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Home heating

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124

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  • Walkywalkerson
    Walkywalkerson Posts: 453 Member
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    I set my thermostat to around 20C around this time of year - it starts to feel cold ( to me )
    It's 12C outside right now and as far as I'm concerned that's freezing 🥶 🤣
    I have my bedroom around 16C and the heating goes off completely around April.
    I'm in London.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited October 2021
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    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Getting close to Winter again. If you haven't insulated your home, this would be the year to do it. Natural Gas costs are supposed to double this year. If you normally had a $200 bill, expect a $400 bill.

    Look at adding a programmable thermostat, electric space heaters (electric might be cheaper than natural gas this year) and additional insulation. If you have drafty windows, there is window film you can use.

    All good ideas, but with supply chain and labor issues good luck finding materials and/or someone to install if can't do it yourself.

    If you can get into an attic, radiant barrier insulation (looks like long aluminum foil) is so easy to install yourself. And I wouldn't think that anyone should have any issues finding it right now. It's not something that there's a "run" on currently. It's large and takes two people, but you literally just staple it to your rafters and leave a gap (like 6 inches) at the top and the bottom. That alone will save most people 15% on their bills. There are plenty of great videos on YouTube about how to do it.

    The window films are made for anyone to install. I'd just be cautious to look at reviews and make sure they won't leave any residue. Some come where you can put them up over and over again year after year. Great for drafty windows.

    Thermostats also aren't very hard. I'm not handy, at all, but I've installed at least four thermostats myself. They are pretty simple to do. I don't have a Nest or similar -- just a decent Honeywell programmable, which isn't that expensive at all.

    Read another article yesterday on how much money (in futures in the stock market) is being gambled on natural gas prices doubling this Winter.

    Electric space heaters are easy to find and cheap now. I think we paid like $50 for ours and they have lasted years. I like the ones that don't get hot (because I have pets). Electric might be cheaper than gas this Winter and pay for itself. I think I have the Lasko oscillating heaters and they are fantastic.

    Even though I live in AZ, it does get down to around 32 degrees here in the Winter. Nights can get nippy. I get cold easy since I don't have a ton of body fat (any more) -- one disadvantage of not being obese any longer! I keep a space heater going most of the day while I'm working in my office. It saves us from having to heat the whole house because my wife gets hot easy. Plus, since I have a solar home in AZ, the electric is ample in the Winter months. I'd rather use it than sell it back to the utility at half price.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
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    Home Depot has videos on their site (rated Beginner) on how to install a thermostat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Home Depot has videos on their site (rated Beginner) on how to install a thermostat.

    *I* installed a programmable thermostat once just using the directions it came with, and I'm not especially handy. I think I was angry at my roommate, though, and that helped me :lol:

    This was in South Florida, and I deliberately did not connect the heat, which we really didn't need the first 5 years I was there, being in an apartment complex with only one side with windows, and those hurricane glass.

    However, it was unusually cold the winter after I left. I wonder if I let my ex know why the heat would not work...
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    I know it's a data point of 1, but I'm really annoyed about it, so I'm going to share my recommendation NOT to get a thermostat with a motion sensor that turns on the light for the interface screen. Mine stopped working within a couple of months of being installed. Now I have to poke at it, turning the dial, pushing the touch-screen, etc., and wait for anywhere from 10 to 40 seconds, which I get annoyed and start poking at it again. Eventually it responds, but the whole process can take a couple of minutes. The next time, I'm going to get one where the screen is always on, and to *puppies* with the power that eats up.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    I know it's a data point of 1, but I'm really annoyed about it, so I'm going to share my recommendation NOT to get a thermostat with a motion sensor that turns on the light for the interface screen. Mine stopped working within a couple of months of being installed. Now I have to poke at it, turning the dial, pushing the touch-screen, etc., and wait for anywhere from 10 to 40 seconds, which I get annoyed and start poking at it again. Eventually it responds, but the whole process can take a couple of minutes. The next time, I'm going to get one where the screen is always on, and to *puppies* with the power that eats up.

    I'm super into energy conservation, but I'm also into simple. Why do I need to control the thermostat from my phone? Nests and such are great, but the more things that thermostats do, the more can go wrong.

    I suppose there's convenience in just saying "turn on the light" or whatever, using whole house controls, but so not worth it to me.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,188 Member
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    I got a nice thermostat when I replaced my furnace. That was 16 years ago. One feature that was really neat was that it automatically adjusted for daylight saving time. I wish we would ditch DST where I live, but we've voted to do the opposite; to get rid of standard time. I digress.

    Two years after I bought the furnace, the US Congress changed the dates of DST. Grrrr. So instead of having to set the thermostat's time twice a year, I had to remember to set it when it used to change AND when it did change.

    One year when I had an annual service, the tech had a book with "secret codes" that he could enter and get that feature turned off. I'm back to just twice a year, manually, and maybe soon won't have to change it at all.

    I did reprogram it this year. Last year I ran the heat more because I was working from home AND I had a geriatric cat that didn't like to be cold. This year I'm not working from home, and I no longer have a geriatric cat.

    I probably should replace some insulation. If I'm still in this house in another ten years, I will probably switch to a ductless heat pump.
  • knitski2002
    knitski2002 Posts: 64 Member
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    We have a woodstove in our living room which I like to keep toasty in the winter, about 70 or so. Our bedroom stays 66 or lower because we keep our oil heat set to that for the night when our woodstove cools down. We have an electric heater for our bathroom just for bathing time. In the summer we just use fans, no air conditioning needed.
  • caseylizbeth
    caseylizbeth Posts: 112 Member
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    The heat stays between 70 and 74 degrees F during the day (depending on how cold I am) and then at night gets bumped down to around 60 degrees F. We all like to sleep with a lot of blankets so we're all cozy at night. The only downside of turning the heat down that far is that when I wake up it's a cold dash to the thermostat to turn it up.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    We recently moved in with my mother and brother and have three types of heating systems (>.<). I have a question about the propane, as we are using that for the first time and didn’t know what to expect.

    We are near Boston, Massachusetts (so it’s winter) and are going through 20 - 29 gallons of propane per week - Is that normal?

    Details:

    There is a brand new boiler which is heating three rooms. One room is 35 x 14‘. The temperature is set at 68°F during the day and 64° at night. There is a second floor and then unheated attic above this room. There is new blown-in foam insulation under the floor. All five windows just had weatherstripping, and there are also storm windows. There is blown in newspaper type insulation in the walls.

    The second room is the seller where the boiler is and is about 14 x 12‘. The third room is a very small bathroom.

    Thanks for your input.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,188 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    We recently moved in with my mother and brother and have three types of heating systems (>.<). I have a question about the propane, as we are using that for the first time and didn’t know what to expect.

    We are near Boston, Massachusetts (so it’s winter) and are going through 20 - 29 gallons of propane per week - Is that normal?

    Details:

    There is a brand new boiler which is heating three rooms. One room is 35 x 14‘. The temperature is set at 68°F during the day and 64° at night. There is a second floor and then unheated attic above this room. There is new blown-in foam insulation under the floor. All five windows just had weatherstripping, and there are also storm windows. There is blown in newspaper type insulation in the walls.

    The second room is the seller where the boiler is and is about 14 x 12‘. The third room is a very small bathroom.

    Thanks for your input.

    I'm going to take a stab at this with math.

    A gallon of propane, apparently, has 91,500 BTU. Natural gas has 1030 BTU per Cubic Foot. A BTU is kind of like a calorie. It's the energy to raise water one degree F. In this case it's a pound of water. As a comparison, I'll convert BTU to therms.

    91,500 BTU is about 0.92 therms, so 25 gallons of propane would be about 23 therms or about 3.3 therms per day. I use natural gas, and I averaged a little more than 2.3 therms per day last month. I live in a much milder climate even though I am actually farther north than Boston. Boston averages just under 35F in December; where I live it's just over 40F. My thermostat is programmed to drop to 58 at night, come up to 68 when I wake up, and then drop back down while I'm at work.

    So 25 gallons doesn't sound unreasonable. Depends on the size of the home (mine is small), the insulation, the outdoor temperature, and the efficiency of the heat exchanger. I have what was a VERY efficient furnace when I bought it 15 years ago or so.
  • Rsrs35
    Rsrs35 Posts: 46 Member
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    Growing up our heater only went on when it was really needed - jumpers socks hot water bottles lol

    For my own home definitely keeping it toasty but have to say it’s easier as it’s the underfloor heating that literally warms up the entire downstairs and also I have a few oil heaters in rooms connected to plugs that I can control via an app - so I can always make sure a room is nice and toasty before I go into it! I don’t have a mansion btw!!!!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    I've moved houses, and countries more often than most people I guess... and usually find a way to hack my heating in one way or another to keep it warm, but costs down.

    In one flat I had really cheap night, but expensive daytime electricity and stupid storage heaters. Writing down usage every day I quickly figured out that both tariffs were switched around. Cool! I totally ignored the storage heater and used the in-build booster during daytime. Never put heating on in the bedroom as it never got that cold.

    Another flat, modern, underfloor heating. Leave it running all day to have a nice warm flat in the evening or sit in the cold when I get home? Took a bit more experimenting, but I figured out that buying a timed thermostat was the way to go: sun will (hopefully) shine into big windows from just before noon and prewarm the place. Put livingroom heating on from 15:00, have a warm-ish livingroom when I got home at 16:30 that would be warm when done cooking. Saved about 2/3 of heating costs compared to running the heating constantly.

    Next flat: no heating needed at all. Never found out where the warmth came from, but it was pretty sweet.

    Then: old-fashioned radiators that are a bit difficult to control as I can't find a setting to keep warmth constant while minimizing costs. So i put the heating on when I get into the livingroom in the evening and then put it off again. Usually enough until I go to bed. Do the same in my bedroom that's also my home office during daytime. Still hardly ever use heating in the bedroom at night, though this place is a bit less well insulated that most. Sometimes I warm up the bedroom a bit before going to bed. On, and I air the whole place 1-2x per day: all windows and doors open for a few minutes to just exchange the air and that's it.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    mtaratoot wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    We recently moved in with my mother and brother and have three types of heating systems (>.<). I have a question about the propane, as we are using that for the first time and didn’t know what to expect.

    We are near Boston, Massachusetts (so it’s winter) and are going through 20 - 29 gallons of propane per week - Is that normal?

    Details:

    There is a brand new boiler which is heating three rooms. One room is 35 x 14‘. The temperature is set at 68°F during the day and 64° at night. There is a second floor and then unheated attic above this room. There is new blown-in foam insulation under the floor. All five windows just had weatherstripping, and there are also storm windows. There is blown in newspaper type insulation in the walls.

    The second room is the seller where the boiler is and is about 14 x 12‘. The third room is a very small bathroom.

    Thanks for your input.

    I'm going to take a stab at this with math.

    A gallon of propane, apparently, has 91,500 BTU. Natural gas has 1030 BTU per Cubic Foot. A BTU is kind of like a calorie. It's the energy to raise water one degree F. In this case it's a pound of water. As a comparison, I'll convert BTU to therms.

    91,500 BTU is about 0.92 therms, so 25 gallons of propane would be about 23 therms or about 3.3 therms per day. I use natural gas, and I averaged a little more than 2.3 therms per day last month. I live in a much milder climate even though I am actually farther north than Boston. Boston averages just under 35F in December; where I live it's just over 40F. My thermostat is programmed to drop to 58 at night, come up to 68 when I wake up, and then drop back down while I'm at work.

    So 25 gallons doesn't sound unreasonable. Depends on the size of the home (mine is small), the insulation, the outdoor temperature, and the efficiency of the heat exchanger. I have what was a VERY efficient furnace when I bought it 15 years ago or so.

    Thanks, really appreciate it!

    My family was wondering why I was posting this question here, but I had faith one of you smart people would reply :smiley:
  • dinolan1
    dinolan1 Posts: 10 Member
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    I had a geothermal heat pump installed in 2007. The house already had superior insulation and was fairly airtight. I keep the thermostat at 74F the year round. The heat pump is on a separate electric meter and we're only charged from October to March. Average bill is around $20 per month.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 8,990 Member
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    My wife gets cold easily, so we keep the house between 68-72 during the winter. During summer we let things drift up a little to as high as 75. The cats and dogs may be able to handle bigger temperature swings, but the parakeets and aquarium fish are much more sensitive, so for their sake we try to stay about the same year round.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    House is 74 degrees year round, except for a few days in the spring/fall when we turn the system off.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 2,904 Member
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    Just might be interesting
    I grew up in a very old house. 4000 square feet or more. The only air conditioner was a water cooler, front room, downstairs. Heating was gas heaters in most rooms.
    No thermostat, no thermometer in the house. The temperature was always perfect in winter, 'cause you adjusted the heater until it was. The temperature in July and August was always hotter than h---! We went to the lake 3-4 afternoons a week, slept on cots in the backyard a lot.
    Thank goodness for central heat and air!
    Now? 67-68 winter, 75-78 summer. Don't run the ac near as much as most people. May not turn it on til July.
  • NotGvnUp_EJ
    NotGvnUp_EJ Posts: 63 Member
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    We keep ours around 73 during the colder months 72 at the least.

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