How Low Does It Go?
Posted on December 19, 2006 by Him and tagged utilities
Earlier in October we had some cold weather, and Her wrote about the things we do to keep ourselves warm in the winter. Since then we've been pretty lucky and have a mild winter here in Chicago.
After we put up the plastic on our windows this year, we've noticed that we can turn our programmable thermostat lower than we thought would be comfortable. Here's our program:
6:30AM-8AM (Wakeup): 64F
8AM-5:30PM (At Work): 60F
5:30PM-11PM (At home): 64F
11PM-6:30AM (Sleep): 54F
So far we've been pretty happy with these settings, and we think that we've found a good balance between value vs. comfort.
How low does your thermostat go?
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Chris K | Dec 19, 2006
Almost exactly the same as yours. I used to have mine cooler during the day (same as night - 50-something - but it just didn't warm up enough during the evening. Very close though!
That's FREEZING! Kudos to you guys for being able to stand such cold but I can't do anything below 65 degrees... and NOT comfortably. When I was in school (i.e. utilities included), I'd turn the thermometer to 80 degrees. Ahhh... it was a wonderful den of warmth where I can wear tank tops. :)
When I was in college and didn't have to pay utilities I had the heat up so high I had to open windows to make it more comfortable.
A little wasteful, sure, but maybe I knew then how low my thermostat would be now.
c | Dec 19, 2006
Huge kudos to you both! I would absolutely DIE with those settings. This morning I woke up and it was 66 in our house and I about had a heart attack. I do, however think that those settings are relative...I live in Phoenix and am wearing a coat when it dips below 70...
Frugal Homemaker Plus | Dec 19, 2006
We keep ours at 65 in the day and 58 at night. We love our electric blanket at night!
Luz | Dec 20, 2006
Yikes!I woke up this morning and my house was 63 degrees because somebody turned off the furnace. I was not happy! I need it atleast 72 to be comfortable. But to each their own.
Have a little fun at the expense of the exposed Trainwrecks clicque.
Regards,
Heaven Nose, saviours of the broken, the beaten and the damned
Nope, we're cheap but not mean :) We turn the heat up for guests and give them their own electric blanket too.
Catrijn | Dec 20, 2006
We have a similar pattern programmed, but at 68 for wake-up and evenings, and 60 during work and at night. My hands get so cold as it is; that's about the minimum I can stand. Kudos on the savings if you can tolerate it, but I couldn't.
Jane | Dec 21, 2006
why do you set it for 54 when you are sleeping, but warm it up to 60 when you are away from home?
At night, our cats sleep on the electric blanket with us so everyone is warm. But during the day, we don't want our cats to freeze so we turn it up a bit.
Jesse | Jan 9, 2007
Your thermostat settings assure me that I'm not crazy, despite what my girlfriend says... We have not convinced our landlord to install a programmable, so it's down to 55 for the day, up to 62 for the evening, and down to 58 at night. A morning warmup would be nice with the programmable.
Darius | Jan 9, 2007
The colder the better! haha. Almost... We do 60 when we're around and 55 when we're sleeping/gone. There's only so much money. A dollar less to the gas company means a few less minutes to retirement. Cheers! P.S. Sweatshirts are a must, but they're cheaper than warming up 2000 square feet.
Tonia | Feb 8, 2007
Programmable thermostat. 7:30 am to 5:00 pm 55 (at work). 5:00pm-10:00 pm 72 (I get home at 6:00). 10:00 pm to 7:30 am 62(Electric Blanket at night). Sometimes at night I will turn it down to 55. But then I have to use the portable heater for an hour or so while I get dressed in the morning. I had huge savings over last years gas bills.
Sarah | Dec 19, 2006
YIKES! And I thought my house was cold with 68 and 60 being the settings... if it was any colder during our "awake" hours, I would be bundled in a down comforter at all times.
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