Which way is better to save money on heating?

[Towncrier]

Once you allow it to get "too cold" in your house, it does burn up your savings when it's time to re-heat the house.

I just have to jump in here and say that none of these arguments about making a house "too cold" make any sense if you look at the laws of thermodynamics. I might not have aced that course in engineering school, but I know for a fact that it does not take more energy to heat up a cold house than it does to maintain a warmer temperature (assuming that energy costs are the same regardless of the time of day).

Look at it this way. How much energy does it take to keep a pot of water just below boiling point on your stove 24/7? Or to keep it at 150 degrees all day long? Compare that to putting a pan of cold water on the stove and boiling it on demand. How can it possibly cost less to keep a house at 68 degrees than at 58 degrees? It can't.

Now if your energy company charges you more during certain peak times of the day, it could cost more to rewarm your home at certain times of the day. But strictly speaking (and according to thermodynamics), the lower you keep your thermostat while you are away, the less energy you will use.

 

[disneysteve]

I just have to jump in here and say that none of these arguments about making a house "too cold" make any sense if you look at the laws of thermodynamics. I know for a fact that it does not take more energy to heat up a cold house than it does to maintain a warmer temperature (assuming that energy costs are the same regardless of the time of day).

How can it possibly cost less to keep a house at 68 degrees than at 58 degrees? It can't.

But strictly speaking (and according to thermodynamics), the lower you keep your thermostat while you are away, the less energy you will use.

Thanks for jumping in. I was hoping somebody would join me on the other side of this debate. It was getting lonely .

Your boiling water analogy is a good one. In fact, it ties in with how many new homes heat their water. They are doing away with the hot water heater that keeps 40 or 50 gallons heated 24/7 and instead using on-demand heaters that only heat water when you turn on the hot water faucet. They save a bunch of energy that way.

 

[Towncrier]

I understand the confusion. My furnace tends to overshoot when reheating the house. If I am home and decide to bump the temperature up, I usually pick an interim value and anticipate the overshoot so that I don't end up overheating the whole house.

I used to have a thermostat that recorded how many hours a day the furnace was running. It was interesting to see how much I could effect my heating bill by simply using my fireplace. But that's a whole 'nother argument, I suppose.

I wonder what the American Gas Institute has to say about this. Guess I know what I'll be doing over lunchtime.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I just have to jump in here and say that none of these arguments about making a house "too cold" make any sense if you look at the laws of thermodynamics.

ITA and I did ace thermodynamics in college. This is the same arugument that I hear that cold water heats up faster than hot water.

 

[barkley]

my thermostat is kept at a constant temp 24/7 year round. for years when i worked (and kids were in school) we had it set up to be variable based on when we were home/slept...i then ended up at home for several months one summer and one winter-during both periods of time i found no increase in our pg&e bill although i was home all day and had turned off the timer function and kept the house at a constant temp.

i find my pg&e bill goes up much more based on bath/shower/dishwasher/washing machine usage. heating up all the water tends to drive up the cost.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Thanks for the boiling water analogy, that is exactly how I am going to explain it to my SO.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good programable thermostat? I can see this is something I need (this is my first winter as a new home owner.)