Should I turn heat off in my apt. every now & then? If yes how frequently?

Question

My husband insists we turn off the heat when nobody is around in the apt. I feel, it takes longer & costs more to turn the heat back on in a slightly cold apartment. Any experiences or documented theory to back-up my idea?

Answer 1

What's the cost of frozen pipes?

Let the heater work, crack the valves a little to keep water flowing.

Winter will be over shortly, be glad that the burner kicks on. that price is still cheaper than the alternative.

Answer 2

Heat - turn down when you're not there.
A/C - turn up when you're not there.

You don't want your pipes to freeze if you turn the heat off. Been there, done that, got a t-shirt, don't want to go back.

The cost of running a heater is linear, the cost of running an A/C is exponential. In other words, for every degree of temperature change, heat will cost the same per degree regardless of how much warmer than the temperature outside you want it.

With A/C, the colder you want the temperature indoors, the more it's going to cost you for each successive degree to get there.

So, you have to be smart. If you're going to be gone during the hottest part of the day, set it just a few degrees cooler than what the temperature will be that day. Then when you get home, set it cooler to your comfort level so it doesn't have to come all the way down from where Little Nicky feels at home.

Best case scenario is solar tiles on your roof.
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Answer 3

You aren't saving much money if you turn the heat off for short periods of time- it is probably costing you more. Look into getting a programmable thermostat. You can then set it to stay around 50-60 degrees while you are at work and start warming the house back up and hour before you get home.

Answer 4

what makes sense for you probably depends a lot on how energy efficient your heater/windows/insulation are and how long it takes for the apartment to heat up, if you turn it down while you are out.

i'd recommend tracking down the meter for your power source. one day you can turn the heat down, and the next you can leave the heat on. if you record the meter's readings before you go out in the morning and when you get back (once the apartment's heated of course), then you'll get a good sense of how much energy you are saving.

one other consideration is that it is common in parts of the country where the weather falls below freezing for pipes to burst in homes that arent heated during the day.

Answer 5

Yes it takes longer for the surroundings to warm back up, furniture and such. Believe it or not, they hold a lot of heat and once they are cold it takes a long time to warm back up. Just turn it down some when your not at home.

Answer 6

Your landlord is low priced! i might guess that your smoke alarm is properly a thermostat that gadgets off an alarm in the journey that your apartment is purely too heat. Your landloard probable has it under pressure out to the heating equipment administration. does not Toronto have any codes that require a existence like convenience point for tenants? there is not any way obtainable that your warm tub or oven can spark off a smoke alarm. It takes slightly smoke to spark off the alarm.

Answer 7

I've been told that it takes more energy to turn it back on since its working harder to reach the set tempurature. Instead of turning it off, just adjust it a few temperatures down. You can do a test by doing it his way for month and yours for a month and compare the cost.

Answer 8

if your going to be gone for awhile it is less costly to turn it down to about 55 or 60 then when you get back it will not take as long to warm up, also it cost more to turn it back on every time you turn it off

Answer 9

i dont think turnin it off and on works. it would take more heat just 2 heat the apt back up then. i suggest turnin it down when ur gone or overnite. i usually turn mine down to 60 dependin on how cold it is outside...

Answer 10

No leave it a constant temp. If you turn it off and on again you are actually spending more money. I did that last year and my bill was double than what it is now.