..

[C.Ann]

...................

 

[taximomfor4]

We had a news story on too...they were wandering the more run-down neighborhoods near the inner city. Talking to people on the streets, many of them mentioned heat bills (older, cheaper housing) $500 dollar range. OUCH. They were saying that many of the senior citizens JUST miss the cutoff for help. Also, the HEAP program apparently is a ONE-TIME payment of $175. So even if they got that help, they still would have to find $300+ more, just for one month.

 

[CajunDixie]

Some(notice I said some not all!) people need a reality check when it comes to the thermostat settings. I work in an office that directs people to different places to get help with their power bills and our office also helps pay these bills for low income families. One question we recently asked a financially over-qualified person was what temperature does she have her thermostat set on. She stated it was on 75º! I'm not saying people have to freeze for the next few months but don't come into our office and ask for help when you've done nothing to lower your bill yourself.
Our office temp. is set on 64º and I personally have my home one set on 59º at night and when no one is home (actually I have it on that now since I'm the only one home) and we bump it up to 63º when everyone is home.
We ended up sending her to a local church to ask for help but there is no way they'll pay her whole bill. We also advised her to get on the budget plan and gave her a list of energy saving tips.

 

[luvwinnie]

Some(notice I said some not all!) people need a reality check when it comes to the thermostat settings. I work in an office that directs people to different places to get help with their power bills and our office also helps pay these bills for low income families. One question we recently asked a financially over-qualified person was what temperature does she have her thermostat set on. She stated it was on 75º! I'm not saying people have to freeze for the next few months but don't come into our office and ask for help when you've done nothing to lower your bill yourself.
Our office temp. is set on 64º and I personally have my home one set on 59º at night and when no one is home (actually I have it on that now since I'm the only one home) and we bump it up to 63º when everyone is home.
We ended up sending her to a local church to ask for help but there is no way they'll pay her whole bill. We also advised her to get on the budget plan and gave her a list of energy saving tips.

I've NEVER put mine over 70, we usually stick to 68, but I would think people with small children need to keep it higher though, right?

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

We have 3 zones and they are between 64 - 66 degrees each . . .and sometimes it is pretty chilly at those temps . . .thankfully it has been a pretty warm week so far . . .in the upper 40's . . .but I'm sure we'll be back to the 20's eventually . . .

I locked in at a cap rate of 2.09/gallon . . .I have a 275 gallon tank which would be 574.75 if I ever needed a full tank of oil . . .thankfully the company has been filling it once a month now and I've been averaging around 117/119 gallons . . .still paying that much money in one lump sum is difficult . . .I can't imagine what the elderly are doing on a fixed income . . .

 

[Chicago526]

When I heard warnings of higher than normal natural gas costs this fall, I went ahead and pre-programed my digital thermostat (gotta love these things!) for 68 from 4 PM to 10 PM and 62 for the rest of the time (when we are either not home or sleeping). Weekends are 68 all day and evening, and 62 again overnight. Our bill for Nov. 19-Dec. 19 was still $275 for a 1600 sqft 2 story Cape Cod! I can't imagine what it would have been if I had it at 72, which is what I used to keep our condo at. But then, the condo only had two outside walls, and no roof since we had a unit above us, so it didn't take much for our furnace to keep the place warm.

Well, we've had warmer weather since Christmas, so hopefully the next bill won't be as high. Or maybe it will, since my parents stayed with us for a week and the heat was at 68 during the day, when normally it's at 62. Oh well, we're lucky, we can afford it. We don't WANT to pay that much, but at least we have the money!

 

[Ragnrok23]

I also have a digital thermostat and was told to never go between a 4 degree difference. Anything more and it takes so long to warm your house back up, that you end up using just as much gas as you would if it was on the same temp all day

 

[escape]

Don't the Elderly usually need warmer temps too?

Here's hoping for a mild winter in your area, C. Ann.

 

[CharityLynn]

We keep our house at 70, we have small children (2 and 7) and I run very cold..I freeze in the 60s..So I am always colf but I have been making an effort to leave the thermastat alone. We are pretty much always at 70, I turn it down when I do laundry though since that heats up the house..lol

 

[Lisa L from MI]

I keep mine at 65 all the time (I heard too, that it is better just to keep it steady then to flutuate....plus DH and I are on opposite shift)....DH and I now sleep upstairs and recently even put up a make-shift curtain to the stairs leading up to deep the downstairs where the kids sleep and the main part of the house warmer. So, upstairs is normally 58-60 all the time now.

I freaked out after getting a 340.00 bill last month....and I kept it steady on 66...but with no curtain thing....hopefully that will help this month...

 

[C.Ann]

-------------------------

 

[Blondy876]

I never thought I would be happy to have electric heat. We keep our thermostate at 69 when we are home, turned down to 59 when we're not. We turn the heat up slightly in the girls rooms at night.

 

[Sleepy]

DH and I now sleep upstairs and recently even put up a make-shift curtain to the stairs leading up to deep the downstairs where the kids sleep and the main part of the house warmer. So, upstairs is normally 58-60 all the time now.

I think the curtain will help. I too, made a curtain to close off the lower part of my house. I have an odd sort of split level home. You open the front door to a landing and have a set of steps that go up the livingroom area or a set of steps that lead to the basement. I placed a curtain in the livingroom to cover the entire split level landing. It has made a world of difference as far as warmth (we still wear sweatshirts and use a blanket on the couch). Our gas bill is $460 a month during the winter.

 

[Kahana-ri]

We keep the thermostat at 68 on a regular basis. If it is really chilly we do sometimes put it on 70 until the house heats up. Luckily, during the day the sun warms our house so its just usually the nights we have to worry about. I just got our heating bill for the past month. Although it was high -it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.