Is is better to turn the heat off in your home while you're at work or leave it running at a lower temp?

Answer 1

it would cost you more if you turn it off because the furnace has to work harder to heat the whole place up again
just lower it 5-10 degrees then turn it up when you get home and turn it down at night when you go to bed
we leave our furnace on 68 and live in a very cold climate the 60 at night then wear a sweater if you are still chilly but we save a lot on our bill that way

Answer 2

If you have a gas heater get a programmable thermostat that you can set to let the temp go down while you're gone and back up before you get home. It's about 60 bucks, but well worth the money because of how much you'll save. You can also set it to be cooler at bedtime and back up by the time you awake, saving even more.
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If you have a heat pump however, you want to set it at a comfortable temperature that's not too cool and LEAVE IT ALONE. Increasing and decreasing the temp setting on a heat pump thermostat costs you more in electricity AND you're not having the temp you'd like to boot. This is not the case in the summer. Your heat pump thermostat can be turned up and down in a/c mode and it doesn't matter, but in the winter leave it on one temp.
Only exception to this heat pump rule is if you'll be gone for like 5 days or more, then it actually is better to lower a few degrees, but when you get back bring the temperature up one degree every 20 minutes to where you want it and then leave it alone again. The one degree per 20 minutes will trick your heatpump themostat to not kick into your electricity.
Sorry there was so much info, but this is all you need to know, right here all in one place!! ;o)

Answer 3

I agree with Dean. If it is not cooling down the house you need to run it more and certainly running it during the day will help and certainly it will use more electricity. But they don't draw all that much running. Take Deans suggestion and leave it on but at a higher temperature. The added cost will be directly proportional to the temp you set it at. Try it for a month and see what it costs. If not much then set it lower during the day after that. Keep the heat out of the house with drapes closed during the day and the like. Good Luck.

Answer 4

I would leave it running at a lower temperature. You don't want the contents of your house to drop to a low temperature while you're away; if that happens, you're going to spend a lot of energy bringing them back up to a temperature where they won't "absorb" all the heat from the air when you turn the heat back on.

Answer 5

I would leave it running at a lower temp but I only do it so my cats wont get cold...If I had no cats I would turn it off as it only takes a few minutes to heat my house and I also live in California so it doesnt get too cold

Answer 6

Turn it down to lower setting. It's better than having to re-heat the whole house.

Answer 7

Backing it off 5 to ten degrees will save you a boatload of money. The new digital thermometers can be programed to drop the temp after you leave, and have it warmed back up for you by the time you get home. Very easy to install, and very affordable at home depot. Just make sure to shut the breaker off at the box before uninstalling, and reinstalling the thermostat.

Answer 8

1. Freeze(a temperature below 0 degrees Celsius). for US temperature, it's 32F. You need to turn bit higher to make sure the room tempter is above freeze point to prevent water pipe freeze. What I do is to check weather online regularly to find out tempature for the day and give 10 degree higher.

2. You can also roll up the curtains to let sun in, so you can have more natural heat come in.

3. Modify/cut the tree out side which block the sunlight in.

4. Make sure there is no heat leak to out side.

5. this is a joke to chear you up :) ( exercise and eat more pepper to save heat, haha)

Answer 9

I lower mine2 to 4 degrees any more and your furnace has to run that much longer to reach the temp. that you feel comfy.10 degrees and your adding wear & tear to your heating bill.

Answer 10

lower temp is better. if you turn off your furnace, it will take a lot longer to reheat your house when you turn it back on. you will use less energy by simply turning it down until you get home.