Is it best to turn the heat back in winter at night and when out of the house?

Question

I was always taught to turn the heat back at night and when you would be out of the house at entended periods of time. My husband was always taught to leave the thermostat at the same temperature-- because it costs more to heat the house at a high temperature (like from 65 degrees F to 72 degrees F when away or at night)--as opposed to leaving it at 72 degrees F all the time. Which is more effencient? btw, if it matters I have natural gas - hot water radiators.

Answer 1

I was always taught to turn the heat down when going to work and sleeping. You don't turn it all the way down of course. I mean if it is 30 degrees outside and you leave for 10 hrs and turn it down all the way then ya the furnace will be running for a long time to warm it back up. My rule of thumb is to turn the thermostat up to 60 October 1st and back off June 1st and when I find the house cold I turn it up to 68 but never above that. This way your house never has to be warmed more than 8 degrees. And for the most part your house wont drop 8 degrees in 8 hrs unless you are in a very cold area. I live in CT and find that my house which is very poorly insulated drops about a degree an hour. Hope it helps.

Answer 2

Hi, Dean. Interesting question. I think it has a lot to do with wind, other things being equal (like decent insulation and door/window fit). Wind strips heat out of a structure faster than still air, "convection" loss if I recall. Currently, it's approaching 0 C here at midday and snowing a little, with about -11 C expected tonight, and the wind is considerable. Just overnight, if I turned off the heat, I'm guessing the inside temp would drop to around 8 to 10 C. But with no wind, about 10 degrees warmer. In this weather, it would take another full day without heat to reach outside/ambient temp.

Answer 3

want the truth? do an experiment and discover for your self. one week read the gas meter start to finish for the week and do it his way. then same time period do it your way. you will win. but note if you lower temperture too low it take the furniture and stuff time to warm back up to the higher setting and then you will lose in the long run too. a 3-5 dregree range is best. also take into account washing and showers and other things that use the gas. also make sure the outside temp is roughy the same for both weeks of the test time

Answer 4

Keeping the heat/air at a certain temp is a good way to save money. Why heat or cool an empty house? Turning it off when u are gone is a good way to save too so combine both.

Answer 5

my heating bills have been lower since I got a programmable thermostat; I have it set to lower temps when I leave and when I sleep; it is set to get warmer about 30 minutes before I usually get home from work;

Answer 6

Do you want to save about 5% - 10% on your heating bill? If you do then this is a great way to do it.

Answer 7

i would you are correct..cause just say u work for 8 hours..commute is an our total..so thats 9...and if u do turn it back while sleeping thats another 8 hours possible...plus u wouldnt have it on when u wake up while ur getting ready for work...so all in all ud only have it on just say from 5 til u went to bed..so i think that would be way cheaper than constantly having it on 24/7

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Use heat during the winter and A/C during the summer. You will be much more comfortable with this method.

Answer 10

Yeap your hubby's right. Pick a nice comfortable tempature, say about 69-70, and leave it there.