is.  It will also give you a good comparison of Dec 14 to Dec 15 as you already mentioned it is more mild.

http://www.degreedays.net/

[Bardo]

Here are my energy bills from last Winter 2014 / 2015. This is for both electric and natural gas. It includes fixed charges as well as actual usage.

Billing date / Bill Amount (rounded to nearest dollar)
11/08/2014   $  91
12/10/2014   $140
01/12/2015   $166
02/10/2015   $152
03/12/2015   $150
04/10/2015   $100

Unfortunately, while the local utility charges less than the national average for natural gas and electricity, it charges higher than average fixed charges, such as “meter charges”, “delivery charges”, and “customer charges”. That it reduces the financial incentive to conserve.

In fact, despite having average Sun, my city is rated one of the worst in the U.S. for solar power due to lack of financial incentives and the perverse incentive of low energy rates but high fixed utility charges.

Here are my electric and gas bills for this more Mustachian season, I will update as they come in.

11/08/2015   $  73   ($18 less than same period last year)
12/11/2015   $  91   ($49 less than same period last year)

January update …
 
01/12/2015  $166
01/14/2106    $99  ($67 less than same period last year)

I can't take full credit for this 40% savings. December 2015 was much milder than December 2014.

I've cut back the nighttime temperature even further, to 52. I find that I actually sleep better! With all the blankets and clothes, I find that after about six hours asleep with the thermostat at 55, I tend to wake up too hot (especially my lower body).

The sum of most recent gas and electric invoices is $60 for an 1800+ sq ft house. 

[FIRE me]

Not bad, especially if you have a real Winter season where you live.

[Bardo]

I'm convinced that saving on heating/cooling is down to active thermostat management, ie turning heat/cooling on when you need it, and then back off.  My unscientific theory is that if you turn on a thermostat and just leave it, your HVAC is working to keep things at that steady temperature.  Being more mindful of managing the temperature allows you to take advantage of your body's natural ability to acclimate, and save a lot of money while you're at it. 

[Dezrah]

I wish we could let our heat go lower but we chose warm-weather birds as pets. Their preferred ambient temperature would be around 85F if they could control the thermostat. They will tolerate our human temperatures (if they're healthy) but I feel guilty making them suffer at less than 70F. Hopefully we can make up for it come summer.

[JoshuaSpodek]

I wish we could let our heat go lower but we chose warm-weather birds as pets. Their preferred ambient temperature would be around 85F if they could control the thermostat. They will tolerate our human temperatures (if they're healthy) but I feel guilty making them suffer at less than 70F. Hopefully we can make up for it come summer.

Depending on the outdoor temperature, you've chosen to pollute a lot by getting those birds. Our waste is one reason why so many species are going extinct.

(Was that too harsh a post?)

[GuitarStv]

I suspect Dezrah is now flipping you the bird.

[JoshuaSpodek]

Irony upon irony.

[hoping2retire35]

would anyone suggest turning down the heat but putting  a small space heater in the kids room? we have to have them in two different rooms now so we would need two small space heaters. We would also have to keep the doors open so we can hear them

we keep the heat turned down downstairs a down during the day, but cannot freeze them at night. We can always use extra covers and clothes but they really can't.

Basically, is this energy/cost effective?

[GuitarStv]

Heaters can be a fire and a bit of a safety risk (particularly in a kids room, they have a tendency to do stuff like poke the glowing red element) and most of them are electric . . . which is often more expensive to use for heating that gas.

[hoping2retire35]

Heaters can be a fire and a bit of a safety risk (particularly in a kids room, they have a tendency to do stuff like poke the glowing red element) and most of them are electric . . . which is often more expensive to use for heating that gas.

I woud keep them up high so they cannot touch.

We are all electric.

[Rural]

Heaters can be a fire and a bit of a safety risk (particularly in a kids room, they have a tendency to do stuff like poke the glowing red element) and most of them are electric . . . which is often more expensive to use for heating that gas.

I woud keep them up high so they cannot touch.

We are all electric.

Are you on a heat pump, though? Space heaters are electric resistance, which is much less efficient than a heat pump. The question is whether heating smaller spaces is enough of a trade off - that and when temps drop below about 40 outside, air source heat pumps switch to a resistance backup.

[onlykelsey]

would anyone suggest turning down the heat but putting  a small space heater in the kids room? we have to have them in two different rooms now so we would need two small space heaters. We would also have to keep the doors open so we can hear them

we keep the heat turned down downstairs a down during the day, but cannot freeze them at night. We can always use extra covers and clothes but they really can't.

Basically, is this energy/cost effective?

I really doubt it, especially with open doors.  I do that sometimes in my bedroom but it's well insulated with a 100-lb dog and about 7.5 feet across.

Maybe electric blankets, depending on their age?

[Ebrat]

We usually keep our heat at 64 and bump it up a degree or two when we're feeling cold.  I finally programmed the thermostat, so now it's 66 from 6 to 7 am, 60 from 7 am to 5 pm (I work from home sometimes but have been comfortable with an electric blanket and some tea), 64 from 5 pm to 11 pm, and 63 from 11 pm to 6 am.  Interested to see whether/how much our gas bill is affected.  Now if only I could figure out how to lower our electric bill...