Community Chat

[Tinkrbl44]

A neighbor & I are disagreeing about leaving the heat on when we go out ......  maybe someone here has accurate information?

I live in SoCal, so it never "freezes" in the timeframes I'm describing ......   

When I go out for several hours, I turn the thermostat OFF. 

The temp is kept around 72 when I'm home.

When I get home I turn it back on. 

The thermostat is usually around 67 when I get home.

My neighbor says it's "better to leave the therm on, lowering it to 68 so it doesn't cost so much to re-heat the house".

Huh?  

My thoughts is the home doesn't need to be heated when no one is home.

Anyone feel like weighing in on whether it's best to leave the thermostat and furnace ON to a lower temp .... or turn it OFF until I return?  

Feedback and suggestions welcome .....  

[kaydee50]

I agree with your neighbor.  I would just lower the temp but not turn off the entire system.

[ECBG]

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a family that sets back its thermostat by about 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day while sleeping or out of the house can save 5 to 15 percent a year on home heating costs.Dec 22, 2022

[Meowingkitty]

I live in Az so it doesn't freeze here either. My Nest is set at 74 and never touch it. It doesn't go on that much to make a difference.

[Bri369]

I don't see the point in turning it completely off.  I just turn it down enough so it's not running constantly.  I don't want to return home to a freezing house or frozen pipes.  

[Marp]

Normally I keep the thermostat set for 65 at night and 68 during the day.  The 65 at night is because I like it cool to cold when I'm sleeping.

The downside is how long it takes to bring the temperature up to 68 in the morning compared to the rest of the day when 68 is just being maintained.

You indicate that your home temperature decreases by 5 degrees during your absence.  It seems to me your furnace has to work longer and harder to reclaim that 5 degrees than if left at your normal setting of 72.

[tansy]

I am in the lower temp camp with your neighbor.  I also have a dog at home who I want to be comfortable.

[freakygirl]

we turn it off when we go out and simply turn it back on via the app before we head home. 

[Nightowlz]

If you don't have any way to control your thermostat while not home I wouldn't turn it off but lower it.

I put ours on 66° or 67° when we go to bed depending on lows that night. I have Alexa turn it on 69° to warm up before we get up. 

We turned ours off this May while we were gone because it kept turning the ac on. Smart thermostat not so Smart? The house temp was 72°-73° while we were gone so the ac didn't need to come on. If it had been winter we would have left it on.

[CelticCrafter]

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@ECBG wrote:

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a family that sets back its thermostat by about 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day while sleeping or out of the house can save 5 to 15 percent a year on home heating costs.Dec 22, 2022

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If we did that we would freeze to death overnight.  We have it set back to 65, anything lower is too cold even with two quilts, a blanket and a top sheet and takes forever in the morning to bring it up to 70.

So actually what are the savings if it has to run twice as long in the morning.