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Home heating

lokihen
lokihen Posts: 382 Member
in Debate Club
If showering can be a hot topic, this should work for discussion. How warm do you keep your home in winter?

Growing up ours was always toasty; I remember being shocked going to babysit at a house where it was kept much cooler. Now, as an older woman with hot flashes, I love being able to keep the house as cool as I want. I haven't even turned on the furnace yet; relying on the wood stove for warmth. Indoor temps range from high 50s to mid 60s. Last night the fire burned out and it was 56 F when I got up. My parents like mid to upper 70s so I wear short sleeves and go barefoot in their home (we are a coronavirus bubble).

I find it interesting how adaptable humans are. Those kids I babysat were perfectly comfortable in their cool home because that was normal for them. Some of it is mental for me; if it's cloudy and damp or I can hear the wind, I feel colder even inside.
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Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,834 Member
    Our thermostat is always set at 20°C (68°F), that's for the living spaces. That's usually enough, but I have a fleece sweater and blanket for when I feel cold (usually when I'm sitting still for a longer time).
    For the bedroom it's 18°C (64°F). For the bathroom a bit higher than the living room, for comfort when undressing.
    When we want to 'feel toasty' in the winter, we'll light the wood stove in the living room.

    When I go to my parents, I'm always freezing. They have their thermostat at 18°C (64°F) and I always need an extra sweater. My mom is always hot, ever since menopause, so the thermostat is set for her needs :tongue: it doesn't help that their house is really draughty.

    Maybe it's partly psychological (whole number), but the round number 20°C is the general consensus here as middle ground between comfort and not wasting too much energy. Aside from my parents, I don't know anyone who sets their thermostat lower, but I do know some that set it higher.
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,371 Member
    I have the thermostat programmed to 19 C (66 F) when I'm home/awake and 16 C (61 F) while at work and at night. Supposedly a cooler room temp results in better sleep but that theory hasn't panned out for me so far. If I get chilly I put on a fleece sweater.

    I work out in the basement which is cooler yet and still need to run a fan sometimes to cool off.
  • stewykins43_
    stewykins43_ Posts: 58 Member
    I live in the southeastern US (TN). 100% humidity most of the year and hot-hot-hot from April through October. We usually wait until nighttime lows hit 30F to turn on the heat, and we set it between 65F-69F depending on those aforementioned psychological factors. Warmer end when it's raining or sleeting (typically late January). Our area hardly ever gets snow and winters are pretty mild, so we mostly rely on throw blankets or warm clothing. If we get freezing rain or sleet we'll light a fire for a little extra warmth in the living areas.

    On the other hand, cooling our home in the summer is very expensive. Our A/C units can only go about 20F cooler than the outside temps, so it's frequently set to 85F. :D
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    In Winter (gets below freezing regularly here), I generally keep my thermostat set at 63F (17C). If I'm sitting for a long time, I throw a blanket over my legs, and I normally wear a long-sleeved sweatshirt or similar. Once in a while, if it feels cold/damp, I might increase the temp to 65 for a short time.

    In summer, I don't always have the AC on, but will turn it on if we have extended warm, sunny periods that include hot nights. (Opening windows cools the house well if it's cool at night, and the house is well insulated, so only starts to get very warm with late afternoon sun.) I don't sleep well if it's too hot in here. When the AC's on, it's usually set somewhere in the mid70s F (22-24C-ish) maybe.

    In general, I find myself happier if I keep the thermostat a bit cooler in Winter and warmer in summer - the transition to outdoor weather seems less extreme/more tolerable, and I feel more comfortable overall.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    We set the AC to 77F and the heater to 70. I prefer the heater a little lower, because you can add layers(and I workout and get hot), but hubby is always cold(???) When it's really hot out, I'll set the bedroom AC to 76 when I go to bed.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    Wear more clothing. My thermostat is set at 68. But while it can just get cold here, it's nothing like the north. I walk outside every morning at 5 am and it hasn't gotten under 34 degrees yet.

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  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,186 Member
    Summer: AC between between 77 and 78. With outside temperatures above 110 and sometimes at 120, it is good enough. We have two units because it is a big house, so I can control the temp depending where we are at the time and we always have the ceiling fans on.

    Fall/ Winter: not much heat needed so far. It gets cooler early in the morning (and living in the CA desert we are like lizards) so the heater goes up for a couple of hours (to reach between 73 and 74F). It is off mid day, and sometimes in the afternoon I have to put the ceiling fans again, and the water cooler for a couple of hours. It was 79F today and going to low 80s for a couple of days. It is wonderful to walk outside!!! B)
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    Depends on if my husband is home or not.

    In the winter, I'll set the heat at 66 for just me, 68 if he's home.
    In the summer, the AC is set at 77 for just me, 73-75 if he's home.

    Both are adjusted by a few degrees at night or when we're not home.

    The summer electric bills were REALLY high this year, since we were both working from home all the time.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Our thermostat is set to 67...but we have radiant heat so even when the furnace shuts off, it continues to heat as it takes the water awhile to cool down...so the house is around 73-75 by mid day usually.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited November 2020
    When I was in Ohio, it was 68 in the Winter and 72 in the Summer. Now that I'm in AZ, it's 77 in the Summer (you do get used to it) with the exception at night, when we set it to 75.

    In the Winter, I hardly use heat. Maybe once or twice a year. When it gets below 65, which is seldom, as it warms up during the day and slowly cools at night. Our utility bills are higher in the Summer and almost non-existent in the Winter.
  • stewykins43_
    stewykins43_ Posts: 58 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Two apartments ago, the first month I started wearing these Sorel Men's Manawan Slippers with wool socks over cotton socks I was able to save $50 / month on my heating bill.

    Yes! Socks, slippers, and indoor footwear in general make SUCH a huge difference! I grew up in a house with tile floors throughout and my feet/body were always freezing. I'd beg my parents to turn on the heat and they'd tell me to "go put on your house shoes." Teenaged me thought slippers were for old people though, so I'd just suffer until I came to my senses in my 20's. :D

    Now I have a 5yo that runs hot and begs me for more A/C, so I guess that's karma for ya. Lol
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    We have an all=electric HVAC system so it's far most costly to heat than to cool. Our current set points are 65F during the day and 60F overnight for heating and 68F day and 62F overnight for AC. Were I single both numbers for heating would likely be lower but that's about as low as the Mrs. will tolerate. The cats aren't particularly fans but it prompts them to be a little extra cuddly in the winter, which is nice.

    As for you house shoes people, I can't stand wearing socks, shoes or slippers in my house. Unless I'm working out in the basement, footwear is for outside only.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    Thank you all for an interesting read. I'm in the UK, down south, we have our thermostat set to 18.5c in the day time and 20 if we are not moving about much as in the evening over night it goes off. As an aside to this heating question. I have medicated thyroid endocrine issues, and find life so much better/easier/comfortable when the ambient temperature is 19 or more through the summer, used to be 20c, I'm doing better on the supplements. The arrival of autumn hits me hard. Is it possible how well or not ones body works can be a subtext to needing more or less heat. So far I'm concluding, I'm soft.

    I agree with a poster above on those dull grey and wet days it feels colder.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,608 Member
    18c during the day and below 16c at night if I can. I grew up in a house without central heating so I’m used to just throwing layers on and hugging a hot water bottle 😀 what’s killing me at the moment is working out outside in the cold damp evenings as the gyms are shut. Can’t really wear gloves in my sport and the skin on my hands is splitting.
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    19C for wake up, then it goes off completely at 8am. Boosts back up to 18 C for an hour at lunch, then off (15C) again for a few hours. When the kids come home after school back on at 18C then up to 19C at bedtime. Down to 17 C around 10pm. I'd switch it off completely at night if we didn't have little ones! We're lucky as the house is never cold (unlike many places I've lived). Though in the summer we struggle to stay cool.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    When the HVAC is on it's set to 74 degrees winter and summer. I generally wear shorts and t-shirt in the house, my wife had different ideas in the winter.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    We keep ours about 65degrees F in the winter. We have in floor heating but barely use it. We trucked 5tons of wood pellets in this year and heat with a pellet stove.

    In the summer the house stays at about 22degrees C. Sorry, I don’t know why but I have always used different measures depending on season. We have cement floors and the house stays naturally cool. We run a dehumidifier to keep the stickiness tolerable.
  • Slacker16
    Slacker16 Posts: 1,184 Member
    I feel decadent admitting it but 20C in the bedroom and kitchen and 22 in the bathroom and living room.

    Stepping out of a hot shower into a cool bathroom is unpleasant, and the living room is on the corner with meh (at best) thermal insulation so it would periodically get chilly sitting next to the wall with a lower temperature. Doesn't make too big a difference on the heating bill, upside of apartment life, so I might as well splurge a bit...
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    We keep our thermostat on the cooler side.
    It is set at 18.5 C. But it is right off the kitchen. The rest of the house is cooler.
    In the summer we have it set at about 22C. In summer the purpose is to reduce humidity.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited December 2020
    Related to this thread, just got my November electric bill. $30. I love Winter in AZ. Summers are a different matter when it comes to energy bills. Now, I still have a very small gas bill too (like $25 to $50 unless it's pool heating season).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited December 2020
    missysippy930 wrote: »
    I’m in Minnesota. We heat totally with wood, but have electric heat throughout our home for backup. We live in the country with 10 acres, about 7 of it mature hardwood. When we moved here, 34 years ago, the woods were almost impenetrable from undergrowth. Over the years, my husband has cleared a lot of undergrowth, and made several trails in the woods. So we have a ready supply of wood available. We lived in a major metropolitan area for the first 12 years of our marriage. Our furnace was kept at 68 degrees F. Now, we pretty much have it at 78-80 degrees F. We had the siding, windows, and doors all replaced in the past year. On sunny days, that really makes a difference, but still, the season for heating is long here. We have had a fire in our wood stove every month except for July. Normally we run the wood stove from late September through late April, early May, pretty continuously. We have a wood burning furnace too, but only use that when the temperature gets below zero Fahrenheit.

    Growing up, my dad kept the thermostat set at 70.

    Prior to heating with wood, I was never comfortably warm in the winter.

    As long as my husband is healthy enough, and willing to cut down, drag the trees out of the woods, cut, split and stack the wood, I’ll put up with the mess burning wood involves. Ash gets on everything. Dusting is a daily chore, and so is hauling out ash. Heating with wood, warms you many times in the process.

    I think 78-80 is my happy place for temperature.

    Heating with wood sure does warm you many times!

    In the 70s and 80s we had logs delivered. Mom would cut with the chain saw, Dad would split, and my brother and I would stack.

    These days Mom mostly gets split wood delivered, but sometimes there is a tree to harvest. My brother was splitting wood last week when I met a mold inspector there. I told the inspector, "Don't mind the man with the ax" LOL.

    They usually get a load of wood delivered prior to July 4, when we have a big family party, with plenty of hands to stack the wood. (That party was cancelled this year, though :( )

    Mom and my brother came here for Thanksgiving (we've been seeing them throughout the pandemic) and when Mom and I were walking in the woods after the meal she was drooling over a large fallen oak tree. I wonder if we should enlist a neighbor with a truck and chain saw to cut it up and bring it back, but that feels like even more work than is already involved...
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited December 2020
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    missysippy930 wrote: »
    I’m in Minnesota. We heat totally with wood, but have electric heat throughout our home for backup. We live in the country with 10 acres, about 7 of it mature hardwood. When we moved here, 34 years ago, the woods were almost impenetrable from undergrowth. Over the years, my husband has cleared a lot of undergrowth, and made several trails in the woods. So we have a ready supply of wood available. We lived in a major metropolitan area for the first 12 years of our marriage. Our furnace was kept at 68 degrees F. Now, we pretty much have it at 78-80 degrees F. We had the siding, windows, and doors all replaced in the past year. On sunny days, that really makes a difference, but still, the season for heating is long here. We have had a fire in our wood stove every month except for July. Normally we run the wood stove from late September through late April, early May, pretty continuously. We have a wood burning furnace too, but only use that when the temperature gets below zero Fahrenheit.

    Growing up, my dad kept the thermostat set at 70.

    Prior to heating with wood, I was never comfortably warm in the winter.

    As long as my husband is healthy enough, and willing to cut down, drag the trees out of the woods, cut, split and stack the wood, I’ll put up with the mess burning wood involves. Ash gets on everything. Dusting is a daily chore, and so is hauling out ash. Heating with wood, warms you many times in the process.

    I think 78-80 is my happy place for temperature.

    Heating with wood sure does warm you many times!

    In the 70s and 80s we had logs delivered. Mom would cut with the chain saw, Dad would split, and my brother and I would stack.

    These days Mom mostly gets split wood delivered, but sometimes there is a tree to harvest. My brother was splitting wood last week when I met a mold inspector there. I told the inspector, "Don't mind the man with the ax" LOL.

    They usually get a load of wood delivered prior to July 4, when we have a big family party, with plenty of hands to stack the wood. (That party was cancelled this year, though :( )

    Mom and my brother came here for Thanksgiving (we've been seeing them throughout the pandemic) and when Mom and I were walking in the woods after the meal she was drooling over a large fallen oak tree. I wonder if we should enlist a neighbor with a truck and chain saw to cut it up and bring it back, but that feels like even more work than is already involved...

    Oak is great once the fire is going. We usually pull dead/fallen trees for burning. My DH is a pretty good lumberjack, but last year he hired a company to cut 2 mature oaks that were dying.

    May be worth it to have someone do that for your mom. It’s heavy wood, so hard work., but, it’s great for burning and tending the fire.

    My husband works 2-10pm, so I’m tending the fire. He gets home at 11, so a piece of oak at 9 pm, and I can go to bed.
  • tmantwo
    tmantwo Posts: 2,181 Member
    edited December 2020
    Brick house. 3 fireplaces in the house and one in the pool house. As long as the sun hits the houses the heat pumps hardly kick on until temps get down below freezing.

    Had a cord of wood delivered, kept the living room
    fireplace going during the day for two days and let it burn down when I go to bed. Outside temps got up to about 40 during the day.

    Temp is pretty stable at almost 70 degrees throughout the first floor and warmer on the second.

    So at 30 or so degrees at night the heat pump kicks on but hardly any other time.

    Home heating and cooling is one of those quality of life things that is incredibly important to me.

    Being comfortable as cheap as possible is clutch.

  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,511 Member
    I live in a hot climate (Houston, TX) and we don't really get winter down here. Today I had the A/C set at 73, but we have a cold front coming on Sunday, so I will probably put the heat on for a few days. It will likely also be 72-73 because we never get a chance to get used to colder weather before it warms back up again! Also, I like wearing tank tops year-round.
  • threewins
    threewins Posts: 1,455 Member
    Here in New Zealand a huge number of people use these types of heaters
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    Fires are frowned upon because of the pollution, but it depends on the location.

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