Inspired by "How cold is it in your house"

[Christine]

I've never believe in "freezing" either and I keep the house at a comfortable temperature. Because my family room is "drafty" I have to keep the thermostat at about 74 degrees on my lower level. That usually runs me anywhere from $200-$300 per month depending on the weather (natural gas).

Not this year though. I cannot handle a $500 heating bill so I will not have my heat go above 68 degrees. It's going to be unpleasant.

 

[florida-again]

I thought I'd post this question because I have always wondered:

Why do people have to "freeze" in thier own home? Or, be hot for that matter? Is it a money issue? I'm usually always comfortable, temperature-wise, in my house because I adjust my thermastat accordingly. If I am cold I turn the heat up, if I am hot, I turn the A/C down. 78 degree's is a general starting point. I go up or down from there.

I do not like snuggling under blankets. What if you have to get up and walk around---do you still keep the blanket on? And isn't your face and nose still cold? How do you get out of bed if your freezing? How do you get into a shower (or worse, out of one...) if it's freezing in your house? I get the chills just thinking about it. I know a lot of people prefer to layer clothing and use blankets, so I am just curious as to why?

Other than if it's a money issue, are there any other reasons?

I'm so with you on this. I like a nice warm house, I never get how people can live in such cold conditions!

 

[Nancy]

We keep it at 68 in the winter. We don't need to throw on extra clothes at that temp. I guess I'll wait until my first "real" cold weather gas bill to see if it will get set lower this year. I just turned on the heat last week for the first time this season. If it doubles last years bills the heat will get turned down and we will start to sit under blankets. I can not afford to pay more than my mortgage payment to heat my house.

 

[mtemm]

when we were first married, dh and I used to keep our thermostat set between 58 (at night) and 62 (daytime) in the winter. Mostly to save money, but honestly we both love sleeping in a cooler room with flannel sheets/down comforter. We used to bump the heat up if we had visitors...I think up to 65 or 66 and we used to be thrown off when people like my mother said they were cold...we were just used to dressing in layers and snuggling under blankets I guess. (We'd bump it up more for her, of course).

Now with young children (our eldest is 3) we keep the house much warmer in the winter...usually around 70 or 71, although now that the twins (18 months) are older I've been kicking it down to 68 or 69 and dressing them warmly and so far so good. would like to be able to settle around there to help combat fuel costs.

 

[helenabear]

I am currently in California. However, I have lived all over. I never lived in a really large home when I lived where it was cold/snowed a lot, so maybe that's why I wasn't as affected by the heating costs. I was just wondering about this because when we visit relatives, we freeze in thier house. I just couldn't imagine being so uncomfortable at home. When I have to sleep at other peoples houses, I have to use several blankets and even cover my face to keep it warm. I don't want to get out of bed.

How many gallons of oil to you need to get through the winter?
How much does the average heating bill run?

I know in the summer my bill is $300.00/mo. for A/C.

Just curious.... anyone else?

OMG!!! You pay three times what we do in the summer for A/C! do you have it running during the day? Or do you have a large house? I know we get blasted hot here (though could be worse we do hit triple digits) and we only run about $100-130 for electric in the summer.
During the winter we pay the same. No oil here (not sure there are any homes in the neighborhood that heat with oil) but natural gas. This is for about 1700 sq feet and basement (800-900 sq ft)

And again, I am not freezing or uncomfortable. I would bet your "blood runs thin" compared to us now Seriously no one in my family sets it for much about 70° in the winter anyway. I'm comfortable in cooler temps (does take a week adjustment from hot summer though if a cold front snaps in)

 

[Lisa F]

We don't believe in freezing either. We both work too hard to be uncomfortable in our own darn house. My husband works from home so the thermostat is turned up all day long so he is comfortable. We keep it on 70 during the day and turn it down to 65 at night (I do prefer having it colder for sleeping but that is a preference, not driven by cost.) We have the heat kick on at about 5am, a half hour before I get up, and it's comfortable to get out of bed by 5:30.

Last year was a pretty cold winter and our first winter in our house (built in the 1880's but pretty well insulated and has storm windows over the original wood wndows) and we used 850 gallons of oil for the season. This year we went on the budget plan and are paying $190/month from september through next june for the same amount of oil. Once it got above freezing in the spring we went and caulked all of the spots where cold air was coming in so hopefully we will do even better this year than last... so far the temperature has been very even and comfortable in this house this year. I think over the last year it found its balance. The previous owner was a cheap ******* and kept it turned down to 45 when we were viewing the house. He told me he had a wood burning stove that kept the downstairs warm and he never used any oil (our oil company confirmed that he used very little). He took it out before putting the house on the market because it wasn't to code. The moron left his son's python in the cold house and the thing died because of how cold he kept it (we were relieved to hear that when we saw the empty tank sitting in one room).

I also keep it at around 68-70 during the summer. I try to get it down to around 68 for optimal sleeping. We have high efficiency window a/c units so it's not as big a deal to keep our bedroom cooler as it would be to keep the whole house that way with central a/c. We pay about $200 every two months for electricity and gas in the summer and it drops well below that in the winter.

 

[disykat]

I don't have air conditioning, but I'm most comfortable in the summer when the house is around 72 - when I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt. In the winter, I often wear longsleeves, turtlenecks, and sometimes a sweater as my regular wardrobe - so I prefer the house around 68. If we have settled in for a long spell and are just sitting around, we bump it up to 70 or even 72. But if we're up, dressed, and moving about, that would be too hot.

I've never understood how people can keep their house the same temp year round when they are dressed so differently.

 

[mudnuri]

I think it is terribly sad that the elderly have to suffer because they spend so much on medication. Something is seriously wrong with that.

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Take- just 1 shot- procrit, you hear it on tv, with the chemo drugs- how it helps you have more energy etc... My grandmother is on this shot- 1x every other week- its $180 a shot...AFTER insurance........yes- you read that correctly

I am currently in California. However, I have lived all over. I never lived in a really large home when I lived where it was cold/snowed a lot, so maybe that's why I wasn't as affected by the heating costs. I was just wondering about this because when we visit relatives, we freeze in thier house. I just couldn't imagine being so uncomfortable at home. When I have to sleep at other peoples houses, I have to use several blankets and even cover my face to keep it warm. I don't want to get out of bed.

How many gallons of oil to you need to get through the winter?
How much does the average heating bill run?

I know in the summer my bill is $300.00/mo. for A/C.

Just curious.... anyone else?

I dont pay for a/c because we dont have it. We have fans in the windows in the summer- electric bill runs $50 year round. - those with electric hot water- pay an average of $130-140 here per month year round, without a/c for electric

HOWEVER, in the winter- the average house- in VT uses about 1,000 gallons of oil. (those that I am aware of) If you were lucky, and locked in, at 2.08-2.15 (the range during lock in) you paid about $2,000. Or- $600 more than last year's usage. If you did not lock in- when I had my oil delivered on Oct 3rd the cash price was already 2.679, or $1.00 more per gallon than last year in October.

I pre-bought 400 gallons at 2.089- or $840 which i hope to get me through until income tax time, then I'll get the rest - I should use about 650 a year, with hot water on my boiler as well. I might be able to receive some fuel assistance as part of my package due to being in school, and having the girls, but I'm not counting on it.

Brandy

 

[summerrluvv]

For me, price outweighs my own comfort. If I were to keep my thermostat at the "comfy" point, my bills would be astronomical.

 

[Nancy]

I think it is terribly sad that the elderly have to suffer because they spend so much on medication. Something is seriously wrong with that.

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I am currently in California. However, I have lived all over. I never lived in a really large home when I lived where it was cold/snowed a lot, so maybe that's why I wasn't as affected by the heating costs. I was just wondering about this because when we visit relatives, we freeze in thier house. I just couldn't imagine being so uncomfortable at home. When I have to sleep at other peoples houses, I have to use several blankets and even cover my face to keep it warm. I don't want to get out of bed.

How many gallons of oil to you need to get through the winter?
How much does the average heating bill run?

I know in the summer my bill is $300.00/mo. for A/C.

Just curious.... anyone else?

I live in Buffalo, NY. In the summer this year (which was very hot for us) my electric bill was about 300.00. That is for a 2000 sq.ft house with central A/C and a pool filter going. In the winter it drops to around 100.00 permonth. We have very high electric rates here. My highest gas bill in the winter (January is usually the coldest) is about 300.00. Last Jan was very cold. My house is well insulated and we only have 1 vent open in the basement by the washer and dryer. I keep my thermostat at 72-73 in the summer and 68 in the winter.


edited because I had put a 200 sq ft house in there instead of 2000!

 

[magicfan]

OMG!!! You pay three times what we do in the summer for A/C! do you have it running during the day? Or do you have a large house? I know we get blasted hot here (though could be worse we do hit triple digits) and we only run about $100-130 for electric in the summer.
During the winter we pay the same. No oil here (not sure there are any homes in the neighborhood that heat with oil) but natural gas. This is for about 1700 sq feet and basement (800-900 sq ft)

And again, I am not freezing or uncomfortable. I would bet your "blood runs thin" compared to us now Seriously no one in my family sets it for much about 70° in the winter anyway. I'm comfortable in cooler temps (does take a week adjustment from hot summer though if a cold front snaps in)

One of the reasons why I use my A/C so much is because one of my DD's and I have bad allergys and the allergy doctor we go to told us it's best to use the A/C in the house and car. I am assuming that with open windows it lets in all the pollen and more dust mites. I do open the windows still on occasion, though, because I love the cool breeze coming in (when it's cool out, that is).

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Im always cold at my house, but thats because everyone in the house thinks its hot..i know part of it is money, but alot of it is my mom is not comfortable when its warm

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Because we are in an old house that isn't well insulated and the heater is old! Money of course. We are renting this old house until a lawsuit of ours is finally settled, and the heating issue here is pathetic. We don't really blame the landlord, he's just renting to us until our suit is settled. Then he'll tear the house down and rebuild something else.
However, just turning down the thermostat doesn't work. The wheel outside just runs fast or off! So right now we are cold. When it gets too bad, I'll turn it off during the days we are at work/school and turn it on in the evening.
(Just hoping the lawsuit is settled soon!)
Kim

 

[LindsayDunn228]

It's really annoying to me when I got visit people's homes like this. Take my Dad, for instance.

In the wintertime, you can practically see your breath in their house. Their logic? You can always put on more clothes and/or get a blanket. Ok fine. But I left my flannel pajamas at home and your itchy blanket really isn't cutting it for me. When I go visit my Dad I really don't want to spend my time huddled in a blanket.

When I have people over in my home, both houseguests AND just visits, I always ask them, "Is it cold in here?" "Do I need to turn on some air?" and such. I want people in my home to be comfortable, not shivering or sweating to death.

I went to some friend's house this weekend. It was hot in their home. Usually when I start getting hot when everyone else in comfortable, it means I am gettting sick. I looked at my hubby and asked if he was warm. He turned to me and I saw he was sweating! LOL!!!

In my home we keep in about 69 or so at night. I'd rather pile up in bed with blankets than turn the heat on and wake up sweating in the middle of the night.

 

[mickeyfan2]

No money issue here. We heat to 70 in the winter and cool to 70 in the summer. I want to be comforable in my home. When we have guests, they always comment on how nice it is in our home.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I admit our house is cold. I like to have a blanket while I watch TV.
I also like to wear a sweater because it feels nice. So with all this, I'm not raising the thermostat especially at almost $3.00 a gallon.

 

[Keli]

It's a money issue for us. We keep our thermostat down as much as possible in the winter to keep the electric bill down. Our furnace is acting up and we may have to replace it soon. If we do then we'll probably save some money after a winter or two because our current furnace is inefficent.

My parents live in a home that about 150 yrs old or so and when I was a kid that place was an icebox! I can remember spreading my blanket out on the bed and rolling up in it because that was the ONLY way to get warm enough to fall asleep. My parents had a fire about 10 yrs ago and while the whole home didn't go up in flames about 20% of it did. When they had it refurbished/rebuilt they blew insulation into every wall (that newspaper the original owner insulated with really wasn't doing a great a job, imagine that, lol). Now the place is nice and warm and none of the grandkids believe us when we talk about how cold it used to be!