Cooler climates. When do you turn your heat on?

[Kitty 34]

We turned ours on last week just to make sure it worked. It didn't so we had to have the furnace guy come out because it was making an odd rattle noise.

All is good now and we don't plan on it turning on until the temp is below 67 in our house.

 

[Meriweather]

It'll still be awhile. We are still in the 90s.
AC is set at 77 and runs when it gets to that.
Heat usually end Nov or early Dec

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Automatic thermostat - we don't touch it at all.

We have days this week where the low is going to be in the 50s and highs during the day near 80.

We have the same temp swings (next week mid to high 70s lows in the lower 50s for example) I just don't know anyone who alters what their HVAC is doing so frequently because of that, you'd be doing that for basically half the year for the spring and fall months every day. Because it's going to be based on how your house retains or doesn't retain the heat or cool during the day not because of the temp swings. We had like 2 days was it last week maybe where the house went from 77 to 74 and 75 but that's not enough of a dip nor time period to swap to heat as it went right back to needing a/c.

We have a programmable thermostat where we can have multiple setting for wake, leave, return, sleep but are you saying your house is more a smart house where it just detects when it needs to switch to heat or a/c based on what you input for those settings? That'd be interesting to have honestly.

 

[o&smom]

Have not had to turn it on yet in Oregon. Have not had AC on either for weeks.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

We had some dreary days in the low 60s, and it was about 67 in the house. We resisted, though. I just put on a hoodie. I like it cold anyway. I suppose the heat will go on sometime in Mid-October.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We set the cooling function on the thermostat to about 75 usually, the heating function to 69 or 70. If it gets cool, the heat goes on. If it gets warm, the AC goes on. This time of the year, both functions run multiple times during many days.

 

[soccerdad72]

We set the cooling function on the thermostat to about 75 usually, the heating function to 69 or 70. If it gets cool, the heat goes on. If it gets warm, the AC goes on. This time of the year, both functions run multiple times during many days.

That's around the range we set ours at as well.

 

[amylevan]

The house has been 64 this week in the mornings, but it still rose to 67/68 by itself during the day, so not yet. We only set it at 68 in the winter, so it wouldn’t be doing much anyhow.

There’s no set date, but if it’s creeping much below 62 at night it’ll probably get put in.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Dublin , Ireland, just a bit north of Ontario , Canada if you were to check the latitude co ordinates for comparison. Right now outside temperatures are around 55 F during the day, with wind and rain most days.

We have triple glazing on our windows, and a heat reflector behind the radiators. We are connected to the National main supply of natural gas so we have an outside burner which is connected to a hot water tank inside the house which supplies heated water to radiators. We usually make it to Halloween before turning the heat on in the early morning and evening for about an hour. Then as it gets closer to Christmas, we extend the time. We never have it on continuously all day every day, we have it set to a timer. In the coldest time of the year end of January to start of March, when it gets to about 27 F we will have it on for about 2 hours before we get up and then through out the day it will alternate between off for two hours, then on for two hours.

 

[easyas123]

Eastern Shore of MD reporting in. We've had the AC off for probably 3 weeks? now. As far as heat goes, we don't have a set date when we put it on. Usually my husband will proclaim that the dogs have been complaining to him, saying it's to chilly when they all get up in the morning . Then the heat goes on.
We have a pellet stove in the basement, that usually goes on first periodically before the actual whole house heats goes and it will warm up the house as the heat rises very nicely. We'll have a fire in the sitting room to take the edge off as well, on the chillier nights, before the whole house heats goes on. Actually had our firewood delivered today.

 

[GAN]

I'm in the Northeast and it almost never goes on until November ...till then I just wear a sweatshirt around the house.

 

[DisneyOma]

I’ve never understood waiting for a certain date to turn the heat or AC on.

If I am cold I turn on the heat.

If I am hot I turn on the AC.

There have been many days where the AC is on for the second and third floor and the heat for the basement and first floor.

People are trying to save money.

 

[focusondisney]

We have the same temp swings (next week mid to high 70s lows in the lower 50s for example) I just don't know anyone who alters what their HVAC is doing so frequently because of that,

This is what our temps have been doing the last few weeks too. It’s been mid 70s with lows in the mid 50s. Starting Sunday, we’re in for about a week of 80° days. We’ve had the AC off for about 2 or 3 weeks. I don’t know anyone who ever runs their AC & heat in the same day either. It seems like a huge waste of money… pay to heat the house then pay to cool it a few hours later. I’ve had the windows open for weeks, it’s generally been from 67 - 77 in the house. I’ve closed some curtains to help keep the house from getting too hot. Or closed the windows earlier if it’s supposed to get too cool that night. Our furnace can run just the fan, no heat or AC. So I do turn the fan function in if it’s getting too stuffy at night, helps move the cooler air from downstairs up to the bedroom.

Many years I’ve needed the heat on by the middle of September, even just for an hour or so to take the chill out. The last few years since our fireplace was converted to gas, I light that when I get up instead. I think this is the latest we’ve ever gone without needing some kind of heat on.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I’ve never understood waiting for a certain date to turn the heat or AC on.

If I am cold I turn on the heat.

If I am hot I turn on the AC.

There have been many days where the AC is on for the second and third floor and the heat for the basement and first floor.

Here in Ireland and I'm sure in other European countries the Government actively encourage energy awareness. When you sell or buy a house or apartment or rent a house or apartment it must have a Building Energy Rating certificate. This is a valuation from A to G that measures the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings in Ireland. The majority of homes in Ireland fall within a C category.

The better the Building Energy Rating, the lower your energy bills, the less carbon (CO2) emitted and the greater potential value of the property. A difference of just a few grades on a BER can have an impact on a home's heating bill and the amount of carbon (CO2) emitted.

The Irish Government have grant schemes available for people on various income levels to improve residential building insulation. Grants offered under the scheme could include upgrades to a new heating system, windows, wall and roof insulation and secondary work such as lagging jackets, draught proofing and energy efficient lighting.

Also we don't have residential AC in Ireland.

 

[kdonnel]

Here in Ireland and I'm sure in other European countries the Government actively encourage energy awareness. When you sell or buy a house or apartment or rent a house or apartment it must have a Building Energy Rating certificate. This is a valuation from A to G that measures the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings in Ireland. The majority of homes in Ireland fall within a C category.

The better the Building Energy Rating, the lower your energy bills, the less carbon (CO2) emitted and the greater potential value of the property. A difference of just a few grades on a BER can have an impact on a home's heating bill and the amount of carbon (CO2) emitted.

The Irish Government have grant schemes available for people on various income levels to improve residential building insulation. Grants offered under the scheme could include upgrades to a new heating system, windows, wall and roof insulation and secondary work such as lagging jackets, draught proofing and energy efficient lighting.

Also we don't have residential AC in Ireland.

That all makes sense.

There are programs generally administered by the local power companies but funded by federal funds to encourage people to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes.

For example:
https://www.georgiapower.com/reside...-programs/home-energy-improvementprogram.html
There are also tax credits that can be used for many energy related home improvements, up to $3200 a year.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deducti...dit you can,biomass stoves or biomass boilers

What doesn't make sense to me is setting a date to decide when to turn on your heat.

In my opinion it is better to set a comfort factor. If you are miserable in your house you should turn on your HVAC system.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is what our temps have been doing the last few weeks too. It’s been mid 70s with lows in the mid 50s. Starting Sunday, we’re in for about a week of 80° days. We’ve had the AC off for about 2 or 3 weeks. I don’t know anyone who ever runs their AC & heat in the same day either. It seems like a huge waste of money… pay to heat the house then pay to cool it a few hours later. I’ve had the windows open for weeks, it’s generally been from 67 - 77 in the house. I’ve closed some curtains to help keep the house from getting too hot. Or closed the windows earlier if it’s supposed to get too cool that night. Our furnace can run just the fan, no heat or AC. So I do turn the fan function in if it’s getting too stuffy at night, helps move the cooler air from downstairs up to the bedroom.

Many years I’ve needed the heat on by the middle of September, even just for an hour or so to take the chill out. The last few years since our fireplace was converted to gas, I light that when I get up instead. I think this is the latest we’ve ever gone without needing some kind of heat on.

That echos what I'm used to people doing/saying, just doing some things here and there to mitigate what's going on outside. I've done the door closing/opening, curtain closing/opening, windows open (well I have allergies so I can't do that as often as I'd like), gas fireplace on in lieu of adjusting the thermostat and more.

If it's going to be unseasonable stretches of a cold blast or a heat blast after the switch to another season I know people who have switched back to heat or to a/c like one year we had 80s for Halloween when usually it's a cool 50s or 60s but not as a norm during the day bouncing back and forth between the two. I think most people just wait to do the switch and then call it good except for those unseasonable days that catch you off guard.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

What doesn't make sense to me is setting a date to decide when to turn on your heat.

In my opinion it is better to set a comfort factor. If you are miserable in your house you should turn on your HVAC system.

Ah but thats a perfect world. Keeping the heat off as long as possible helps with costs. Most people don't have unlimited heating budgets, wearing a hoodie / sweater / spirit jersey over a t-shirt and tank top, socks and sweat pants in doors is better cost wise and for the environment than having the heating on but only wearing shorts and a tank top.

Also for alot of low income people, they have to choose heat or eat.

 

[JBRB828]

We turn the heat on when we feel cold, that is usually when we wake up in the morning, but not yet. So far, lowest house temp was 70, we usually wait for heat until it
drops to 66. Next week NJ is back in the 70’s!

 

[_19disnA]

In the Midwest in Sept/Oct, it's not uncommon to have A/C on during the day and heat on at night.

I agree, that's the purpose of having a thermostat on your system. For us, it isn't based on a specific date but rather what the weather is doing. It may be cool overnight but then warm up during the day. To me it is a bit like turning on your outside lights when it gets dark. On overcast/rainy days, we turn the lights on earlier based on how dark it is. Even with outside lights on timers, we will override them to turn lights on earlier on days when it gets dark earlier.

 

[Rogue1677x]

Another person in MA here....thanks to have super insulating our house when we remodeled, fixing where leaks are, no need for the heat just yet. The heat pump we've got works great (I suppose an added perk of a small house) and we manage to use typically only a tank of oil a year.

Today's cold, rainy weather I've been staying warm though compliments of my longhaired dog snuggling tight up against me...she's keeping me plenty warm.