What do you keep the thermostat at inside the house in the winter?

[jimmyj]

We don't have a furnace or thermostat as we heat with wood and we could use supplemental electric baseboard heat (which we haven't used in probably 20 years due to the cost). Our house usually sits about 60 degrees in the winter, although it can get cooler if we let the stove go out. It was in 42 the other morning (that's colder than we usually let it get, usually about 52 to 55 is the bottom end in the winter). When I really get the stove rip-roaring it will get into the 70's but then the wife and I die of the heat.

Both her and my parents love the heat, their homes are in the mid to high 70's all the time. It's SO uncomfortable when we visit there, we just get sleepy and hot.

(I just went and looked at the thermometer, it's 53 in the house at the moment).

 

[atsah]

I wish those heat pumps would work up here, I know a guy that has one and when it's 5F or below it doesn't work, great for AC though..

 

[Dftodd]

I wish those heat pumps would work up here, I know a guy that has one and when it's 5F or below it doesn't work, great for AC though..

Was talking to a good friend that lives in vermont. He's working for a company that does remodels on homes for energy efficiency. He mentioned that they have been installing heat pumps on houses up there. I brought up the same point to him. Pointed out that once the temps got down to a certain point, the heat pumps stalled out and the heat strips would kick in instead.

Did mention that the ac portion of it will be a good selling point for summer. But if he was gonna do the conversion on his own home, to make sure and keep his wood stove

 

[rekees4300]

First year in our house, the heat pump would kick on and run for 45 minutes until the heat strips kicked in. Electric bill was running close to $200. Realized every light fixture box in the ceiling was leaking. Climbed into the attic and realized there was only 1" of insulation over them. Insulation was only 3" deep.

For $800 and 4 hours of my wife and my time, we blew in a foot of insulation into the attack. For 1,800 sqft came to around 30 bags. Picked up 33 bags for good measure. And the last bag buried the main air duct for the heat pump.

When it's 10 degrees out, the heat pump will run for around 10 minutes. Insulation paid for itself within a year. The following year we updated the windows. That helped as well, but only a minor drop in the electric bill. The noticeable benefit of the windows were the rooms staying comfortable longer, and cut down on the chill.

Need to be careful with recessed lighting and insulation. Fixtures are rated IC (insulation contact) or non-IC. If insulation comes in contact with a non-IC fixture, the insulation could catch on fire. They sell fire proof buckets (or you can make them from rigid foam) that fit over non-IC fixtures then insulation can be safely put over the buckets.

 

[pmsmechanic]

We keep the house at about 70 or so during the day. Gas furnace but can heat with wood stove if we want to. For night the thermostat gets set at 60 as we both like it cooler when we sleep. If we remember we set the thermostat down to 65 when we go away as there is no point in keeping the house warm if no one is home.

 

[sw99]

Winter - 69 in the daytime and 67 at night. Summer - 73 most of the time. Forced air furnace on natural gas. I am the last house on the road to reach the gas line. Everyone else is on Propane.

 

[newbury]

Was talking to a good friend that lives in vermont. He's working for a company that does remodels on homes for energy efficiency. He mentioned that they have been installing heat pumps on houses up there. I brought up the same point to him. Pointed out that once the temps got down to a certain point, the heat pumps stalled out and the heat strips would kick in instead.

Did mention that the ac portion of it will be a good selling point for summer. But if he was gonna do the conversion on his own home, to make sure and keep his wood stove

Having lived in Vermont for a third of my life I agree.
I've a heat pump in Mississippi, it rarely gets cold enough so it doesn't work.
In Vermont there would only be a couple of days during August that a cooling a/c would be needed.
Now maybe these new mini-splits would be cost effective.

 

[reb]

The house seems more comfortable in the winter with the thermostat set at about 72 during the day. We turn it down to about 60 at night, but the temp rarely gets below 64 or 65 by morning. During the summer it seems comfortable in the upper 60s, tho we don't have any cooling beyond opening windows at night to let in cooler air. I have wondered if there is another factor besides temperature that determines the comfort level.

 

[CADplans]

I have wondered if there is another factor besides temperature that determines the comfort level.

The humidity is a major factor.

If the humidity is high, at 72 degrees you will be wearing a bathing suit.
If the humidity is low,, at 72 degrees, you will be wearing a sweatshirt,,,

Time to go boil a pot of water!! :thumbsup:

 

[Sonny580]

71 here----1 1/2 story house, not much insulation, built probably in mid 1800's.---still need heavy coat on in the house, but at least the pipes don't freeze too bad.---this is our 10'th year at this place! thanks; sonny580