Do you trun your heat down when you leave?

[Kid_Icarus 0]

Someone told me if you keep the heat 5 degrees below what you usually keep it wehn you're not home, it save energy because it doesn't use as much gas to heat the place back up from 55 to 70. Anyone else heard this?

________________________________________
"What What.....

[rehmwa 2]

I turn down the settings all the time. But the wife just turns them back up.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Elisha 1]

I have electric EVERYTHING (no gas in the Condo complex). It is expensive in winter. I don't have A/C (and don't really need it), so summer is MUCH cheaper on the PG&E.

Yes, the cats have fur and don't need the place to be 65+ during the day (plus the sun helps).

[monkycndo 0]

There are thermastats called "set back" that allow you to program this so it turns off at the time you leave and turn back on just before the time you get home. It made a big difference in my heating bills. It can do the same thing at night while you are asleep. They cost starting at around $30 and up. Easy to install as well.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[Brains 2]

Quote

Someone told me if you keep the heat 5 degrees below what you usually keep it wehn you're not home, it save energy because it doesn't use as much gas to heat the place back up from 55 to 70. Anyone else heard this?

There are a lot more variables involved here. As a general rule i tell my customers not to offset their thermostats more than 5-7 degrees during the day. After that point, it takes more energy to bring the temp up than it would use to just maintain a temp during the day. For us, we are more concerned with summertime A/C usage than anything else and it makes a bigger difference then for us. YMMV

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[wmw999 2,155]

I've used a programmable (setback) thermostat in my current house since moving in (1988). It really helps. The difference is about 7 degrees that I use.

By doing that, some breeze-stopping, and being liberal with sweaters in winter and fans in summer my bills are really pretty reasonable. Especially since getting a new air conditioner (much more efficient) and refrigerator.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Brains 2]

Quote

I've used a programmable (setback) thermostat in my current house since moving in (1988). It really helps. The difference is about 7 degrees that I use.

That is the absolute best way.

One other thing, (not necessarily you in general Wendy) Be leary of thermostats that you buy in box stores, the store will generally only carry stats for gas heat. If you have electric or a heat pump, it will require a different stat/ different wiring configuration to operate properly.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[benforde 0]

Quote

Someone told me if you keep the heat 5 degrees below what you usually keep it wehn you're not home, it save energy because it doesn't use as much gas to heat the place back up from 55 to 70. Anyone else heard this?

depends how long you are gone for.

[skymama 35]

Quote

By doing that, some breeze-stopping, and being liberal with sweaters in winter and fans in summer my bills are really pretty reasonable.

I've also been told that if you reverse your ceiling fan (there should be a little switch on the motor), that it will bring the warm air down from the ceiling in the winter.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

There are a lot more variables involved here. As a general rule i tell my customers not to offset their thermostats more than 5-7 degrees during the day. After that point, it takes more energy to bring the temp up than it would use to just maintain a temp during the day.

I think that would depend upon; 1) how long you are gone, 2) how drastic the temperature difference, and 3) what type of energy/appliance you are talking about.

For example, in a 100 degree Houston summer, if I turn my AC off for a normal workday (10 hours), my electric air-conditioner has to labor for hours to get the house temp back down to 75 degrees again.

However, in a 50 degree Houston winter, my gas heater can have the room temp back up to 75 degrees again in no time flat.

So I turn the heat waaaay down when I'm gone, and I cut back on the AC only marginally.

I don't have a fancy programmable timer - I just make it part of my home exit procedure, which only takes seconds. I have little marks on the thermostat dial face, so that I don't even have to squint to see the numbers - I just rotate the dial until the marks line up with my pre-determined set points, and I'm good to go.

[wmw999 2,155]

John, get the programmable thermostat. Being able to set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature (which is 78 or 79 in the summer for me with fans going...) about 1 hour before I get home makes getting home a whole lot more pleasant, and I can set the difference to more when I'm gone. I keep it at 85 during the day, and by the time I get home it's getting close to my desired temp.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[AndyMan 7]

Our heat is off most of the time, we live in a condo.

The building HVAC is setup in a way that puts positive air pressure into the building hallways. This is a safety thing, and common of many condo buildings. The point of it all is to ensure that if there's a fire in a unit, the smoke stays in the unit to allow others to evacuate.

The system vents fresh HVAC controlled air into the hallways, and vents in our kitchens and bathrooms act as returns to the system.

Our condo unit is always getting a constantly changing supply of air from the halways. Even in the dead of winter, our unit rarely drops below 65 degrees. We'll occaisionally bump it up to 70 for comfort, but turning on the oven for a while often has the same affect.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

John, get the programmable thermostat.

They are really cheap, now and can be wired in by anyone who knows what a 'wire' looks like.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[champu 1]

Quote

There are a lot more variables involved here. As a general rule i tell my customers not to offset their thermostats more than 5-7 degrees during the day. After that point, it takes more energy to bring the temp up than it would use to just maintain a temp during the day.

Are you sure about this? I'm a little rusty on my thermodynamics, but IIRC maintaining a temperature gradient always costs more energy than getting there. Obviously other considerations need to be taken into account (pets in the house, freezing pipes, etc.) but I would think the outside temperature is the limit for how low you can go and continue to increase savings.

That said, I just live in southern California... my climate control involves opening the window.

• Quote

[psw097 0]

I put in programmable thermostats for my heatpump/AC units after the first month of winter when I bought my house. They payed for themselves in the 2 months before winter ended. 6 years later and they are just savings now.

I have dual zone heat/AC plus 2 ventless fireplaces. The combination makes it easy to heat/cool the areas I'm in while I'm home. I don't even have the electric emergency heat wired in - I use the gas fireplaces if its too cold for the heatpump.

[Snowwhite 0]

I live in a 100 plus year old house, made out of brick, in the midwest.
Not much insulation when we moved in in 1979. Our first heating bill was almost 600 bucks. I about had a cow. I spent that Superbowl Sunday insulating the attic.
Since then, I have added a set back thermostat, 95 percent efficient furnace, LOTS of holes and leaks plugged, and now it costs me a little under 200 bucks a month to heat 2500 square feet.
We keep the temp at 65 during the day, and 57 at night, and when we are gone for more than 4 hours at a time, but that is the first floor. Second floor is much warmer, but I don't have a thermometer up here, so I don't know how much warmer. Comfortable tho, so who cares?
One of the advantages of a really old big house is not much is required to cool it in the summer, so even tho we have a great airconditioner, I don't think that it has been run a total of 20 days in the 10 years since we had it installed.

skydiveTaylorville.org
[email protected]

[sunshine 2]

I turn my heat down to 63 whenever i leave, put it on 70 when im home. I have such a small apartment though it takes about 5 minutes to warm it up.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[AllisonH 0]

I leave my heat set at 60 all the time - I've turned it up to 65 once or twice for a couple of hours when I was trying to do homework and my fingers were too cold to type. If I'm gone more than a day or two I turn it off completely. I'm on the top floor of my apartment building though, so I get some heat from my neighbor and those on the floor below me.

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

Quote

John, get the programmable thermostat.

They are really cheap, now and can be wired in by anyone who knows what a 'wire' looks like.

What's a "wire"? I ain't no darn NASA scientist. But if I could borrow that guy that knows how to send out a space dust collector for seven years, spin around the sun three times, and then return to a pinpoint landing in Utah, together I'm sure we could figure it out.

My schedule is very irregular and unpredictable. I'd be spending as much time overriding the programming, as I do now fiddling with it manually.

[DJL 232]

A programmable is $30-$40 and takes 15 minutes to install.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[jumpinfarmer 0]

I have it set at 52-55 during the day when I'm out and 60 or so when I'm home. I only turn it up more when I get ready to take a shower, the bathroom warms up real fast. It is a big old house and even set real low the furnace never seems to shut off.

[BillyVance 34]

It's days like these that I'm really grateful not to have natural gas for my heating needs! Prices have gone sky high. People are paying upwards to $300 a month just for gas. My electric bill for a 2500 s.f. home is usually about $130 during the winter and summer months and about $80 during the spring and fall months. There are a few places in the house that needs improvement though for better energy savings. But yes, I do turn the thermostat up in the summer or down in the winter when I leave for a trip.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban