Inspired by "How cold is it in your house"

[magicfan]

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?

 

[Sparx]

its sort of a money issue. We have an old house (built in the early 40s, I think) and it never had central heat and air. so we have air conditioners and fans and heaters. I'm usually cold, but I like it cold, so I'm happy. The upstairs is always hotter than the down stairs, so we have a few fans up there. We hope to put central heat and air in someday.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

I freeze because my DH is hot natured. He always figures it is easier for me to dress warmer or use an extra blanket at night then for him to sweat. We used to argue about it, but I gave up on that years ago...

 

[mudnuri]

well to be quite honest

When it comes to paying upwards of $3.00 per gallon for heating oil, most people will lower the temperature a few degree's to counter this. And they will put on a sweater or socks etc.

If you take for instance, someone elderly on fixed income, with medications = they need to chose between heating fuel, or med's....they choose the meds, and lower the temp.

Living in Vermont, there is only so much you can do, your bound to pay for heat.....but generally we dont have to pay for a/c because the heat is bearable

Brandy

 

[mickman1962]

What I don't understand is people like my FIL, he sets the AC for 65 in the summer and the heat for 75 in the winter.

 

[SDFgirl]

I know we are trying to keep the heat lower this year because of the heating costs. So yes, it is a money issue for us. Last year's heating bills were high...I'm scared to see what this year's will be!

So, I wear big thick wool socks and hooded sweatshirts and cover up in blankets so that my fiance will not have stroke when he opens up the Gas bill! It's not my favorite thing to do (being cold) but it's worth it to me to ease his mind a bit.

 

[SGB13]

Our house is 74 in the summer and 72 in the winter. I don't want to be cold and DH can't stand to get hot. He even puts his shirt on in the garage in the winter am's to cool off after his shower.

 

[mickey65]

I keep my heat at 68. If I am cold I put a sweater on. It is funny because I grew up with my dad having the heat at 68 in the winter, and we used to sit in front of the vents to get warm. He just said put on a sweater if you are cold. Now he is older and when I go to his house it is 72-74 in the winter! I bake when I go there!

 

[helenabear]

It's not totally a money issue, but I sure do not like to waste it. To me a 78° house would be blazing hot. I keep it like that in the summer, but now way could I sleep in a room above 72° comfortably.

When it gets down to the below zero temps, a 60° house feels mighty warm to me Right now ours is set to be between 60° & 60° degrees.

Not sure where the OP lives, but when you get cold winters you just get used to it. I wear slippers & a sweater or sweatshirt with jeans in the winter if needed. Usually if I am sitting I might feel cold, but doing things around the house causes me to warm up so I don't need a blanket or anything if I am doing that. And no, at 60° my nose isn't that cold... sorry but that is shorts wearing weather to me... or at least the begin range for it. We just get a huge range of temps (below zero to triple digits) so I've just learned to adjust to the temps we have at that time.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

In my old apartment, we froze, because it cost a LOT to keep it heated. We paid about $600/month in the winter for gas heat. The house was built in the mid-1800's and not very insulated. However, now I keep myself nice and toasty since heat is included in the rent. I keep the thermostat between 70 and 72 degrees.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I freeze a good bit of the time in my house because I'm so incredibly cold natured. If I had my way, we wouldn't have air conditioning at all. It can be in the upper 90's in the middle of July/August and I'm still a bit chilly withOUT the air on. If I'm home alone, I turn it off. Same as in the winter. For me to be actually warm, we'd have to turn the heat up to around 85° or so......the time the thermostat got stuck on 85° was the last time I remember being truly warm without sitting in front of the fireplace. We can't afford to turn the heat up to 85, and I'm sure DH and my DSs would not want it that hot. It's easier for me to get a blanket or put a sweatshirt on to get warm(er) than it is for them to get cooler with the heat cranked up really high. We usually keep our thermostat around 72 or so when we're home.

 

[DawnCt1]

72 in the summer. 66 during the day in the winter and it has to be below 65 at night in the winter or I wake up. DH will turn it up to 68 before he goes to bed and I get up and turn it back to 62.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Money has a lot to do with it, but we're also thick blooded, so having the thermostat only set at 66-68 degrees in the winter is not much of a sacrifice. We just put on a sweatshirt or an extra pair of socks if we're cold. But 99% of the time we're not cold. In the summer we only have fans and window ac's (those are only in the bedrooms). So the house gets kind of warm, but that's what the pool in the backyard is for. I personally prefer to be cold than hot, and I love curling up under a blanket to watch tv, or when I'm sitting at the computer.

 

[TheDisneyBunch]

I did not post under the other thread but we keep our house at about 78 in the Summer and turn it down to 75 at night. Now we keep it on 70. The prices have been going up on heating bills and we know our winter bills are always what runs high so we do try to keep it down a bit but we don't freeze really. When dh turns it down to 68 or 69 trying to save money that is when I say yes I am freezing and i turn it right back up to 70! Now he does not turn it down that low anymore..lol

 

[SwedishMeatball]

I feel like I am cold all year round. My husband is hot blooded and likes a cold house. I will adjust the thermostat when he leaves in the morning, but if I forget to set it back, I am reminded as soon as he walks in the door, "Oh man, it's hot in here." I do like to sleep snuggled up and like it cooler at night, but it is hard to get out from under those covers some mornings. I jump on the treadmill first thing though, so at least I am not miserable by the time I get in the shower.

 

[magicfan]

If you take for instance, someone elderly on fixed income, with medications = they need to chose between heating fuel, or med's....they choose the meds, and lower the temp.

Brandy

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.

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

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?

 

[C.Ann]

My frugal widowed aunt used to say, "There are a lot of things in life I'll do without, but I draw the line at being hot when I'd rather be cool and cold when I'd rather be warm.. It's the one luxury I will always afford myself.." And she did..

 

[magicfan]

My frugal widowed aunt used to say, "There are a lot of things in life I'll do without, but I draw the line at being hot when I'd rather be cool and cold when I'd rather be warm.. It's the one luxury I will always afford myself.." And she did..

That's funny you say that because that is what I always say, too!

I guess you have to pick and choose what you spend your money on and this is one thing I have to splurge on---being comfortable at home.

 

[maryliz]

I like to be comfortable ... and I'll pay for it. We live in Ontario and our winters are cold. I do not want to be wearing several layers of clothes around the house. I pretty much keep my house the same temp all year around ... between 73 and 76 degrees. My DSil wonders why we don't like going to their house in winter ... she keeps it at 68 degrees IF company is coming over ... lower if not. She grew up in a very old farmhouse that they couldn't keep warm, so she quite enjoys the "put on another sweater if you're cold" routine.

MaryLiz

 

[Denine]

This year we are keeping the thermostat lower than normal to compensate for the high gas prices. We have been keeping it at 65 during the day and 60 at night. Yes, I am cold and spend a lot of time wrapped ina blanket. And, yes, sometimes I do walk around with the blanket. DD seems to be warm enough, but she is in perpetual motion.

We don't use the AC in the summer because I don't like it. I would rather use 2 fans than the AC. I will only turn that on if it gets up to 90 in the house and then we set it to maybe 85.

I like it warm, so this is really a sacrifice. Plus, we just got out October heating bill. We hardly used the heat and it was $71. The heat will probably get set lower at night. DH is a furnace and I have flannel sheets and warm jammies. DD wears a t-shirt under her blanket sleeper and has her blanket. We usually cover her again before we go to bed.

We have a gas fireplace and aren't even using that. We are kicking ourselves for not putting in a wood fireplace.