How cold do you keep your house?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I've been keeping the thermostat at 74° F while I'm home and awake.

But I'm about to rethink that, as that might "Bait" an intruder to break in to get out of the cold..
 
This is Texas. I'll get that out of the way. After living here 38 years I still haven't truly acclimated. I keep it 71-72 in the summer when I'm home, no more than 77 when I'm not. In the "winter" (There are no winters here.) I keep it 68 when I'm home and 66 when I'm not - for my cockatiel, Meech.

Most keep their A/C's set at 78-80, yuck! My highest ever electric bill has been $185 in recent years. That's for a month of high 90's to low 100's. Electricity is still pretty cheap here and I know the "tricks" of setback thermostats.
 
As long as it's dry, I find 78 comfortable. The killer here is the humidity. In the summer: if it's above 80, it's almost always muggy. I'll take 95 and dry over 80 and humid.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
71F Winter
75F Summer


That's very close to where I keep it at our house, I like it at 72 in the winter and 75 in the summer. I like to be comfortable and I don't care how much it costs. Life is too short to be uncomfortable just to save a few bucks. And I don't want to walk around my house in a parka in the winter just to be warm.
 
I hate the cold and I hate being cold. But what I've discovered in this thermostat war is that after several weeks of low 60's in the house, an outside temp of 55 seems almost balmy. I was working on "Thunder the Wonder Pig" yesterday, (installing a muffler no less - another story) and I was wearing a cotton tee shirt with no sleeves.

And while the temps during our trip to South Carolina were lower than what we have here, I didn't think it was all that bad.

Even wifey is becoming a believer. While watching television yesterday evening, the house was a very comfortable 66 degrees and she said, "you know, this really isn't bad."
 
Our home is zoned, so different areas are kept at different temperatures.

During the winter months the main living area is set to 68 during the day, and 60 at night (although it never drops more than a couple degrees overnight). That effectively shuts off the heat at night.

Our master bedroom/bath wing of the home is set to 65 during the day and 60 at night; we like it cool when we sleep. Even on the coldest nights it only drops 2-3 degrees overnight; this effectively shuts off the heat at night.

The wing of our home that has our spare bedrooms and my office is set for 68 during the day and 60 at night. Same as the other zones, this effectively shuts the heat off at night since the temperature doesn't drop more than 2-3 degrees. If we have guests they are allowed to change the temperature if they prefer it warmer or cooler.

The lower level zone with a family room, wine cellar, wifes office, utility room and bathroom is set to 62. The lower level has a wall of windows facing southwest, so during the day we capture the solar heat in the stone work, so the lower level is usually around 67 or 68 degrees. At night curtains are closed over the window wall to help keep the heat in, and the stonework gives up its warmth to the room. The lower level will usually drop back to 62 at night, so the heating system runs some to keep that at temperature. The lower level is built into the hillside, so half is underground and half is exposed. The half that is underground has the wine cellar and my wife's office in it, so it's quite easy to maintain proper temperatures in those rooms with a little adjustment of the dampers.

During the summer the cooling is set at 74 for most of the house. Our master bedroom suite is allowed to cool off to 68 at night, and if we have guests the guest bedrooms are allowed to cool off to a temperature of their choosing. The wine cellar has its own cooling system to maintain temperature during the summer. The rest of the lower level is kept around 70 by circulating the cooler air from the underground portion of the level, and on hot sunny days keeping the curtain wall closed to stop solar gain. The lower level of the house requires very little air conditioning during the summer; we make sure it runs enough to maintain property humidity though.

Our electric bills are less than $100/month, and propane costs are normally less than $1000/year, which includes the shop heat, clothing dryer, kitchen stove and outdoor grill.
 
Originally Posted By: Patman
I like to be comfortable and I don't care how much it costs. Life is too short to be uncomfortable just to save a few bucks. And I don't want to walk around my house in a parka in the winter just to be warm.


x2, except in my case it's the summer where the expense comes in. Truth be told, it really doesn't cost that much more to keep it 71 v. 78. In my case, maybe $50/month more. Electricity is cheaper here and I do annual contracts with retail providers. I am currently at about 9 cents per kWh.
 
53 inside the house this morning. The wife and daughter like it as cold as possible. The Summer temps with the swamp cooler runs about 82*f when it is over 100*f outside.
 
Plenty of ice water and a small fan will keep the Mrs. "well-chilled." It takes quite a bit of heat to raise water from 32°F to 98.6.

I've gotten used to acclimating to outdoor temps and adjusting the T-stat accordingly. During the Summer when it's > 100°F every day, 78° feels fine, especially with the indoor Rh at 40%. The sweat will just fly off of you. I also have ceiling fans going to mix the air.

In our 2nd season here, January, I keep the house at 65°F as there's nothing worse than over-reacting to "cold" by cranking up the heat to 78°F. I like wearing "cold weather clothes" and enjoy the brief time where it's not %^&*!-so-hot. Nothing like getting layered up only to go indoors and begin sweating....some around here keep their house so warm I want to immediately change into shorts and a t-shirt + bare feet. Gimme a break.....

Perhaps the Mrs. could use a set of silk? Very light weight and amazingly warm.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top