FURNACE SETTINGS WHEN YOU GO OUT - Page 4

vermint · ‎04-05-2010

Ours stays at 69 in the winter, 70 in the summer...electric heat pump/AC. We're on an electric co-op and our bills are lower than our friends who must use the local power company.

We live in the Midlands of South Carolina and it can get pretty cold/hot here. Nighttime temps for the next 2-3 days are supposed to be in the 20's, daytime in the high 40's/low 50's. That's cold for us!

I have 2 cats & a dog, so I have to consider their comfort, too.

Lucky Charm · ‎03-09-2010

I was always told that you should only *bring* your temps up (or down) 3 degrees at a time.

So @Tinkrbl44 , if you're temp went down to 68* and you want it up to 72, do it gradually. The first 3 degree increase and then wait a bit and up it again. Honestly, I'd just let it stay at 71, which is still way too hot for me, but I realize we're all different.

In the winter, when we know we're going to be gone most of the day, I turn the therm down to 62/63---if it's sunny. Because my livingroom and dining room will heat up to 70*. We actually leave the front door open which really floods the rooms with sunlight, the cats LOVE to lay in front of the storm door. (Of course, it's locked.)

Usually, when we're on a day road trip and don't get home till after dark, the rooms will start to cool down. It rarely goes down close to 62/63, but if it did, I'd bring the temps up slowly, not all at once.

Our house is well insulated, it holds heat really good. It's shaded well in the summer. I rarely have the air on for consecutive days. We get nice breezes off the bay or the ocean, so I open windows on whichever side they're coming from.

Marp · ‎03-09-2010

Lol @vermint. I'm in western NC and also consider the comfort of my dog and cat when it gets cold.

We cuddle together for mutual warmth. Reduces the need to raise the thermostat by several degrees.

What is good for the goose today will also be good for the gander tomorrow.

vermint · ‎04-05-2010

@Marp wrote:
Lol @vermint. I'm in western NC and also consider the comfort of my dog and cat when it gets cold.

We cuddle together for mutual warmth. Reduces the need to raise the thermostat by several degrees.

@Marp If I'm home, and sitting down, both cats are usually in my lap! They wouldn't mind if the house stayed at 90 degrees, lol!

My 130 lb dog is a little more difficult to "cuddle" with...but DH will sit on the sofa with him, and Coach lays across his lap.

Zhills · ‎11-15-2011

When you turn the system off, all of your furniture and even the walls get cold also. That makes it more difficult to re-heat the house wnen you return.

You can turn it down if you will be gone a long time but for a short while, you are better off to leave it alone!

The system puts out the same amount of heat all the time.

It just runs until the correct temp is matched again! That will take much longer!!

beckyb1012 · ‎03-09-2010

I turn mine off and usually do not sleep with it on either. I did wake up Sat. morning and it was reading 64 so I turned it on. After a couple of hours I turned it back off and it as not been on again since. It has to be extremely cold for days on end for me to run my heat 24/7. I did last year the week of Christmas when the temp. dropped here in Texas to 7º and the year before in Feb. 2021 when the whole state was iced in for 8 days.

"Live frugally, but love extravagantly."

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

Our thermostat stays on 72 year round, and is not touched unless it is extremely cold and I use the Emergency heat feature. WV winters are usually cold and long.

jannabelle1 · ‎09-12-2010

I'm with what seems to be the majority here - leave the furnace on and turn the thermostat down a few degrees if you must. But why would you do that for a just a few hours? If you're trying to save money, you'll probably spend it to bring the heat in your house back up by 5 degrees since it was turned off. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone turning the furnace off for a few hours while out of the house. It sort of reminds me of those folks who turn their cars off while sitting at a stoplight, and then turn the car back on when the light changes! LOL!