Winter Heating...Do you have rules about using it?

[HeatherC]

I just saw a Facebook post about turning on the heat for the first time. Was surprised to see all the responses about how people have rules for using their heat. Some won’t turn it on till November, keep it at 65, only allowed to use it in the mornings, etc..

We have had three days of cold rainy weather and are getting a few inches of snow this morning. It has been cold and raw and we have been using our heat. I have friends who won’t turn it on yet.

We have found that we never really saved a lot more by being super strict about it. Over the course of the winter it probably costs a few hundred dollars more to keep the house at the temperature we like and is worth it to us. If we couldn’t afford it, that would be an entirely different story and I totally understand that others may not be able to afford to keep it super warm.

Do you have strict rules about it and have you found the savings are dramatic by lowering the temperature a lot? Have you turned it on yet?

 

[Jennasis]

No. If im cold the goes on or gets turned up.

 

[Moliphino]

I own the house so I do what I want. I turned it on a couple days in September when I was cold and working from home. No point being uncomfortable when I don't need to be.

I'll go up to about 68 during the day if I'm home and turn it down to 60 at night (mainly because the baseboard hot water radiator is so damn loud upstairs and I don't want it waking me up all the time).

 

[_19disnA]

Likely those who pinch pennies have more of those types of rules. If it is cold we turn on the heat. Isn't based on the day or month. Same with A/C. If it gets too hot, the A/C goes on.

If you turn the temperature down and then your furnace has to run longer to return the house to a comfortable temperature, not sure you saved anything. Depending on the age of your house, quality of insulation/windows, capacity of A/C & heater, it may have to run constantly on hottest/coldest days to try to hold the preset temperature.

 

[soccerdad72]

No. If we're (read: my wife ) cold, we turn up the heat.

It's the midwest, so some days, the cold and the AC is both used.

 

[tvguy]

We keep our thermostat at 72 degrees year round. However, we have not yet turned it from AC to Heat. My wife did have me blow the dust out of the space heater and she has used that to heat up the bathroom during her shower. Still in the 80s here during the day. We have had the windows opened during the afternoon (Noon to about 5 pm) the past two days.

 

[easyas123]

Not rules, no.
I can usually hold out longer than my husband with turning it on BUT it's only because - no matter how well we clean it or have it professionally done - I always seem to get a head cold when we first turn on the heat.
Usually he claims the dogs are complaining and saying they can see their breath, and that is when it goes on
In MD where we live, the weather can be 68 & sunny one day, and 49 & blustery and damp the next, so sometimes it is on and off a few times before it's on for good.
This thread reminds me, it's time to get a humidifier.

 

[disneychrista]

Not hard and fast rules per se. But I won’t turn it on when it is still going to be in the mid to high 80’s in the afternoon. I love this time of year. No AC. No Heater. Low(er) PGE bill. This year has been rough due to the fires and not being able to open the windows in the evenings.

 

[disneychrista]

This thread reminds me, it's time to get a humidifier.

I guess that would be my one rule when it comes to the heater. Heater turns on so do the humidifiers. One in the front room & one in my bedroom.

 

[SteveH]

Makes for a cute meme, that's about it. I turn the heat on when we want we turn the A/C on when we want. Thankfully I'm not in a position where I have to negotiate with myself or my wife about turning the heat on or off.

 

[barkley]

the only rule is if we turn on the gas fireplace we must take care to periodically stop and pay homage to our cats who will be splayed out in front of it awaiting tummy rubs. otherwise-if it's hot the a/c is on, cold the heater &/or fireplace.

 

[Hikergirl]

I turn it on when I'm cold but I do keep it around 66, dh likes to turn it up to 68 sometimes 70.

 

[J'aime Paris]

It's 31 degrees here currently. Heat is set to 68. We adjust to our comfort, no rules.

 

[aprilgail]

No rules- but I am normally always hot so I like to keep it at 66 in winter and 62 in summer but I have a 91 year old mom in the house and at 91 she is ALWAYS cold so when I am out during the day I will turn it up to 72 for her then before I get home I lower it to 68 (app on phone so I can turn it up or down where ever I am). She is a little forgetful so sometimes I will look and the heat it pushed up to 78 but I check a few times a day and just lower it if it is to high.

 

[BrianL]

No. If im cold the goes on or gets turned up.

Yeah, I mean, that's what it's for, right? If I need it, I'm using it. We've had early cold snaps here - so it's on. If it gets hot in the winter I can kick on the A/C too. That's why I have it.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I live in an apartment so I don’t have control over it. I suffer the minute they turn it on because it gets up to 80-85 degrees. They turned it on in early October and once it’s on, it’s on. It’s awful.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

We have our thermostat set at 70° And never turn off the heat. The first day it dips below 70° in the house is the first day we use it.

 

[mmouse37]

Growing up money was tight and dad would turn down the heat so low in the house. I always remember getting out of bed and my feet freezing (of course we had to have slippers) and be chilled until the house warmed up. I hated that feeling. So in our house I will turn down the heat at night but not so low that we freeze when we wake up plus we love a thermostat that you set the heat to turn on or off automatically.

I enjoyed the last three week in our area where we didn't the A/C or heat. Now, the past week has been raw and rainy since Monday so I did turn on the heat to take the chill out of the air. I think I am bothered more by damp than actually cold.

MJ

 

[Befferk]

I will never be cold in my own home. I don't care if it's the middle of the summer, if the temp drops and I'm cold, I'll turn the heat on. Lots of times I've used heat and A/C in the same day. I grew up with wood heat in an old drafty house and would have to get dressed in front of the wood stove (that was in the kitchen) to not freeze. I will never suffer being cold to save a few pennies.

 

[mrs. magoo]

We have an older house and we need insulation(but would have to have vermiculate removed first since there could be asbetseos so the cost is ridiculous) and some new windows (my parents replaced them in the 80's but still) and my house would cost a fortune to heat it to 68 or 72 in the winter. I hate to get a 500 to 600 bill so we keep it at 66 for a couple of hours and let it drop to 58 at night. My father has a space heater that he uses during the day if he gets cold.