Freeze Your Butt Off to Save on Your Winter Heating Bills?
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: bills, health
Packed snugly in a recent local utility mailing—somewhere between the return envelope and that electrical extortion invoice our supplier calls a “bill”—was their monthly newsletter offering sound advice to help keep us safe and save us money during the upcoming winter. (Sidebar: I’ve always wondered why utility companies send newsletters with tips for saving you money on your utilities; shouldn’t they send you tips for spending more on utilities or perhaps saving money on groceries and health care so you can spend more on gas and electric?) One of the tips in this newsletter was a little startling because it runs contrary to every American home in which I’ve ever set foot:
Set your thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night, if health permits.
First, let’s look at the 68 degrees during the day recommendation. Thinking of the homes of random family and friends, here’s a sampling of the various daytime winter temperatures I recall seeing on their thermostats:
- 75 degrees
- 74 degrees
- 72 degrees
- 72 degrees
- 72 degrees
I cannot ever recall seeing any thermostat in any home set at below 70 degrees during winter days. The only exception is our own home whose thermostat currently sits at a cozy and warm 68 degrees. People who enter our house when it’s 68 often complain that it’s chilly. On the other hand, when we enter someone’s house at 75 degrees, it feels like a sauna.
So if you’re currently running your home at 70+ degrees in the winter, try dropping it a degree each week and be amazed at how well your body can adjust to the temperature change.
Now how about that 60 degrees at night recommendation? Once again, let’s look at a random sample of nighttime winter temperatures from the homes of friends and family.
- 75 degrees
- 74 degrees
- 72 degrees
- 72 degrees
- 72 degrees
Holy crap, it’s the same list from above! For some inexplicable reason, these five households need their 70+ degrees while their bodies are in bed, asleep, inactive, totally unconscious. My utility’s advice to drastically lower the thermostat setting at night is a good one; it can save a boatload of money on heat your body doesn’t even need.
I’ll admit that the 60-degree recommendation surprised even us. We keep our nighttime thermostat set at around 64 during the winter months. We find that any colder than that is enough to wake us in the middle of the night.
If you’re a member of the 72 Degrees At All Times Club, you might be wondering how we survive in consistently sub-70-degree temperatures. It’s pretty simple, actually.
- Lots of clothes. It’s not hard to pile on an extra layer or two. Each one seems to allow us to tolerate an extra degree or two below 70.
- Mini heaters. We have a portable electric heater that we can set in whatever room we’re currently occupying. That way, we can keep that room as toasty as we like without wasting heat in other rooms. It’s fuel-free, simple to operate, weighs just a couple of pounds, and costs just pennies an hour to run.
- Ceiling fans in reverse. Over the summer, we equipped our four most-used rooms with ceiling fans to keep rooms cool. When operated in reverse (clockwise motion), the fan blows the hot air that would otherwise rise to the ceiling and out the roof back down to the floor. Yes, it really works and can help maintain a room temperature a lot longer.
- Smart thermostat use. While we have a programmable thermostat, we typically operate it manually, setting the temperature at 68 when we’re home and awake or 64 if we’re away or asleep. If you have a predictable schedule, you can use a programmable thermostat to boost the temperature just before you wake or return home from work.
- Lots of cuddling. There’s nothing cozier in the winter than a warm body, and keeping one really close to you ensures you two are exchanging heat with each other rather than losing it to the air. Just be sure to ask before cuddling someone, though they’ll usually agree once you give a detailed presentation on the fuel savings cuddling can provide.
Now it’s your turn to provide your wintertime stats. At what temperature do you set your thermostat during winter days and nights?
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52 Responses »
1.
gah
October 30th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I keep it around 60 in the winter (my friends complain that it is too cold so for social events I turn the heat up into the upper 60s). That is for both day and night although when I am gone for a day in the winter I will turn it down to 55.
No big deal. I wear extra layers and if I get real cold I exercise a bit.
At night the heavy blankets are used & in the morning I treat myself to a hot shower. Note that I turn off the (gas) heat to my hot water heater until about 20mins before I use it. That saves a bunch of money too!
2.
Jenn @ Frugal Upstate
October 30th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Nick-We are with you on the temps. In our current house we have totally electric heat (village electric co-op, so it is actually cheap) but every single room is a separate heat zone, so no programables here. . . we would have had to buy at least 4 to make it worthwhile
The only two additional points I would make are:
#1-Wear either thick socks or slippers in the house in the winter. The floor can be cold and it can make your whole body feel cold.
#2-Consider an electric blanket. That way you can keep the house cool at night, but have a tad more heat on you!
Oh, and an unintentional third. I made rice bags (which you can heat up in the microwave) and use them to warm up my feet in bed, or even on the couch (my feet get cold quickly). The easiest method (although not pretty) is simply to take a clean tube sock and fill it up with uncooked rice (not instant) then any time you want some heat you can nuke it for 2-3 minutes, it will hold heat for about half an hour. Bonus is it is good on necks and sore muscles.
3.
BuildAndSucceed
October 30th, 2007 at 7:55 am
I’m in Florida and I can never get my house that cold without breaking my A/C! I have to keep it 78 during the day and then 74 at night otherwise either my bill is HUGE or I break the A/C.
During the winter (when it’s actually cold down here) I can sometimes manage to get down to 68!
Bas
BuildAndSucceed.com
4.
plonkee
October 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am
I have mine at 20 degrees C (68F). It comes on for 2 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening. I use blankets and jumpers if I’m cold (which I frequently am).
5.
RS
October 30th, 2007 at 9:44 am
I was actually just talking about this with my wife. We have 2 zones, each with programmable thermostats. We have always turned it down to 60 at night, have it come on in the morning to 66, turn to 60 all day (when we are at work), come on at 5:00 to 68, and then turn back to 60 at like 10 or 11. That always worked pretty well for us…I admit that we would definitely like to have it warmer than that, at times it feels pretty cold. We have a fairly large house with a huge open front entrance (and a huge window in that entrance), so it is tough to heat and cool properly.
However, we have a new dilemma…we just had a baby 4 months ago. Now it seems to me that those temps may be a little cold for her. So, I think that I may need to raise the temps a little.
6.
Dancinghawk
October 30th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I keep mine at around 63-64 at all times right now; I may nudge it up as it gets colder, but no higher than 68. If I get cold, I just throw on a sweater.
I wish I had a programable thermostat so I could turn it down a bit more at night, but I live in an appartment and that doesn’t seem feasable. On the plus side, I’ve got an appartment right below me, and probably get some heat from them.
7.
Clever Dude
October 30th, 2007 at 10:20 am
As you know, we do have it at 74 when we’re at home and awake. However, at night we turn it down to 68, and 65 if I can get my hands on it when Stacie’s already upstairs. Personally, I’d like to move our bedroom into a smaller area downstairs and use a space heater. Also, I’d like to install french doors in the den (where we always are sitting) as it has electric baseboard heating. Then, we’d keep all the heat from that radiator IN the room rather than it drifting out into the house.
The door would cost about $150-200 (hanging them myself), and the bedroom move is impossible per the wife’s wishes
8.
Nick
October 30th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Clever Dude, time to install a child safety lockout on the thermostat and set it to 62 until the wife agrees to move downstairs!
9.
paidtwice
October 30th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
This is the first winter we’ll be in this house and the first time I’ve tried to break the spouse of his 70+ degree obsession.
Currently I have it at 65 during the day (when spouse is at work) and 67 in the evening and 64 overnight.
then it goes up to 70 at 5am until 8am when spouse goes to work. He refuses to have it less than 70 in the am when he is getting ready for work and in his words “is naked a lot”.
Okie then. :eyeroll:
10.
Nick
October 30th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
@paidtwice:
In the morning, you can substitute some of your own “natural warming” for those “is naked a lot” times. As a husband myself, I can tell you that we appreciate that!
11.
Patrick
October 30th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Ha! We keep ours a 67! (we actually do)…. When we go to sleep, we normally turn the house to 55, but we use comforters on the bed, and use a space heater in our bedroom.
We actually haven’t turned on the heat yet this year, even though everyday this this week the house has been 61 degrees. I think it’s time.
Our heating bills are usually very reasonable (and a bout 1/3 what some of my friends who keep their house at 72 pay).
12.
Kyle
October 30th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
We keep our thermostat at whatever temp I can get up to with our wood burning fireplace, typically around 74. I can get it to 76 but the red glow from the entire fireplace mantel and hearth is a little disturbing
Night time is typically around 64.
13.
Thomas
October 30th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
While we are in the house 70 deg, when we leave the house 50 deg, at night heat off window open 365 days a year and we live in Alaska. Heat off from May 20th to Labour day, NO AC.
You people are crazy sleeping with heat on, how can you breathe…I’m thinking my heating bill in Alaska is less than you guys in moderate climes….
14.
Lauren
October 30th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I keep my house at 55 during the night, and 60 when I’m there not sleeping. It’s a very drafty old house that we rent, so there’s not a whole lot of changes we can make. After the first winter bill last year was 400, when we kept the house at 68, we decided that wearing sweaters and using down comforters was a great idea…
15.
Mrs. Micah
October 30th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
I stayed with some friends who were doing this at night and thought I’d never be warm again. But that’s probably also because there weren’t many blankets up for borrowing.
16.
Rob Carlson
October 30th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Our thermostat resets twice a day at 8am and 10pm to 58 degrees (88 degrees in summer). When we come home or wake up we can change to the temperature we want, and we can’t forget to turn it back down.
We sleep with 4 comforters.
17.
Nick
October 30th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Wow, and I thought we were skimping on our heating bill. I think it’s time for a trip to the Three-Inch-Thick Blanket Store.
18.
Laura
October 30th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
My husband keeps it at 68F. Depending on how cold I feel I’ll turn it up to 70F. (I’m a wimp
)
19.
Dani
October 30th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I can tell you that the current temperature, day and night, in our house is about 55 degrees. This isn’t entirely intentional – our furnace has some issues that need to be serviced before we’re willing to turn it on for the year, and the HVAC guy won’t be here until Friday.
We do tend to keep it a bit warmer than that in normal winters, because I have a medical condition that is exacerbated by cold temperatures. We do have a small ceramic heater that we use for “spot heating”, but the best thing we have for keeping the overall temperature low is a dual-zone heated mattress pad. It keeps me (and the cat) warm at night, but the ambient temperature can stay low.
20.
Lord
October 30th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
What you experienced growing up has a considerable influence. In 19th century France they found a teen living naked by himself in the snow. He had been doing so for 10 years.
Winters I usually operate between 68 and 72. Below 68 I don’t get cold in bed but it gives me too much congestion breathing. Summers are between 78 and 80. Above 82 I get sleepy.
21.
rstlne
November 1st, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Keeping the thermostat at 60 degrees is really not so bad if you have the proper clothing. I didn’t turn the heat on until the outside temperature went down to 45.
22.
aeko
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I have found that if I turn the heat down too low at night it takes hours for the house to get warm in the morning, also if I turn off heat to a room, the cold from the room will drift into the remainder of the house that I am heating.
23.
JB
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Before we had our son, we were always at 65 during the day and 60 at night (I grew up with this also). Since 65 degress is too cold for an infant, we went with the medical recomendation of 68 during the day (any higher actually raises the SIDs rate in studies) and still take it down to 60 during the night in the rest of the house, with a space heater in my son’s room to keep him cozy at 68.
Our programmable thermastat kicks on 30 min before my husband gets up. We close the bathroom door at night, so all that extra heat makes for a very cozy bathroom temp in the morning for him.
Other than that, its all about blankets, wearing cuddl duds, drinking hot beverages, and cozy slippers. I’m naturally a very thin (100 lbs) and, consequently, perpetually cold, but with proper dressing you get by.
Lastly, we also close off the vents in rooms we don’t use regularly and keep those doors shut. It makes no sense to heat/cool rooms that aren’t in use.
24.
Bill
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:42 pm
60 degrees overnight here – 68 when people are home daytime
I’m gettng bed warmers for everyone this year – you sleep on top of the warmer, not underneath.
When my brother lost power for 4 days he was comfortable sleeping in low-40s temperatures as long as he wore a stocking cap to bed.
Small propane heaters with safety features (e.g. low oxygen sensor) like “Mr. Buddy” are available for power failures and work O.K. for a single room
25.
Yinna
November 6th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I spend most of my evenings sitting still on the couch, either watching TV, on the phone, or using the Web. 68 is doable because I have a thick, nice looking blanket draped over the back of it, ready to pull over my legs. The cat loves the blanket, especially with me under it, so he adds extra heat.
I, too, am an open-window-forever sleeper, but my BF does not appreciate the cold. I’ll explain the cuddle factor, maybe that helps. Great post!
26.
Scott
December 1st, 2007 at 9:07 am
We keep our house at 57 degrees during the night and daytime that we are not home. We warm it up to 63 degrees from 7am to 8 am and again from 4 pm to 7pm otherwise 57 degrees and dress warm.
27.
Obbop
December 1st, 2007 at 10:49 pm
The wimpification of the modern American bi-pedal primate!!!!!
At night, for the 8 to 9 hours my conciousness escapes this plane of existence and I dream of jobs with a livable wage and that actually offer benefits and with no threat of that job being sent overseas, I am enveloped by the luxiourios delight of the hand-me-down goose down comforter.
It’s warm!!!! So…. when beddy-bye time arrives the thermostat setting plummets. Downwards, ever downwards, precipitously, until the little pointy cursor-like thing is aimed at the 50 degree mark.
That setting is high enough to ensure the water pipes never freeze, even during those frigid 30-below-zero nights when it is so cold the little birdies in the bushes will freeze solid, lose their grip, then plummet headlong to the hard frozen ground below.
The bedroom is at the far end of the house from the heater… an in-floor non-forced-air device with but one heat outlet. The bedroom is often 10 to 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the house but the sleeping is fine.
Heck, early English explorers in the 1600s reported the natives of the Tierra Del Fuego area at the southernmost part of South America running around butt-nekkid in sub-freezing weather, apparently suffering no discomfort at all.
What a bunch of wimps the pampered Americans are nowadays!!!!
Whacha’ all gonna do when the USA population doubles within two or three decades (according to US Census Bureau estimates of legal and illegal immigration rates) and the ready availability of heating fuels etc. will be in doubt? Even if available, the costs will have to increase greatly so as to regulate the use of a finite resource.
Might be a good time to invest in firms manufacturing those red long-johns with the trap door at one end.
And to toughen up a wee bit.
28.
Kristine
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I live in Wisconsin and 68-70 seems to be the norm in the winter. Ours has always been 68 when we’re home and down to 60 when we’re sleeping or not at home. I recently read the recommendations from our energy company and it says 55 at night (in the WINTER). I know 55 is 55 anywhere, but just the thought of that on a Wisconsin winter night made me shiver! I will try to inch it down though, I was amazed at how much a few degrees can save. I can’t sleep if the thermostat is set too high. I’d rather be on the cooler side than sleeping under a vent blowing hot, dry air on me all night. 74, even 70, would make me completely crazy.
29.
Joshua
March 1st, 2008 at 9:23 pm
We live on the third floor of an apartment complex and fortunately we don’t have to worry about keeping it warm at night. Actually, it gets too hot and we have to open windows even though it may be snowing out. It helps heat and hot water is included in rent though so no worries here…we live in Maine.
30.
Terrell
October 16th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I will keep the heat at 54-55 degrees this winter for BOTH day and night heating. I live 50 miles south of Canada in Northern Vermont. I also have lots of warm clothes.
31.
megan
October 19th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Wow, I went on vacation with a friend and she actually snuck up at night and turned the hotel therm to 78degrees. OH MY. i just checked my bedroom thermometer and it reads; 60 degrees. Seems a little chilly, but i can’t imagine paying to heat a whole house at night. SEEMS PIGGISH TO USE MORE DOESN”T IT?
32.
living green
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:27 am
I agree that people keep there thermostats way too high during the winter. I just buy room heaters for certain parts of my house and it saves tons of money on my heating bill each month. I just don’t see the point in heating the entire house up when you are usually only in a few rooms of your house.
33.
Charles Hamel
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 am
When we were living in Houston Texas, we decided one year to see if we could not turn on the central heat all winter. Instead we put on more clothes. It was very easy to do, and we went all year with no central heating.
Now living in Hokkaido Japan, We don’t need air conditioning in the summer, and the heating is ran on Kerosene, (but with fuel prices as high as they are, it’s expensive also)
Great Post! informative!
34.
DaveRN
October 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I live in Ohio in a house that was built in 1926. Most of the windows are replaced. When I first moved into the house, in the fall of 2000, I set the thermostat at 72 and got a $365 gas bill the following month. I called my uncle and he suggested that since the house had an inefficient furnace that we should try setting the thermostat at whatever temperature we were comfortable at and leave it there and see what the next gas bill was like since we were on the budget. Well, I set the thermostat at 74 degrees and I was VERY surprised to see that the gas bill ACTUALLY DROPPED to $180. The following year we had an 80% efficiency furnace installed and the gas bills came down more. We still keep the heat set between 72 and 74 but our current gas budget is only $100 a month. So I can’t complain.
35.
Grace Lapan
November 1st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
We keep our thermostat set to 56, day and night. This is twelve degrees cooler than what I grew up with, and it’s definitely been an adjustment- but I’ve found that layering and strategic placement of blankets around the house have made it doable. We live in Vermont- and so paying out for heat is inevitable…we’re just trying to pay as little as possible! We also have two dogs that make excellent foot warmers!
36.
Kyle
November 16th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Of course, the best solution is to make like a bird and migrate south for the winter. I still haven’t turned my heat on yet and we’re halfway through November.
37.
Brian
December 11th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Saw this and was curious where mine was set. 68 in the evening (5-11pm), 65 during the day (9am-5pm), and 62 for bed time (11pm-5am). It is cold during the day, but otherwise we are fine.
I can not imagine 75 degrees without shorts!
38.
Anthony
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I try to keep the stat lowish but this winter we’re also burning wood which helps a lot to reduce the oil bill. Fortunately my brother-in-law gave me a truck load in exchange for some drywall work…
39.
Fireplace Design Ideas
January 30th, 2009 at 10:50 am
that’s horrible! i don’t know how you manage that smoke whole night. you have gas fireplace for cheaper price which shall set you free of smoke. good to have that gas fireplace.
40.
Thermostat
February 21st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I too have just installed a programmable thermostat. I really like it and it was not expensive. I spent $30! I didn’t notice the savings immediately, but after a few months, I noticed I was savings a significant amount of money. They really are convenient. I have not tried the ceiling fan tip, but I think that I will especially if it helps to maintain the room temperature for longer. Thanks for all the great tips!
41.
John
May 8th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I found a site that will save on energy bills with very efficient heating and air systems and that also show how you can get a tax credit back from the government. This seems to make since and they show a free downloadable spread sheet showing your energy savings when you have high efficiency heating and air systems. Check it out at http://www.acfool.com/$1500-big-tax-credit
42.
Fireplace Design
June 8th, 2009 at 6:15 am
Accessories like heated mattress pads can help too during the night. I used to leave my thermostat up quite high because I hate being cold at night, but buying a heated mattress pad (which was pretty cheap) means I can save quite a bit on my heating bills.
43.
Debbie
July 1st, 2009 at 10:16 am
Some great ideas. I really like the cuddling concept in the winter time.
44.
Debbie gas fireplace
July 6th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
If you are planning to remodel or constructing a new room, the use of the corner gas fire places would provide use of space that is usually neglected. This may be a wonderful way to introduce the ambiance, look and feel to a room that only a fireplace can.
45.
Jude Dodds
February 10th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
We keep the heat at 62 during the day and 55 at night. We are in North Carolina near the coast. The houses here are not built to keep air in. We did add insulation to our attic of our 1900 farm house but cannot add to the walls because of the construction. We are comfortable even though it has been 27 in the morning of late.
Being from Chicago , it took 3 years to acclimate to the heat. This year has been very cold. If you are spending any time at all outside this winter, better to be in a lower temp inside or your body suffers when you are outside.
46.
Jude
February 10th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
FYI…the down comforter is what we use, one for winter and then half of that is removed for summer. Works well.
Motivation to toughen up is up to everyone. Mine is that I can find many ways to spend $400.00 each month on fun things to do.
47.
Heating Elements
June 19th, 2010 at 11:40 am
I liked the programmable thermostat. I would be nice if it automatically changes the temperature.
48.
Insulation
August 10th, 2010 at 8:06 am
You’re absolutely spot on, things just take getting used to. I try and wait for as long as possible in the season until I get the heating on, this way it makes me be able to set it lower as anything seems a step up from freezing!
49.
Floor Heating Online
August 24th, 2010 at 5:41 am
Wow I love that idea of a ceiling fan going in reverse, that is genius!!!
50.
philippine literature
August 27th, 2010 at 8:36 am
amazing
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