How cold does it have to be inside your house before you turn the heat on??

[eliza61]

When dh and I were first married, we were poor. We kept the house at 58 degrees. I am naturally cold anyway and it was horrible for me. I walked around inside with a hat, coat and gloves on and when I was sitting down, I had a quilt on my lap. That was no way to live. Channeling Scarlett O'Hara, I vowed then, "As god is my witness, I'll never be this cold inside my own house again."

And I'm not. The heat goes on when the temp in my house gets below 68 degrees. If I had to get an extra job to keep the heat where I need it, I would.

In the summer, we keep the A/C set at 78 or so.

Lol, 58 is way too cold for me. I'm like you in that I'm always cold, so no way am I going to be cold in my house. We usually keep the heat at 68 at night and during the day we keep it at 72, 73.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks for the replies. I used to work with a woman who kept her heat set at 58 degrees all winter. THAT's cold. Plus, she had small children who were sick fairly often.


Anyway, after posting this thread I went outside to speak with the worker from National Grid who was fixing damage to our cables from last week's storm, and when I came back inside I couldn't get warm so I turned the heat on. I have it set to 65 right now and it actually feels toasty. LOL

DH and I sleep much better when the temp is cold and we snuggle under the comforter, so I will probably lower the thermostat a bit before bed time and then turn it back up for showers in the morning.

 

[Sorsha]

Lol, 58 is way too cold for me. I'm like you in that I'm always cold, so no way am I going to be cold in my house. We usually keep the heat at 68 at night and during the day we keep it at 72, 73.

Yup my DH is the same way. He is cold all the time, and says "I'll be danged if I am going to work 40-50 hours a week, only to freeze my butt off in my own house!" he usually wants the temps at about 73° during the day (if we are home), and about 68-70° at night.

We just had a super-efficient new heat pump/ac unit installed, so we'll see what the bills look like this winter.

 

[mommasita]

I never check the numbers.

Last night was the first time we put ours on, and saw some snow today

 

[KristaTX]

We wait a long time to turn on the heat for the first time. The inside temp probably has to get down to 62 before we even think about turning the heat on for the first time of the season.

But we'll turn on the air conditioning for the first time as soon as it hits about 72 inside (maybe lower if it's stuffy). We hate for it to be hot and stuffy .

We have a programmable thermostat. As far as what we leave it on after that initial seasonal change:

Heat - 62 at night and if we're out for the day; 68-ish if we're home and not sleeping. We like it to be cold and be under lots of covers when we sleep.

AC - 70-72 at night (depending on the humidity and stuffiness), 75-ish if we're hanging out at home during the day/evening, and 79 if we're not home during the day.

 

[NikitaZee]

68, then the heat goes on. We keep it around 70 or so. My in-laws live in PA and keep it around 62 all the time - I won't spend the night there because they won't turn it up and I won't sleep there with it that cold (esp with little kids). We dress in sweaters/layers while we visit and stay in a hotel at night.

 

[BearcatsFan]

68, then the heat goes on. We keep it around 70 or so. My in-laws live in PA and keep it around 62 all the time - I won't spend the night there because they won't turn it up and I won't sleep there with it that cold (esp with little kids). We dress in sweaters/layers while we visit and stay in a hotel at night.

We have the opposite problem at my MIL's house. She's elderly and keeps the heat cranked to 80+ in the winter. You walk in there and it takes your breath away it's so hot. Whenever we go over, we wear t-shirts under our sweaters so we can take off layers as we start to sweat.

 

[LisaR]

73

I'm in central Florida so the heat doesn't have to come on often thank goodness. I detest cold!

When we lived up north, we kept our heat around 65. Now we live in FL and we keep it around 72! Maybe our blood really has thinned. We feel like such wimps now.

 

[DMickey28]

I am working on keeping our furnace temp lower this year. We have a very old furnace and no funds to replace it. The upstairs I keep it turned off. Each of the kids rooms have electric wall heaters set at 65 at night. The bathroom has a space heater we turn on for showers. Dh and I like it cold when we sleep and only just started turning off the fan at night at its gotten to 30 at night outside.

The main portion downstairs I put at 65 but our LCD tv really heats up the living room. The kids playroom the heat is turned off but we have a space heater that we put on when we go in there. It's a complicated system lol but I am refusing to pay $600 every 4-5 weeks for oil this winter....I can't afford it. I can afford a $100-200 higher electric bill easier.

 

[emer95]

I think I would truly die in most of your houses!

We keep ours at 69 and that is a BATTLE! I would like it closer to 75, and my husband would prefer 65. We split the difference... sort of. :roll eyes:
Even at 69, my two girls and I are always freezing. Right now I have on a thick sweatshirt and sweatpants, a big fuzzy blanket, slippers, and a hot microwaved corn bag in my lap. I'm still a little chilly. My hands are cold.

But I am pretty much always cold. It can never get hot enough for me, even at Disney in August.

 

[Fly4free]

We didn't turn the heat on here until just before Sandy hit. It got cold real fast. I didn't turn the heat on until the thermostat hit 63 one morning. I usually keep it at 63 or 64 in the pm. 62 if no one is home and 66 when we are here. I usually warm up the house by baking or roasting too.

Can't wait for spring! (and summer)

 

[diznygirl]

I think I would truly die in most of your houses!

We keep ours at 69 and that is a BATTLE! I would like it closer to 75, and my husband would prefer 65. We split the difference... sort of. :roll eyes:
Even at 69, my two girls and I are always freezing. Right now I have on a thick sweatshirt and sweatpants, a big fuzzy blanket, slippers, and a hot microwaved corn bag in my lap. I'm still a little chilly. My hands are cold.

But I am pretty much always cold. It can never get hot enough for me, even at Disney in August.

This is me - I can never get warm enough sometimes. This morning I was warming my hands over the stove!

Luckily my husband was born and raised in Los Angeles - he agrees that anything below 70 is cold.

 

[tarheel618]

We live in Florida now and we try not to turn on the heat in the winter months. Most of the time, it is cold in our house in the mornings but has warmed throughout the day from the sun. If we reach the 60 degree mark for several days in a row then we may use it.

Our biggest electric bills occur during the summer months because of the AC.

When we lived in the north, 68-70 was our all around temperature.

 

[Robbi]

It has to be really cold in order for me to turn on the heat. I prefer lots of blankets and a sweater or two and comfy socks.

 

[Mom_Rides]

Our house is set to 68 most of the time except when we're sleeping and then it's set at 64-65. I occasionally bump it to 70 to take the chill out. DH and DD are never cold so I just put socks, slippers and sweatshirts on to stay warm. And cuddle with a dog, their like heat boxes!

 

[SLCborn]

During the day my house is always 75. At night in the winter it goes down to 70 and in the summer it stays about 73. I have natural gas for heating so I run my gas fireplace and furnace. I hate paying for the electricity in the summer for central air but I refuse to work as hard as I work and not have it comfortable to be here.

 

[pakaramom]

We keep ours at 62 during the day. If we feel cold, we turn it up to 65 and that will warm the house.

Night it's at 56, we all have down comforters and flannel sheets and are cozy all winter!

 

[turkeymama]

I try not to let our thermostat go above 68 in the winter. I can't stand being stuffy and that seems to be the threshold temp for my sinuses. Plus, turning on the heat really dries me out. DH would prefer it higher, as would the kids. I will turn it down lower at night so I can sleep. They can pile on extra blankets and long pajamas.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Right now it's 52°F and I haven't got the heating on. I 'll put it on in a few hours when it gets dark and drops to 45°F and then turn it off around midnight

For it to stay on all day it has to be below 45°F

 

[HelenePA]

Right now it's 52°F and I haven't got the heating on. I 'll put it on in a few hours when it gets dark and drops to 45°F and then turn it off around midnight

For it to stay on all day it has to be below 45°F

holy cow!! I'm cold just thinking about it being 45* in my house... I refuse to be hot or cold my house is 70* year round. Right now we have oil heat and its killing us, I'm looking at getting a heat pump/cooling system like my friend has. I'm thinking we'd re-coop our money in about 2 years.