Does keeping your thermostat low really save you money?

Question

I mean, realistically- if you set your thermostat for 66 degrees and its 25 outside- at 64 the heat will turn on. If its set for 70 degrees (still 25 outside) and the heat turns on at 68- its only heating the house 2 degrees either way. Would the rate of heat loss be different because of a higher temperature?

Answer 1

the heater may stay on longer to bring up to room temperature but a higher temperature set is more b/c it is now trying to maintain that temperature all day long with heat loss out of the house all day long ; my bill is lower when I lower the thermostat; my check is less going to utility company so yes it pays to keep your thermostat low

Answer 2

Absolutely: it saves you money.
A number of answers here got it right. The greater the difference in temperature, the faster it loses heat. If there was no difference in temperature, there would be no lose at all...as the temp goes up, the rate (the speed) of loss is greater and greater. Go to the other extreme...imagine how hard it would be to keep the house at 100F?

The rate is enough so that you save about 2% for each degree of setback, although the most savings are "at the top" because the loss is not the same as the temperature difference becomes less. In other words, if you cut it back from 70 to 68, you save more than the step from 68 to 66, and so on. By the time you get to zero temp difference inside to outside, the savings are 0%.

Again, assuming you save 2% going from 70F to 68F, it would cost MORE than 2% to raise it from 70F to 72F.

Answer 3

The rate of heat loss has more to do with your insulation in your home and the size of your home rather than your actual thermostat setting. Keeping your home even 3 degrees cooler (or warmer, depending on the season) can have drastic yearly impacts on your electricity bill (and gas bill if you have a gas operated system). A home of 1500 square feet can expect to have $350 cheaper per year bills based on 3 degrees of difference on their thermostat.

If you are feeling a bit cold, but still want to watch your money, just wear a few more clothes (or less clothes if in the summer).

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

realistically it depends on the house, some lose heat quicker than others do. The thermostats will only kick on if the house temperature falls below what it is set at. You should only set back 2-3 ° at the most. If you drop the temp more than that in your house, it takes longer to get up to your comfort temp, therefore wasting fuel

Answer 5

Even that small of a difference will save you money. Ultimately, it boils down to temperature differences, the difference between the temperature outside and in your house. The greater this difference, the more energy you will have to spend in order to achieve the desired results.

As for your heat loss, that involves the level of insulation of your house. Granted the higher the temperature is in your house, the more energy you have to loose to the outside, but the insulation sees to it that a certain amount of time is involved before all heat is lost to the outside.

Answer 6

Actually by your example you are indicating a 4 degree change. And even though you will feel a noticeable difference you will not save any significant amount of money.

Keeping it at 80 degrees vs. 70 is a big difference in your costs but 68 to 64 will not show any amount of savings.

Answer 7

It can. However, many people compensate for the cold not just by extra clothes, but by other elements that often make up the savings or increase the bill. Such as space heaters, multiple electric blankets, leaving oven turned on, etc.

Another idea is to close off portions of your house not in use if in larger home. Even though it feels cold, we can often tolerate more than we realize after a couple of days to adjust.

Answer 8

It's simple physics, to get a gram of water to increase 4 degrees takes more energy than to raise it 1 degree. And the greater the differential to the outside temp, the faster the house will lose energy.

Answer 9

It's a 4 degree difference in the settings though! It saves money by starting up less and staying on a shorter length of time.

Answer 10

I live in Florida and I know our power company sent around a newsletter saying to set the air on 78 and leave it anything below was 50.00 and in the winter when we do get cold spells I do cut the heat on a few minutes to knock the chill out of the air.Hope that helps:)