For those that turn thermostat down at night,

[blanq]

how long does it take to warm your house back up in the morning..i turn mine down to about 61 at night then at 5:30am i have it set to go up to 71 but it seems like it takes a couple of hours...does this seem right?thanx

Do you have a programable thermostat, or not...I can't tell from your post. If not, do yourself a favor and buy a programmable thermostat. They do not cost that much, and they will save you money on your heating bills in the long run. It does take awhile for your house to return to a warmer level (depends on the size of your home, is it a single or multi-level home, and the size of your furnace), so if it is taking awhile to reheat, the key is to set your thermostat to increase in temp an hour or so BEFORE you wake up in the morning so it is toastier when you wake up in the morning.

 

[lisaross]

yes, i do have a programmable thermostate..i guess i was not thinking when i set it..i guess 10degrees to go up does take a while...i just changed it so it will have a good hour or so to go up a bit..my house is multi-level!

Do you have a programable thermostat, or not...I can't tell from your post. If not, do yourself a favor and buy a programmable thermostat. They do not cost that much, and they will save you money on your heating bills in the long run. It does take awhile for your house to return to a warmer level (depends on the size of your home, is it a single or multi-level home, and the size of your furnace), so if it is taking awhile to reheat, the key is to set your thermostat to increase in temp an hour or so BEFORE you wake up in the morning so it is toastier when you wake up in the morning.

 

[Golf4food]

We'd freeze to death if we kept ours that cold. I hate cold. I guess being a native Floridian going back to before the Civil War does that to you. We keep ours set around 74 and have a small space heater in the bedroom, too, lol. Even so our system doesn't have to work too hard since it is a brand new house less than a year old, well sealed, energy efficient windows, extra insulation, etc. Our electric bill is not bad at all. I'll gladly spend a few extra dollars per month to not freeze when it gets cold (yes, it does still get cold in northern Florida, we are not a tropical sauna year round).

 

[IDoDis]

Did that myth buster last year where I only turned the heat down 4 degrees at night to see if it would save money. Our gas bill ended up being $70 higher. It gets pretty cold here at night in the high desert (in the single digits, and teens in Dec. & Jan). My heater would be running nonstop all night when I dropped it only a few degrees.

It takes about 20 minutes for the house to get warm. I also noticed that it seems to warm up faster if I turn the heat on before the sun comes up. Right when daylight hits is the coldest time of the day here (when frost forms on the windows). If the house is warmed up by then, it doesn't have to work as hard to warm up when the temp outside is dropping a few degrees.

We keep our heat at 72 when we're home and drop it to 62 at night and during the day after we leave to work/school. If I am cold, I'll put it up to 75 degrees.

 

[dolphindan1]

This is true. My BFF's dh is in heating/cooling. You shouldn't ever have the temp vary more then 5' or so - because the energy it uses to heat up the house going from 61 - offsets any cost you are saving from setting it to in the first place. So, best bet is if you need the house at 71' during the day, you shouldn't be setting it lower then 66 or so at night. We tried it out for 2 months at setting it lower/bringing it up 10+ degrees during the day and he was right. A LOT more energy is used trying to heat the house that much more..

We keep ours at about 60' at night and 65' during the day.

Thats what we tell our customers at the power company I work for...

 

[beansmom]

Thats what we tell our customers at the power company I work for...

well, gee...and the power company would have no ulterior motive for leading us to higher bills, huh? sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Silverbelle990]

We turn ours up to 60 during the day and to 55 at night. My husband calls me thr freeze myster but electric is very expensive during the winter...we live in ny.

 

[plummer925]

Wow - I'd roast in some of your houses! (I definitely mean that with 100% respect - *I* am the one who is always hot and wants it chilly-cold!).

We are in Maine - our heat is 53 at night and 58-64 during the day (depending on a few factors...if we are home, weather outside, etc). Today it's COLD outside and I have my heat up to 67 - that is VERY VERY high for me. My mother (who also lives in Maine) keeps hers at about 65 at night and 73 day - I have to wear summer dresses when I visit her because otherwise I'm too hot.

 

[dobball23]

Do you have a programable thermostat, or not...I can't tell from your post. If not, do yourself a favor and buy a programmable thermostat. They do not cost that much, and they will save you money on your heating bills in the long run. It does take awhile for your house to return to a warmer level (depends on the size of your home, is it a single or multi-level home, and the size of your furnace), so if it is taking awhile to reheat, the key is to set your thermostat to increase in temp an hour or so BEFORE you wake up in the morning so it is toastier when you wake up in the morning.

I have electric baseboard heat in our house with a separate thermostat dial for each room. Is it typically possible to install a programmable thermostat in this setup?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We must be the odd people out - our heat stays at 62 all day/ all night. It's sometimes chilly in the house but we just walk around in sweats and are more often than not moving around doing something. When we sit down to watch TV or whatever we just curl up under a blanket on the couch.

Last year we had the heat at 65 all of the time I can see a big difference in our gas bill this year! All from just dropping it 3 degrees

 

[DebMcDonald]

We turn ours down to 63 a night and up to 68 while we are home, in the morning I'm comfortable, but after being out of the house all day and it being turned down all day I feel I need to bump it up to 70 just to really warm up. We have a brand new house with great insulation, and have forced hot air for heat.

 

[jackie101]

we turn our down to 60 at night & in the am it takes about 15 minutes to warm up

 

[disneychrista]

I still don't understand how it is suppose to save energy to continually heat a house for 8 hours when we are sleeping or all day when we are at work & school. I have mine set to 59 from 6am - 5pm, 64 from 5pm - 10pm, then down to 55 from 10pm - 6am. I have to agree with the poster that said if you can wear a tank top in your home and be comfrontable your are probably over heating your house. Put on a sweatshirt and turn down you thermostat.

 

[happymommy]

Wow - I'd roast in some of your houses! (I definitely mean that with 100% respect - *I* am the one who is always hot and wants it chilly-cold!).

We are in Maine - our heat is 53 at night and 58-64 during the day (depending on a few factors...if we are home, weather outside, etc). Today it's COLD outside and I have my heat up to 67 - that is VERY VERY high for me. My mother (who also lives in Maine) keeps hers at about 65 at night and 73 day - I have to wear summer dresses when I visit her because otherwise I'm too hot.

I could live with you!

Only time I crank it is at 5 am for a bit at 70, but then it's 62 to 66 at the highest. My dad has it at over 80 my mom says. No wonder I had the window open all night when I lived at home in Missouri!

Since our house only takes about 15 minutes to heat up, it does cost more to keep it hot than it does to set the thermostat down. I just need to go around and reset them, as I've been lazy and the power went out a few times to mess with their times.

At 62 at night, our downstairs furnaces do not run at all anyway.

 

[crazelion]

I have had 5 Programmable Thermostat and could not work non of them. I swear they do not make those things idiot proof. I stare thing every time and do not have a clue how operate thing. LOL

So I went back to manual thermostat that is very simple to work. You push up and down for heat. On heat and air. Auto heat on or off.

Until they make a voice activate Programmable Thermostat I am not going back.

Believe it or not when bought the last manual thermostat that day because they buying them like hot cakes. Man said that is one his best sellers because every one is have trouble programmable thermostat because they do not know how to work them.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

We have forced hot air heat and a digital thermostat, which is not programmable. We keep the temp at 70-72 during the day and between 64-65 at night.

 

[Crystal0608]

I live in a brick building with neighbors on each side and landlord put in energy efficient windows and a tin roof last year...so at night I cut the heat on 70 for about 30 minutes before kids bedtime, cut it off, cut it back on again 30 minutes before the kids get up and it is toasty in here.

 

[mommymoose]

I agree, a programmable thermostat is best, but we also swear by our super insulated house!! and since i got my LL bean wicked good slippers, i feel like our house is 5 degrees warmer LOL!! gotta love these new england winters!