Thermostat at 63

[GuitarStv]

There's an awful lot to be said for the efficacy of an old school hot water bottle.  It's cheap, it works well for a good long time, and there aren't too many risks even with little kids.

[onlykelsey]

There's an awful lot to be said for the efficacy of an old school hot water bottle.  It's cheap, it works well for a good long time, and there aren't too many risks even with little kids.

Oh, yes!  or a sock filled with rice and microwaved.

[hoping2retire35]

There's an awful lot to be said for the efficacy of an old school hot water bottle.  It's cheap, it works well for a good long time, and there aren't too many risks even with little kids.

Oh, yes!  or a sock filled with rice and microwaved.

camp fire rocks wrapped in blankets.

[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

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).

February update . . .

02-10-2015   $152
02-12-2016   $100 ($52 less than same period last year)

This month I clam full credit for my 34% savings. This year averaged one degree colder than the same period last year.

[lizzzi]

Got a puppy, and had to go back to my pre-Mustachian 68 degrees 24/7. I stopped my 55/65 as soon as I got him home, and immediately went to 65 degrees 24/7. As I posted on the thread about coats and sweaters for dogs, he seemed fine with it, but I started to find him camping out on the heating vents. I'm not so frugal that I want to freeze my pup, so 68 it is. Sigh. The utility bills will just be whatever. Gotta do it.

[Eric222]

I won the low temperature contest yesterday, unintentionally!  Waking up to a house in the low 40s isn't much fun.  Damn heater/thermocouple.  Fixed though!

[purple monkey]

I am so impressed with this tread.
I would have never thought to go this low.
I will definitely try harder next time.
Thanks so much for starting.

[Inaya]

We don't use the thermostat.The heater is old and smells funky, plus it's over the door and next to the windows, so the heat just goes right outside. Also, the entire exterior wall is floor-to-ceiling windows, and the seals on the double-paned glass are broken or something because the heat just goes right outside (and condensation gets up between the panes). And the cold comes right inside--if it's 25 degrees or less out there, you can feel it from 3 ft away. The temperature in here is very much affected by the temperature outside. The average in here was 50-55 degrees during Chiberia.

We have a small space heater we got on Black Friday a few years ago. Works well enough for 550 sq.ft. We limit it to on twice per day an hour at a time on really cold days (the aforementioned 25 degrees or lower), and I sleep under an electric blanket because I have no ability to maintain body heat. 25-45 degrees we use it to warm up feet/hands, then turn it off, unless we're feeling particularly hedonistic (or sorry for the cat). Hubs has a pair of fingerless USB-heated gloves for when he's gaming (silly Xmas present). We both have warm PJs, bathrobes, and sheepskin slippers. The cat has a giant rice-filled pillow that gets microwaved and put in her cat tree a few times a day (a gift from my mom to her "grandcat.") I guzzle hot tea all day.

45 degrees and up we actually open the balcony door so we can get some fresh air because this apartment has NO ventilation without. The air gets extremely stale and God forbid I burn something while cooking (or our cigar-smoking sometime-neighbor is home), because that smell is permanent until the door gets opened.

[Making Cents]

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

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).

February update . . .

02-10-2015   $152
02-12-2016   $100 ($52 less than same period last year)

This month I clam full credit for my 34% savings. This year averaged one degree colder than the same period last year.

Woohoo!  Congrats.


Me so far this year:

Month, 2016/2015

Jan, $58/$125  ($67 savings, 63% decrease)
Feb, $152/$212 ($60 savings, 28%  decrease)

[NinetyFour]

Apologies in advice, as I have not read through the entire thread.

I would roast if my thermostat were set anywhere near 63.  Mine has been set at 46 for the last few weeks.  Before that, it was set at 56ish, but then Bakari's postings inspired me to go lower.

This morning, I tried to set the thermostat even lower, but it apparently does not go below 45!!  So I turned it off.  Around the house, I routinely wear warm socks, down booties, long johns, cotton sweat pants, a few layers of shirts, a Buff around my neck, a Turtle Fur hat, a down jacket, and wool fingerless gloves.  Right now, in this getup, I am too warm.  It is 53 degrees in my house.

Hard to know how much $$ I have saved, because my utilities are tied to those of my rental house, and my tenant has his thermostat set at a crazy 68 degrees.  But, the total savings for the last 3 months compared to these 3 months last year is $70.  It also helps that I had new insulation put in the rental house.

[FIRE me]

I won the low temperature contest yesterday, unintentionally!  Waking up to a house in the low 40s isn't much fun.  Damn heater/thermocouple.  Fixed though!

I hope you were able to fix that yourself, instead of having to pay for a service call.

[FIRE me]

Woohoo!  Congrats.


Me so far this year:

Month, 2016/2015

Jan, $58/$125  ($67 savings, 63% decrease)
Feb, $152/$212 ($60 savings, 28%  decrease)

It's like free money!

[FIRE me]

Apologies in advice, as I have not read through the entire thread.

I would roast if my thermostat were set anywhere near 63.  Mine has been set at 46 for the last few weeks.  Before that, it was set at 56ish, but then Bakari's postings inspired me to go lower.

This morning, I tried to set the thermostat even lower, but it apparently does not go below 45!!  So I turned it off.  Around the house, I routinely wear warm socks, down booties, long johns, cotton sweat pants, a few layers of shirts, a Buff around my neck, a Turtle Fur hat, a down jacket, and wool fingerless gloves.  Right now, in this getup, I am too warm.  It is 53 degrees in my house.

Hard to know how much $$ I have saved, because my utilities are tied to those of my rental house, and my tenant has his thermostat set at a crazy 68 degrees.  But, the total savings for the last 3 months compared to these 3 months last year is $70.  It also helps that I had new insulation put in the rental house.

51 in my house when I got up this morning. But when I'm not under the bed covers, that is too cool for me. I have to up it to 58 to 61 to be comfortable. Maybe next season I will be ready to match your badassity.

[Bracken_Joy]

Wanted to try going to 62 (we keep it at 64 currently). Brother came out yesterday wearing head to toe layers, including ski mittens and said, "why do you hate me?"  (I didn't think it was very bad, actually, but I guess he disagreed).

Back up to 64. Having a roommate is still saving more money than a little savings on the thermostat, I suppose.

[Inaya]

Wanted to try going to 62 (we keep it at 64 currently). Brother came out yesterday wearing head to toe layers, including ski mittens and said, "why do you hate me?"  (I didn't think it was very bad, actually, but I guess he disagreed).

I get the "why do you hate me?" look from my husband every time I tell him to turn of the space heater. I am way more sensitive to cold than he is (my side of the bed has 2 more blankets than his), so if I'm warm it's warm enough. Still better than my cat, who gives me the "you will die in your sleep" stare when I turn it off.

[Elliot]

We set it to kick on at 66F. If we had a programmable thermostat (we're renters) I'd knock it down to 64F at night, but oh well!

[Bracken_Joy]

Wanted to try going to 62 (we keep it at 64 currently). Brother came out yesterday wearing head to toe layers, including ski mittens and said, "why do you hate me?"  (I didn't think it was very bad, actually, but I guess he disagreed).

I get the "why do you hate me?" look from my husband every time I tell him to turn of the space heater. I am way more sensitive to cold than he is (my side of the bed has 2 more blankets than his), so if I'm warm it's warm enough. Still better than my cat, who gives me the "you will die in your sleep" stare when I turn it off.

I love that animals understand associations like "turning off space heater will make it stop making heat". I include Brother in that group ;)

[felizcortez]

We keep our heat at 65 during when we are home and then it goes down to 63 at night while we are sleeping.  Our gas bill is usually around $50 in the winter, but the crappy thing is that gas company charges a $30+ monthly customer charge just to be a customer.  You get charged this amount whether you use gas just for cooking or if your entire place is gas operated.  I also live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building so the people's heat below me helps to keep our place warm.

[Lmoot]

Before I had my parrots I could easily stand temperature extremes. I do still try to minimize it by opening windows and using space heaters. Unfortunately I can only use ceiling fans in the rooms they're not in.

[lizzzi]

I am just not used to 68 degrees--it's been a couple of years since I kept the house that warm for an elderly relative. I was really happy at 65/55. Now I have to say that at 68 the puppy is very comfortable, but I am roasting. Oh well. Ya can't freeze your dog.

[FunkyChopstick]

Ha- since being more active on the forum , aka having my morning coffee while reading posts, I have dropped the heat from 69 to 63 at all times in our house. The dog also has a comforter propped as an alcove on her bed and we wear hoodies and slippers. I also bought the best water bottle on amazon. I fill it from the kettle and it keeps me warm all night and into the early am. My quality of life has greatly improved from this hot water bottle alone. Seriously.

Link for water bottle:

http://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Classic-Hot-Water-Bottle/dp/B000MR5RBI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455843191&sr=8-2&keywords=hot+water+bottles

[lizzzi]

Tried putting the heat down by one degree, to 67 Fahrenheit 24/7. Puppy is OK with that. It doesn't sound like much, but I am feeling more comfortable and not quite so roasted-toasted.

[Scandium]

I love my 7/4 thermostat. At 66 for 1.5 hr in the morning, 57 during the day. Back to 66 from 5-10 pm then 64 at night.

I'm mostly warm (and I pay the bill...) and would like it lower, but my wife is constantly freezing, and also worry the baby is too cold at night. When my parents visit my mom does nothing but complain it's too cold.. Prefer 73+!! Our electric bill was $300 last month :( All electric heat pump.

Found that my MIL actually just adjust her thermostat up and down manually. I didn't know anyone did that anymore!

[Lmoot]

I don't have a programmable thermostat and if I did I would still use it manually. I probably save money not having one because I rely on my current comfort level to determine if I want to adjust it or not. I find with a programmable that whether you are thinking about the temp or not, it will automatically adjust based on its settings, not on how you actually feel in the moment. And what if your schedule deviates and you end up going somewhere after work...and it comes on and you're not there to benefit?

[Rural]

We don't even have a central thermostat, or central heat for that matter. But then you can't adjust temps in a house like this on a daily basis. High thermal mass means change is a multi-day process. On the other hand, it means we pay very little for it, and if the sun has been shining in the winter, the heaters only come on about 2am. Or 6:15 am, as has just happened now.

[slackmax]

In Pa here. Heat pump so all electric. 12.7 cents per kilowatt hour with PP&L.  Last year 2014/2015 during the brutal Winter we had, lots of folks who opted into contracts with non-PP&L electricity generation companies got shafted horribly. Like $600 per month for electric heat because they didn't read the fine print!  :(   I  had some huge monthly bills myself, even with the less expensive PP&L as my generation company. $220 for the Feb/March bill. Thermostat set at 60 degrees.