How Much Could We Save

[ChetMC]

DH and I like the house warm, but other posts have got me wondering how much we could save by turning down the heat. We usually have the thermostat set around 23 C. I think that's about 75 F. Our highest gas bill so far was $180 for January.

The house is pretty big, close to 2000 square feet. It could definitely use some weather stripping and insulation on the ducts, but we're renting.

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

Last year we were trying desperately to pay off our credit card and we kept our thermostat set at 62 during the day and 58 at night.

I FROZE all winter. :

We pay a fixed amount each month for heat, and at the end of the winter our utility company lowered our bill from $149 a month to $107...

So $42 less a month X 12 = $502

We saved $502 for a year...which sounds like pretty decent savings until you break it down into weekly amounts...then it is only $9.60 a week.

I was in pain an entire season to save $9.60 each week.

This winter I've cranked that thermostat back into the comfortable range.

It is not worth it to our family.

[2cutiekitties]

Great minds think alike! I had also been wondering. But then I said screw it. We all like it warm and I guess it is worth it to me to pay to be comfortable. We are major homebodies, and I love heat and my tv If I had to eat Ramen all year to make it happen then I would.

It has also helped my house hunt. I have no desire to pay for tanks of oil, and freeze my heiney off, so I am seriously thinking of AZ!!!

[Carlin]

We keep ours at 18C (about 64F) while we're home and down to 15C (about 59F) when away, and at night. It really isn't that bad. I'm not sure how much we save as we've always done this, but I figure between the money and the reduced environmental impact, it's worth it to occasionally put on a sweater. I figure the savings are roughly somewhere around $500 a year, which, while not a huge amount, would pay for about 3 days of skiing every winter.

[Drummer's Wife]

oh, man. Doesn't sound worth it to me.

but then I hate being cold :

But thanks for asking, I've been wondering as well.

[Theoretica]

Originally Posted by 2cutiekitties

Great minds think alike! I had also been wondering. But then I said screw it. We all like it warm and I guess it is worth it to me to pay to be comfortable. We are major homebodies, and I love heat and my tv If I had to eat Ramen all year to make it happen then I would.

It has also helped my house hunt. I have no desire to pay for tanks of oil, and freeze my heiney off, so I am seriously thinking of AZ!!!

Well, your heat bill would vanish, but what about your AC bill?? Hmmmm....LOLOLOL!

Now, for a temparate climate that stays about 70-75 degrees year round. Any ideas?

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by 2cutiekitties

Great minds think alike! I had also been wondering. But then I said screw it. We all like it warm and I guess it is worth it to me to pay to be comfortable. We are major homebodies, and I love heat and my tv If I had to eat Ramen all year to make it happen then I would.

It has also helped my house hunt. I have no desire to pay for tanks of oil, and freeze my heiney off, so I am seriously thinking of AZ!!!

If you don't like high utility bills, I would not move to AZ. A $400-500 electric bill is considered "normal" in the summer. And summer lasts from about May to October in Phoenix.

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

Now, for a temparate climate that stays about 70-75 degrees year round. Any ideas?

San Diego, CA

[dsaucone]

I think the amount you save might also depend on the type of heat you have? For a traditional furnace you may save less than those who have electric heat. A friend of mine had electric for heat and $350-400 every month during winter. We have water baseboard heat and from what I'm told it's pretty efficient. We usually are somewhere between 70-75 on the thermostat (but I'm not sure that it's correct. The computer is right underneath it and puts off a LOT of heat).

I'm not sure it'd pay to freeze over here. We had our highest heat bill, go figure January in NY, and it was $133, up until now we'd had $40-50 bills. During the summer I'm considering having the gas just turned off so I don't have to pay basic service charges.

[Katie Bugs Mama]

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

Last year we were trying desperately to pay off our credit card and we kept our thermostat set at 62 during the day and 58 at night.

I FROZE all winter. :

We pay a fixed amount each month for heat, and at the end of the winter our utility company lowered our bill from $149 a month to $107...

So $42 less a month X 12 = $502

We saved $502 for a year...which sounds like pretty decent savings until you break it down into weekly amounts...then it is only $9.60 a week.

I was in pain an entire season to save $9.60 each week.

This winter I've cranked that thermostat back into the comfortable range.

It is not worth it to our family.

I see your point, but I think that I would be inclined to calculate the savings a bit differently. Say that you use the heat 6 months/year and are uncomfortable for those months if you turn the heat down. That boils down to saving $21/week or $84/month for the time that you are actually uncomfortable.

Personally, that would be enough to motivate me to put on an extra layer of clothes during the day. However, the cold doesn't bother me much. If it bothered me as much as it does you, then I might think that $84/month would be a small price to pay for comfort.

[riaketty]

In our house, the rule is long sleeves, socks and shoes, and a hoodie/sweater. The kids have to have either a fleece sleeper on or a onesie with a blanket sack. If anyone is still cold after that point, we crank the heat back up. We were wood heating for a while but after it snowed, the fallen-down barn we were getting wood from got buried so we're waiting until it thaws to start stocking up for next year.

We can be comfortable around 68-70F during the day and sometimes as low as 60F at night.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by ChetMC

We usually have the thermostat set around 23 C.

We have ours set at 21C in the mornings and evenings (when we're home) and it goes down to 16.5C during the workday and at night. I actually find I sleep better when it's cooler because it makes me want to snuggle up under the covers. Your mileage may vary though, depending on how much you get up at night time. We set ours to warm up later on weekends too since we tend to sleep in a bit. Also, I find the room warming up is good for kicking me out of bed.

Do you have a programmable thermostat? If not, I would definitely recommend getting one. They are not expensive and are easy to install. One of the good things is that you can program it as we do. The other thing is that you can gradually turn down the temperature as you adjust - ours goes in 0.5 degree increments. You probably can't feel the difference between 23 and 22.5 so it's easier than just changing the temperature by 3 degrees or whatever all of a sudden.

[ChetMC]

We Have One

Originally Posted by Ola_

We have ours set at 21C in the mornings and evenings (when we're home) and it goes down to 16.5C during the workday and at night. I actually find I sleep better when it's cooler because it makes me want to snuggle up under the covers. Your mileage may vary though, depending on how much you get up at night time. We set ours to warm up later on weekends too since we tend to sleep in a bit. Also, I find the room warming up is good for kicking me out of bed.

Do you have a programmable thermostat? If not, I would definitely recommend getting one. They are not expensive and are easy to install. One of the good things is that you can program it as we do. The other thing is that you can gradually turn down the temperature as you adjust - ours goes in 0.5 degree increments. You probably can't feel the difference between 23 and 22.5 so it's easier than just changing the temperature by 3 degrees or whatever all of a sudden.

We have a programmable thermostat. We haven't used it much though. We kept overriding the program. Partly because our schedule is kind of erratic, and partly because the thermostat is in a stupid place and the sensor isn't reliable for when the rest of the house needs or doesn't need heat.

I'm home with the kids all day too. Plus, DH and I go to bed at pretty variable times. It would be nothing for me to fall asleep with the baby at 9pm, DH to stay up until 1am, and then for me to get up at 5am.

If it was going to save us a huge amount of money I'd be inclined to work on using less heat... but even if means $20 a week in the winter I think we'll indulge. We all have socks and long sleeves. We just like it warm.

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

Well, your heat bill would vanish, but what about your AC bill?? Hmmmm....LOLOLOL!

Now, for a temparate climate that stays about 70-75 degrees year round. Any ideas?

I live in San Diego and it is pretty mild year-round. We live a few miles inland and do not have A/C. We live in an area where the ocean breezes still cool the air, but we are far enough away from the "beach scene" (which includes HIGH housing costs).

When I first moved to SD, I lived in a tiny house in North Park and it had no working heat source and no A/C. I lived there July - February and was comfortable. Fast-forward a few years... I lived at the beach for 3-4 years in a small house with no working heat source and no A/C. Only the winter of the El Nino was uncomfortable and that was due to the never-ending dampness more than lack of temperature control (although heat would have dispelled some of the dampness).

In any case, we have been to the beach 2-3 times (?) this "winter" thus far and played in the water every time. The last few days have been chilly and our heat came on several times (set @ 68 in morning, 65 daytime, and 55 sleeping). Today and tomorrow are expected to get into the low 80s and it was in the 70s yesterday afternoon.

I absolutely living in San Diego! The climate encourages outdoor activities year-round and that is fabulous!!!! We can be at the beach in 15 minutes and we can be in the mountains in an hour. You can literally ski and surf in the same day. :
Caveat: Skiing is more than an hour away and a wetsuit is prudent for surfing in the winter.

[lisalulu]

Do you have PSE? For comparison, I can tell you that our last bill was $137. We heat 1100 sqft at 68 during the day and 55 at night. I'm home most of the day-usually only 1 or 2 hours a day where I turn it down when I leave. Our house is from the 40's but we do have newer windows. And our furnace is old-like mid 70's.

[snanna]

We've had out thermostat set at various temperatures-- usually between 64 and 68 when home and 50-60 at night and when out-- but what really made a big difference to our electric bill this winter?

Sealing (a few of) the single-pane windows and fireplace with plastic for the winter.

Adding door sweeps and weatherstripping to external doors.

A curtain to keep heat downstairs from filling the stairwell to the upstairs.

Backer rod added at the base of (just a couple) external walls.

All of these things are cheap and easy and doable in a rental (except the backer rod-- we were messing with the baseboards for other reasons). All the energy efficiency home repair books say it over and over: the best way to save energy in a house is to seal it up. I have a dream of double-pane windows someday, but for now, this really made a big difference in our drafty old house.