How low do you set your thermostat?
One of the simplest ways we can reduce our carbon use, particularly in these cold winter months, is to turn down our thermostat. Energy saving tips suggest reducing the temperature by 2 degrees - but don't give a particular target, so I'm curious. What temperature do you use during the winter?
We are making a real effort this year to keep our household temperature lower than previously - and no, our grandson in the photo above is dressed for going outside this morning, not for inside. We set our thermostat to 67 during the day and bring it down to 61 at night or when we are going to be gone for awhile. But 67 is a pretty relative term. Sitting on the south facing window seat when the sun is streaming in is probably in the 80's and I spend a lot of time there on sunny winter days. At the same time, the kitchen table by our north facing windows will be 57. Upstairs is warmer than downstairs and the coldest time of the day is just after the sun leaves that window seat.
We have found out a few things turning the temperature down a bit this year - it's actually more comfortable sleeping when the temperature is 61 than when it is 67, curling up under a comforter to read or watch TV in the evening is just fine, and if I start to get chilly, it usually means I've been sitting too long and need to move around a bit, which always warms me up and makes me feel better too.
So just how cool can we get and still be comfortable? What is your experience?
Good question. I have come to believe that our world is way over-heated. So many people think they need balmy in order to be comfortable. I actually find balmy to be too hot. We keep our thermostat at about 66 during the day, though I sometimes nudge it up, which puts it to 68. At night it goes down to 62. We love cool sleeping temps.
ReplyDeleteWhen we had the Energy Squad come to our house, we had them program the programmable thermostat they gave us to be 64 at night and during the day when most of the family is gone. It bumps up to 67 in the morning just before we all wake up and again around supper time until about 9:30 pm when we should be going to bed anyway. It is a bit chilly during the day since I work from home, but I compensate with a small space heater in my office when I'm sitting there. Probably uses lots of energy and we're working towards better insulation in that room so hopefully that is a temporary fix. I think we could try 61 at night since it is so much warmer upstairs. I'll have to find the instructions for the programmable thermostat.
ReplyDeleteI got a efficent energy furnace last year so it first burns the gas then recydles the leftovers and bruns them again. I love this furnace (my old one was 36 years old and highly inefficient). During the winter I have it set at 65/day and 62/night. I wear fleece clothing in layers. I am fortunate to have a large ceiling fan in a 2 story space which I use to bring the warm air from the ceiling 22 feet above to the lower level. I have exposed ductwork throughout the house which I can put my arms aroung for a little warm, steel, hug when I need one. Finally I haver 3 roof windows in my upstairs spaces which bring in much radiant heat to my workroom and living loft.
ReplyDeleteLast year we kept our daytime temp at 58 and nighttime at 55. This year we bumped it up to 62 during the day and 58 at night for our South American roommate, but that was still too low for her so now we keep it at 62 day and night. No space heaters allowed - too much energy draw.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm impressed at 62 day and night and really impressed at 58. Did you do that all at once or work your way down the thermostat a little at a time? Are you comfortable at home?
ReplyDelete