Author Topic: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?  (Read 11789 times)

frugalnacho

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I have a 1300 sq ft home in michigan with natural gas oven/water heater/furnace.  I just went through and totaled my gas usage for the last year.

Based on my summer time usage, I think $24/mo is the base price for our hook up, cooking, and hot water with no furnace usage.   For about 8 months of the year I see the bill rise with proportion to how cold it is (furnace usage) with the highest bill around $127 for january last year.

So $24/mo X 12 months = $288/yr for the line hook up, hot water, and stove/oven.
My 12 month total is $719, so about $431 of actual furnace usage for the last year.

We keep our thermostat programmed to 64 during the day, and 60 at night and when we aren't home.  If I remember correctly, last year my wife pretty much nudged the thermostat up to 66 every day she was there, so we effectively kept it at 66/60, although any of the days we weren't home it defaulted to 64.

I have no problem with the temp, and could in fact keep it much lower (I kept my thermostat at 55/45 when I lived alone), but my wife seems to have problem with her circulation and gets cold hands, feet, and nose regardless of the temperature, and prefers it warmer. 

How much does everyone else pay for heating bills? 

Should I raise the temperature of the house to make my wife more comfortable?  If I assume each degree lower will save 3% off my heating bill, then each degree I raise it should increase my heating bill by 3.1%.  So a 4 degree increase to 68/64 should only increase my heating bill by 13% (1.031^4 = 1.13) (1.13x$431 = $487, so about $56 for the whole year).  $56 is nothing to sneeze at, but it's certainly small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, especially if it makes someone a lot more comfortable.  I'm not sure that an extra 4 degrees will translate into her being any more comfortable though (she gets cold hands in the summer with no AC on...so I suspect the cold hand problem will continue regardless of temp).

Anything wrong with my math or my assumptions?

ADK_Junkie

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2014, 12:04:51 PM »
Just a point about the math.  Unfortunately, it's not as clean a non-linear relationship between the temperature and the cost.  It's more of a logarithmic relationship (mathematically speaking).  So maybe the first degree upwards represents a 3% increase in price, but maybe the next degree (i.e., 2 degrees upwards) you would see an 8% increase in price (i.e., 3% attributed to the first degree and then 5% attributed to the second degree warmer).

Various factors will obviously play into this (i.e., insulation, furnace efficiency, etc.).  But the real factor is the temperature differential between inside and outside.  And what this means is that the heat loss is faster/greater when the differential is wider (as would be expected) and the heat loss is slower when the differential is less.  All of this translates into the dollars going toward your heating costs.

Sorry to wax on for a while there, but I'm just trying to say that the thermostat adjustment won't be as neat an overall 13% increase in your furnace gas costs (maybe it'll be closer to 20%...).

But, in the grand scheme of things, it's better to (somewhat) increase your wife's comfort.  I'd say the $56 (or even $100 for the year) may be well worth it.

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2014, 12:18:56 PM »
Yea i'm aware of the thermodynamics at work (I have a chemical engineering degree), I was just using 3% for simplicity.  The general advice I hear is that one degree translates to about a 3% reduction in energy costs, and i'm assuming that is geared toward typical consumer suckers that keep their thermostat at 74 24/7.  You will start to get diminishing returns the more you turn it down, I just don't know how far into that territory I already am.  Assuming the 3% rule held constant for all temperature settings I would only see a modest increase in my heating bill. Realistically I know the first few degrees I crank it up will cost me the least.  Each extra degree I go will get more expensive (proportionally), and it may in fact cost more than the 3% estimate i'm using since I already have it turned down so low.

I was more looking to get some feedback on what other mustachians do and what they pay for their heating bill.  I want to find that sweet spot between saving money and living comfortably.  I'm already comfortable, but I think my wife would like it warmer.  Although if there were no restrictions i'm pretty sure she would like to set it at 80, so I need to impose some sort of restrictions on using the thermostat, I just want to make sure I am maximizing our dollars and our comfort levels.  No point in suffering through a cold indoor temperature all winter to save like $50.


nereo

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2014, 12:19:44 PM »
ADK_junkie brought up the linear-vs-log point I was going to make

66/60 seems pretty good to me.  We run about the same in Canada 18ºC/15ºC (65/59F).  I'd say this is an instance where you can become "cheap" instead of "frugal", especially when it comes to your wife's comfort, particularly when you are looking at an annual difference of <$100.

Anything you can do to increase your home's efficiency?  thick warm socks and fuzzy sweatshirts for the wife? We have a mattress heating pad under a thick down-comforter, which lets us keep our bedrooms at 59ºF/15ºC all day long (the heating pad, when needed, draws far less than keeping the room 5º warmer.

EDIT:  To answer your question, last winter (which was the coldest in 30 years here in QC) we paid around $330 for heating for the winter.  We don't have air conditioning and I attribute the difference in electricity usage between winter/summer to be almost entirely heating costs (although some of it is doubtless extra laundry from bulkier winter clothing)
« Last Edit: November 17, 2014, 12:23:03 PM by nereo »

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2014, 12:27:30 PM »
We have a heating blanket on the couch.  We also have a heating blanket on our bed, plus a really thick comforter.  I would actually prefer to sleep when the temp is 40-50 in the house, but she doesn't like it and we have animals.  The animals seem fine at 60, but I would think it would be cruel to set it down below that since they don't like using blankets or anything besides curling up in a ball with the fur on their skin. 

I think the home's efficiency is fine.  It's not drafty, and the bills aren't so outrageously high that I would think I could save any serious amount of money by fortifying the insulation anywhere. 

The wife has sufficient socks/slippers/sweat pants/and sweatshirts.  It's just her hands/feet/nose get cold, and i'm pretty sure it's completely unrelated to the temperature and completely dependent on her lack of proper circulation.  Like I said, when it was in the 80's in the summer and we didn't have the air on her hands were still ice cold.   So in order for her hands to not be "cold" I think I would have to raise the ambient temperature up to her body temperature.

FIence!

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2014, 12:48:41 PM »
I'm interested in this too, as we're also in MI and also thinking of nudging things up this year. I am like your wife, always chilly, and my teeth literally chatter like a cartoon if it's cold.

Frugalnacho, just so we're comparing apples to apples, do you have DTE? Two floors or one?We have 1100 sq. ft. cape (so the weird slanty-ceiling upstairs that gets really cold compared to the ground floor), minus the gas stove but with a gas dryer. Last year we kept it around 64 at night and 68-70 during the day (were both working from home last winter, so that's 70-ish all day). Our highest bill was also in Jan. last year, and was around $135. I should also mention our house has almost no attic insulation (we have icicles as I write this) and drafty crap vinyl windows, so I figure we're on the high side for a house our size.

One idea we had is to turn the heat lower at night (maybe to 60-61) so we can turn it up to 72 or so in the day and have a net neutral bill-wise. Do you think your wife might go for that kind of compromise?

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2014, 12:51:58 PM »
How the hell do people sleep in 74 degree temperatures.  I would sweat to death.  My husband likes things on the cold side (not just for money savings) so we keep the house at 64-66 during the day and 60 at night.  I just wear sweaters. 

FIence!

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2014, 01:02:50 PM »
Oh, two more things:

First, I'm so glad to read you keep the temp reasonable for your animals! I'm so tired of people who think that animals are somehow impervious to bitter cold or that their scant amount of fur keeps them "warm" in single digits.

And a tip for the wife--one thing I've found is that wearing tight clothes can be as effective as wearing more clothes. So, a really tight t-shirt or tank top tucked into my jeans worn under my regular shirt(s), and then if I'm not entertaining the Pope and just home alone, tucking my pants legs into my socks. Basically creating draft dodgers for my body. Thinner clothes that are tight to my body tend to keep me warm better than a thick sweatshirt with wizard sleeves and billowy fleece pants.

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2014, 01:04:25 PM »
We have consumers for gas.  We also have a gas dryer, but only do about 1-2 loads per week.  I totally forgot about the gas dryer, but since we do the same amount of laundry year round it's irrelevant and already included in our base price of $24/mo.

It's 2 stories, plus a basement (vents are closed in the basement).

We already turn our thermostat down to 60 at night.  It's programmable and is 60 from about 10pm until about 7am, and the rest of the time it's at 64.  It varies a bit adjusted to our specific schedules, but that's the gist of it.

FIence!

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2014, 01:12:20 PM »
We already turn our thermostat down to 60 at night.  It's programmable and is 60 from about 10pm until about 7am, and the rest of the time it's at 64.  It varies a bit adjusted to our specific schedules, but that's the gist of it.

OK, but using that theory, do you think your wife would be on board with going 2 degrees lower at night to get "credit" toward going 2 degrees warmer in the day? With the programmable, you could even make the bigger drop happen after she's fallen asleep, like at midnight. So, 66 during the day, drop to 60 at 10 pm, drop to 58 at midnight until 6am?

justajane

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2014, 01:12:32 PM »
We are in Missouri (so warmer than where you are) and spend a baseline of around $30 a month (incl. taxes) when the furnace is not on. This is for a family of five that has a gas powered dryer, water heater, and stove.

I would say our winter bill for a 1,700 sq. ft. house that is kept at 68 during the day and 64 at night is between $80-$150 depending on the month.

galliver

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2014, 01:20:14 PM »
frugalnacho, this has been mentioned on other threads, but bears repeating. I have read that as a general rule, women's bodies are wired differently, to keep their heat closer to the core (presumably to protect a fetus). As a result, in general (i.e. there may be specific exceptions), we are more susceptible to cold extremities.  It is currently 74 deg outside and probably just a tad cooler in my apartment in SoCal and my feet are uncomfortably chilly (in socks). This might be genetic (my mom has the same). Basically don't be too hard on your wife. For the most part, I think you should let her decide the thermostat based on her reasonable comfort zone. I, for one, am happy to wear thick socks, pants, and two LS layers on top, but would probably punch someone for seriously suggesting I wear gloves or a hat indoors. I'm also happy to sleep in any temps if I have enough blankets. Same for hanging out, except cuddling under a blanket makes it hard to cook or do other household chores.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2014, 01:25:07 PM »
I live in VA and pay $0 a month to heat my home. Despite temperatures being ~20-30 degrees at night, all the hot air from the 2 apartment floors below mine comes up. The apartments next to me also run their thermostats. I actually open my windows in the evening to get the temp down to ~67. Can get up to 75+ if the sun is shining that day. Coldest I've seen it inside is 63.

I'd set the temperature much lower when you aren't home and at night. Consider an electric blanket if your wife complains.

ZiziPB

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2014, 01:28:38 PM »
As a woman, I am comfortable with 66-68 when I am up and around the house and 60 at night and when I'm at work.  I wouldn't go below 60 because of my cat.

I have a gas fireplace in my living room so I use that often to heat the room when I read, knit or watch TV instead of heating up the whole house to 68.  My townhouse is well insulated and I have neighbors on two sides.  The highest gas bill I had last winter was around $110 (in central CT).

FarmerPete

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #14 on: November 17, 2014, 01:33:59 PM »
I also live in MI.  I have consumers for Natural Gas.  We have gas WH and Furnace only.  My base cost over the summer is $16-19.  My cost last winter was $434 beyond that base cost.  We have a 2000 ft^2 two story house.  We keep the heat at 64 during the day and 58 at night.  Last winter my wife was working two days a week, so I would keep the temp at 58 until 4pm two days a week.  Also, don't completely discredit your electric usage.  That blower on a furnace sucks a lot of energy.  My electric spiked quite a bit the last two winters.  We do use a small electric radiator in our baby sons room.  It turns on for ~10 hours a day at 66 degrees.  Our upstairs is always a little colder than the main floor, and I would rather pay a few cents more to keep his room warmer than to pay a few dollars to keep the entire house over warmed every night.  Even going back to 2012-2013, my electric still had a small spike in the winter.  We use our AC so seldom in the summer that our winter electric bills are actually higher than the summer AC bills!!!

GardenFun

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #15 on: November 17, 2014, 01:42:44 PM »
We have a 1500sqft ranch in WI.  Last winter's brutal cold caused a spike in the natural gas prices.  Looking back at the bills, there were months where the rate adjustment per therm cost us an extra $57/mo.  A typical $50-70 natural gas portion of the bill became $100-$120. 

While it sucked to pay it, it was better than having propane.  If you didn't pre-buy, you were screwed. 

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #16 on: November 17, 2014, 03:11:56 PM »
frugalnacho, this has been mentioned on other threads, but bears repeating. I have read that as a general rule, women's bodies are wired differently, to keep their heat closer to the core (presumably to protect a fetus). As a result, in general (i.e. there may be specific exceptions), we are more susceptible to cold extremities.  It is currently 74 deg outside and probably just a tad cooler in my apartment in SoCal and my feet are uncomfortably chilly (in socks). This might be genetic (my mom has the same). Basically don't be too hard on your wife. For the most part, I think you should let her decide the thermostat based on her reasonable comfort zone. I, for one, am happy to wear thick socks, pants, and two LS layers on top, but would probably punch someone for seriously suggesting I wear gloves or a hat indoors. I'm also happy to sleep in any temps if I have enough blankets. Same for hanging out, except cuddling under a blanket makes it hard to cook or do other household chores.

I'm not being hard on her, I just want us to find a reasonable temperature where we are both happy.  I can (and did) get by with my thermostat at 55/45 and just wearing more cloths.  I kept several large blankets in the living room for tv watching.  Sometimes my hands would get cold(like if I was on the computer for extended periods), but I could easily warm them up in warm water if I needed my hands for something. It was nice having practically no heating bill. She was not comfortable at that temperature though, so we keep our house at 64/60.

Her hands however get cold all the time, even in the summer.  I'm not sure there is anything I can do about it.  I don't think a warmer environment is going to do much for her cold hands.  I think she is comfortable with 64, she just has cold hands.  Or we could crank it up, she could take a layer of clothes off, be comfortable, and still have cold hands.

kimmarg

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #17 on: November 17, 2014, 03:22:06 PM »
I keep my house at 64/60 too... And I'm also the wife who gets cold, so if I'm home and cold I turn it up a bit to 68F. Yea, I wear long underwear etc etc but sometimes I'm just cold.

I don't even want to talk cost. I'm drooling over your bills. No natural gas in this area means we heat on propane in the northeast with 7000 HDD/year. I budget $3000/year. Worst month in winter is around $750 although I'm on equalized payments so I don't pay that much ever.

So yea I'd say crank it up, but mostly because your cost is so far below mine.

geekette

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #18 on: November 17, 2014, 03:36:45 PM »
When I get cold, I either mop the kitchen floor (or some other sort of exercise), or decide I'd rather be cold.  Getting her circulation going might help.

We also have cats who ignore us in the summer, but think of us as warm furniture when the temp dives. 

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #19 on: November 17, 2014, 05:58:55 PM »
We already turn our thermostat down to 60 at night.  It's programmable and is 60 from about 10pm until about 7am, and the rest of the time it's at 64.  It varies a bit adjusted to our specific schedules, but that's the gist of it.

OK, but using that theory, do you think your wife would be on board with going 2 degrees lower at night to get "credit" toward going 2 degrees warmer in the day? With the programmable, you could even make the bigger drop happen after she's fallen asleep, like at midnight. So, 66 during the day, drop to 60 at 10 pm, drop to 58 at midnight until 6am?

I don't want to freeze the animals out.  I have read varying things about dogs being comfortable at different temperatures, but our dog has a short coat and looks noticeably cold outside in the winter.  She looks comfortable at 60 though so I am fine leaving it at 60 for the night and the days we are not home.  She should be fine at those temps.  I also think by the time we are down to 60*, any further decrease in temperature is going to have diminishing returns.  I mean my entire bill for heating for the whole year was only $431, and last year was hands down the coldest most brutal winter I have ever dealt with. 

DollarBill

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #20 on: November 17, 2014, 06:07:07 PM »
I average $57 a month (Avg bill pay for Nat Gas) to heat a 2600sft home in Kansas. I don't remember what I set it on in the winter, probably about 68ish.

bogart

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #21 on: November 17, 2014, 06:55:21 PM »
I don't think comparing costs is useful in the sense that energy prices vary significantly by region -- don't they? -- and of course need does too (assuming similar homes, yours in MI takes more energy to heat than does mine in the US SE).  Though I do realize that you're talking an incremental increase and in that sense knowing how it compares to others' bills (not energy usage) might be mentally helpful, if not strictly logical.

We pay more than you do -- energy inefficient home, and while we use little gas (our furnace), we burn a woodstove and pay to buy wood to fill it.  We're happy with that.  Last winter we probably spent $200 on gas and $300 on wood.  We keep the thermostat at about 64 during the day, 52 when asleep (though it rarely drops that low).  But that overstates how cold the house often is because:  woodstove.

Susceptibility to cold can just be a typical state, for some people but it can also be a symptom of hypothyroidism, which is also a significant (if it exists, that is, if someone is affected by it) and generally readily (and affordably!) treatable cause of -- wait for it -- female infertility (and subfertility and pregnancy loss).  Back when I was dealing with all that stuff, OBs and REs were (I learned) not very current on this issue (the thyroid not being part of "the reproductive system" -- an example of a common shortcoming with today's very specialized approaches to medical practice).  I think that has improved, but -- there is evidence that such a thing as "subclinical" hypothyroidism exists, that it can be effectively (and safely) treated, and that for people who are symptomatic (particularly women having trouble trying to conceive, because, you know, important goal for many families), this is worth checking on (and doing if appropriate).  If you'd like more information, PM me.

Zikoris

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #22 on: November 17, 2014, 07:01:02 PM »
Nothing. Given that in Vancouver there is no price difference between the places that include utilities and the places that do not, I see no point ever taking an apartment that doesn't.

guitar_stitch

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #23 on: November 18, 2014, 07:49:17 AM »
As a woman, I am comfortable with 66-68 when I am up [...]

Are there times where you are not a woman?  Does that impact your temperature tolerance?

:P

hybrid

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #24 on: November 18, 2014, 08:20:28 AM »
DW has a pulse near 40 when at rest. Reptiles have nothing on her. She would love nothing more than to keep the heat at 74 all winter (especially since she works outside in the cold all day carrying mail), and I could live at 68 pretty comfortably, but we compromise and keep it at 70 or 71. She is much more willing to compromise when the wood stove is rolling and she has a nook of the house she can bask in.

Happy wife, happy life.

kyanamerinas

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #25 on: November 19, 2014, 12:27:34 AM »
Good clothes can make a huge difference. I work from home in around 62 degrees. In winter I wear fleece lined tights with a thin, cotton jumper (long sleeves, roll neck) tucked in to them, plus shoes, jeans, T-shirt and a hoodie. That underlayer held prevents drafts and makes a huge difference. I also love my hot water bottle or just a hot mug of water for my cold hands/feet.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2014, 12:32:28 AM by kyanamerinas »

ADK_Junkie

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #26 on: November 19, 2014, 11:16:12 AM »
Our thermostat is set for 65 when we are home and 57 when we are asleep or away.  I live in a nearly 200 year-old house, so the temperature generally varies from room to room (i.e., the kitchen wing is always about 5 degrees cooler than the main living room). 

When we are home, however, we sometimes jack the heat up to 67, which helps to take the chill off if we are relaxing. 

When my kids were born (and blankets are a no-no for the first year), we kept the heat at 70.  Fortunately, our heating bill didn't skyrocket.

TeresaB

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #27 on: November 19, 2014, 12:06:51 PM »
We haven't turned our heating on since moving, so I have no idea how much we spend. But I'm another woman who's always cold.

Does your wife want to turn up the heat? It seems like she's uncomfortably cold aside from the cold hands, and you're focusing on the cold hands which the thermostat doesn't affect. The thermostat doesn't affect my hands either, but turning it up can be the difference between me shivering and me not shivering. I'm willing, unlike a pp, to wear gloves indoors, but the two of you have to find something that you're both happy with.

I would definitely see if there's a medical reason.

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #28 on: November 19, 2014, 12:56:58 PM »
We haven't turned our heating on since moving, so I have no idea how much we spend. But I'm another woman who's always cold.

Does your wife want to turn up the heat? It seems like she's uncomfortably cold aside from the cold hands, and you're focusing on the cold hands which the thermostat doesn't affect. The thermostat doesn't affect my hands either, but turning it up can be the difference between me shivering and me not shivering. I'm willing, unlike a pp, to wear gloves indoors, but the two of you have to find something that you're both happy with.

I would definitely see if there's a medical reason.

No I don't think she wants to, and I don't think she's uncomfortable.  I mean i'm sure she wants to, just like I do, it sure would be nice to walk around in my underwear and have it 80*, but neither of us is willing to pay for that, plus it seems incredibly wasteful.  Even though we aren't uncomfortable, another degree or two might make the home slightly more comfortable.  We just want to find a happy medium where we are comfortable and getting maximum value for our money.

frugaliknowit

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #29 on: November 19, 2014, 01:59:03 PM »
Have you considered contacting the gas company for actual bills/usage?

frugalnacho

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #30 on: November 19, 2014, 02:02:58 PM »
Have you considered contacting the gas company for actual bills/usage?

I don't understand.  I have all my old bills, and I have a meter on my house, I can easily measure it and/or see what my actual past usage is. I only have a single meter so they won't know what i'm using it for once it enters my house.

Hummer

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #31 on: November 19, 2014, 03:00:37 PM »
I'm in Canada and I have a forced air natural gas furnace plus natural gas hot water tank. In the summer, we don't use the furnace for 4 months of the year, average bill is $30. In the fall/winter I set it at 60 overnight and 71 when we are home. This causes our bill to climb to over $100 during a really cold month but an average bill is $80 in the winter. I have poor circulation in my hands and feet and find myself shivering at temps below 68 even with 2 shirts on.

Milizard

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #32 on: November 19, 2014, 07:28:51 PM »
I'm also a woman who gets cold hands/feet and nose.  My hands and feet are still cold with the thermostat at 70, but it drives me nuts if my nose is cold too. This may sound silly, but I say turn the heat up far enough so that her nose isn't cold. 

going2ER

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Re: How much do you pay to heat your home? Should I raise my thermostat?
« Reply #33 on: November 20, 2014, 11:14:11 AM »
I would trade my oil bill in a heart beat with anyone on here. On average, divided over 12 months, we pay $400 per month for oil to heat our home and water. We keep the temperature around 16C at night and during the day and 18C when we are home, so that isn't even keeping our house really warm, but it is an old house with a rock foundation. We did do some spray insulation on the rock foundation in one part of the house this past summer so we are hoping it helps some.

 

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