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?