Heating A House - Which Is More Economical?

[AKL_Megs]

My DH and I have been arguing about this lately, and we need some mediation... hopefully you all can help!

During this time of year - fall and late fall into early winter (and also late winter into early spring) when you can throw a blanket onto the bed and not really need the heat on during the night, but wake up to a very chilly house in the morning, which is more economical...?

A.) To take off the extra blanket, leave the heat on to maintain a comfortable temperature overnight so that you wake up to an already comfortable temperature in the morning.

Or

B.) Throw on an extra blanket, turn off the heat, and then turn it back on in the morning to warm the house up again.

(Just to add... the coldest our house seems to get at night this time of year is 56... and when we have the heat on this time of year, we turn it on 62. So, we will either maintain a temperature of 62, or heat the house from 56 to 62 in the morning.)

I guess the real question is, is it cheaper to maintain a temperature all night, or run the heat longer once to get up to a desired tempature from a lower temperature?

 

[Kath2003]

It doesn't make any difference I don't think. If I were going out to work all day, though, I wouldn't care if I woke up to a cold house. I would sleep under extra blankets then let the house warm naturally some during the day, then put the heating on in the evening if I needed to.

We haven't had the heating on here yet. It hasn't been much cooler than the mid-40s even at night.

 

[dawson5]

we've had snow once and sleet once already. i think we're just a bit south of OP.

We have a programmable thermostat. Our temp is set at 65 overnight (10pm to 6am)and goes up to 70 about a half hour before the kids get up for school. I turn it down manually when I am the only one home and put on an extra sweater, seems silly to keep a whole house warm for just me. We've had to have the heat on, we've been hovering around mid-40's off and on for the month of October.

Have you every nosed around michaelbluejay.com ? He has a very energy minded site, how to save money, what might be more energy hogging than others. I know he has info on electricity but I think there is something on there about heating also. There is an electricity calculator, maybe there is one for gas/heat and you can compare and see.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Have you every nosed around michaelbluejay.com ? He has a very energy minded site, how to save money, what might be more energy hogging than others. I know he has info on electricity but I think there is something on there about heating also. There is an electricity calculator, maybe there is one for gas/heat and you can compare and see.

Thanks for this! I am going to check it out now!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Neither is better I would freeze to death in your house.

Actually you will save money by installing a programmable thermostat. Maintaining even temps., will save money in the long run.

Turning it off/on will be neglible savings. And you run the risk of forgetting to turn on the thermostat one morning and bust your pipes. Plus you are improperly running your heating equipment and shortening the life span.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Neither is better I would freeze to death in your house.

Believe it or not, it is actually quite toasty in our house at 62 this time of year! And we DO turn it up... to between 68 - 70 in the dead of winter. This IS Michigan!!!

From michaelbluejay.com...

"Except for the most northern climates, you should be able to remain warm enough to sleep comfortably without any heat as long as you have sufficient blankets. If you can't stand to have the heat off completely then set it to as low as you're comfortable with -- 60, 50, 40. I've never used heat overnight and it gets into the low 40's in my room sometimes when I get up in the morning ... It doesn't take more energy to heat your home in the morning than it does to keep it heated all night. Think about it: As you heat your home all night, some of that heat is lost through the walls to the outside, so your heater has to keep working to keep the temperature up. So overnight your heater is heating your home over and over and over again. If you turn it on in the morning then it's heating it only once."

Thanks dawson5!!!

 

[wdwfan16]

My DH and I have been arguing about this lately, and we need some mediation... hopefully you all can help!

During this time of year - fall and late fall into early winter (and also late winter into early spring) when you can throw a blanket onto the bed and not really need the heat on during the night, but wake up to a very chilly house in the morning, which is more economical...?

A.) To take off the extra blanket, leave the heat on to maintain a comfortable temperature overnight so that you wake up to an already comfortable temperature in the morning.

Or

B.) Throw on an extra blanket, turn off the heat, and then turn it back on in the morning to warm the house up again.

(Just to add... the coldest our house seems to get at night this time of year is 56... and when we have the heat on this time of year, we turn it on 62. So, we will either maintain a temperature of 62, or heat the house from 56 to 62 in the morning.)

I guess the real question is, is it cheaper to maintain a temperature all night, or run the heat longer once to get up to a desired tempature from a lower temperature?

Not heating you home is cheaper than heating it until the pipes break.

I would never let my home get down to 56. No amount of blankets keep my nose warm. You are way north of me and we have our heat at 67 at night and about 70 during the day. We have an efficient heating system, insulation and programmable thermostats.

Doesn't your DH get any say in the temperature? If he wants heat during the night then why withhold it from him?

 

[wdwfan16]

Believe it or not, it is actually quite toasty in our house at 62 this time of year! And we DO turn it up... to between 68 - 70 in the dead of winter. This IS Michigan!!!

Sorry 62 is not toasty. I have a jacket on when I am outside so why would I want to wear a jacket inside.

From michaelbluejay.com...

"Except for the most northern climates, you should be able to remain warm enough to sleep comfortably without any heat as long as you have sufficient blankets. If you can't stand to have the heat off completely then set it to as low as you're comfortable with -- 60, 50, 40. I've never used heat overnight and it gets into the low 40's in my room sometimes when I get up in the morning ... It doesn't take more energy to heat your home in the morning than it does to keep it heated all night. Think about it: As you heat your home all night, some of that heat is lost through the walls to the outside, so your heater has to keep working to keep the temperature up. So overnight your heater is heating your home over and over and over again. If you turn it on in the morning then it's heating it only once."

Thanks dawson5!!!

Not thanks.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Doesn't your DH get any say in the temperature? If he wants heat during the night then why withhold it from him?

How do you know he's not witholding it from ME! LOL!

My DH is the one who is sweating to death in the house at night, and I am the one who wants some HEAT! Our house is a little chilly to the toes in the AM.

Anyways, I like the programmable thermostat idea... are they complicated to install, or just the basic snap on installation like a typical thermostat?

 

[N.Bailey]

Neither is better I would freeze to death in your house.

Actually you will save money by installing a programmable thermostat. Maintaining even temps., will save money in the long run.

Turning it off/on will be neglible savings. And you run the risk of forgetting to turn on the thermostat one morning and bust your pipes. Plus you are improperly running your heating equipment and shortening the life span.

I was going to recommend the programmable thermostat too. If you're going to mess around with it, this is the best way to go, IMO.

Having said that, if your heater is over 20 years old, or maybe even 15 years in some cases (colder climates where the furnace is run more often), the best thing you could do would be to install a new one. The last 2 winters we've burned less than 150 gallons per year (assuming you have an oil furnace and I'm sure gas would be the same). Prior to this, we were burning about 600 to 800 gallons a year.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I was going to recommend the programmable thermostat too. If you're going to mess around with it, this is the best way to go, IMO.

Having said that, if your heater is over 20 years old, or maybe even 15 years in some cases (colder climates where the furnace is run more often), the best thing you could do would be to install a new one...

Thankfully, our furnace is all of 2 months old! We just kicked it on for the first time... and YES, it's so good, by the time it registers 62 on the thermostat, it is TOASTY!

And for the programmable thermostat! Off to the Home Depot website to check them out!!!

 

[dawson5]

you know that where the thermostat is 62 and possibly not the rest of the house.

Our thermostat is situated in a room that gets a lot of sunlight, when it hits 67 in there, the rest of the house could be freezing.

I think changing the thermostat is a little bit involved but not too much. If your hubby (or a friend or family member even) knows a bit about it, you should be able to swap it out fairly quickly. Research it though, I think it requires electrical knowledge.

I'm the one who freezes in the house, my hubby could wear shorts all year long. I hate to heat the house just to keep me warm. I have plenty of sweaters and sweatshirts and thick fuzzy socks. My in-laws on the other hand keep their thermostat set to 75 and wear shorts all year long. I can't imagine having that gas bill.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Believe it or not, it is actually quite toasty in our house at 62 this time of year! And we DO turn it up... to between 68 - 70 in the dead of winter. This IS Michigan!!!

No 62 is 62. I have a jacket on now in my house and the temp is 74. 62 is unbearable to me.

I am in St. Louis where it gets cold believe it or not. Oh and I was born in Detroit, so don't try and play me.

 

[AKL_Megs]

you know that where the thermostat is 62 and possibly not the rest of the house.

Our thermostat is situated in a room that gets a lot of sunlight, when it hits 67 in there, the rest of the house could be freezing.

I think changing the thermostat is a little bit involved but not too much. If your hubby (or a friend or family member even) knows a bit about it, you should be able to swap it out fairly quickly. Research it though, I think it requires electrical knowledge.

I'm the one who freezes in the house, my hubby could wear shorts all year long. I hate to heat the house just to keep me warm. I have plenty of sweaters and sweatshirts and thick fuzzy socks. My in-laws on the other hand keep their thermostat set to 75 and wear shorts all year long. I can't imagine having that gas bill.

That is me too! My DH will come out on the coldest, snowy day in just his boxers and complain about how hot it is... nevermind that I am in a longsleeved shirt under a hoodie with three pairs of socks and slippers on!

My dad is in HVAC, so he's qualified!

The thermostat is on an interior hallway wall, doesn't get sunlight, and isn't near any vents... I think the other rooms are actually warmer.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We just had our upstairs thermostat moved out of the hallway to the bedroom.

Hallways are not a good place for a thermostat. We found that our air/heat was constantly running due to the draft of the hallway.

 

[AKL_Megs]

No 62 is 62. I have a jacket on now in my house and the temp is 74. 62 is unbearable to me.

I am in St. Louis where it gets cold believe it or not. Oh and I was born in Detroit, so don't try and play me.

Okay, okay... perhaps I am in denial... or overdressed... or, well... in denial. 62 is cold... can you please tell my husband that???

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Okay, okay... perhaps I am in denial... or overdressed... or, well... in denial. 62 is cold... can you please tell my husband that???

Only if you tell my DH that 75 is not hot for the summer.

 

[dawson5]

that's my hubby, we have an electric blanket with dual controls. I feel bad for him, he sleeps in his boxers all year long and I sleep in flannels, sweatpants and sometimes a sweatshirt. It wouldn't matter if we had the thermostat set at 70 at night, I slept in flannles for part of summer too. I am always cold. I think it's genetic, my mother is the same way (now that I think about it, my grandmother too). I am not as bad though. She would sleep with the electric blanket on in summer. I still feel bad for my dad on that.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Only if you tell my DH that 75 is not hot for the summer.

It's a DEAL!

 

[wdwfan16]

you know that where the thermostat is 62 and possibly not the rest of the house.

Our thermostat is situated in a room that gets a lot of sunlight, when it hits 67 in there, the rest of the house could be freezing.

I think changing the thermostat is a little bit involved but not too much. If your hubby (or a friend or family member even) knows a bit about it, you should be able to swap it out fairly quickly. Research it though, I think it requires electrical knowledge.

I'm the one who freezes in the house, my hubby could wear shorts all year long. I hate to heat the house just to keep me warm. I have plenty of sweaters and sweatshirts and thick fuzzy socks. My in-laws on the other hand keep their thermostat set to 75 and wear shorts all year long. I can't imagine having that gas bill.

They have wireless thermostats now that you can move to the place you are so you are comfortable. Maybe this would be an option for you.