Monday's Question of the Day - October 19, 2015

What temperature does it need to be before you to turn on the heat for your home?  (Inside and/or outside temperature.)  What temperature do you keep your house at in the cooler months?

We turn the heat on when the thermostat reads below 70.  We used to keep our house at 68; but once the kids arrived we kept it a few degrees higher.  Mostly because we sleep with our bedroom doors shut; so their rooms get cooler than the thermostat reads in the hallway.  DD has a great warm comforter; so she is always comfy cozy.  But DS is just now sleeping with a big blanket so I'll have to see how he does!  Sometimes I like to heat the house  tad warmer for the first cold week of fall/winter. Then drop it down a few degrees. it makes the change a little easier to deal with!  Right now I'm   and can't wait to go get under some warm blankets!  Mooch and Noodles have been extra cuddly since the weather cooled off here.  I don't mind that part!  Mooch wanted to be held this morning (unusual) and kept nuzzling my head from up on my shoulder.  I don't mind that!  It was super sweet!   I picked a bunch of tomatoes this afternoon since we are expecting a freeze tonight.   

I just moved into my apartment a little over a year ago and this is my second winter here. I just checked the temperature outside and... OMG! it's 6:40 A.M. and it says it is 31 degrees! No way! How and when did that happen? LOL  I just got out of the shower a few minutes ago and I am sitting here in my pajama shorts, a tee-shirt and bare feet, and I am perfectly comfortable - the heat is not on here. My thermostat is reading 68 degrees inside. It is supposed to get up to 67 outside this afternoon, so I will have my windows open.

I am on the third floor and have an apartment to my left and right and, of course, one below me, but nothing above me but the roof. There used to be an elderly lady who lived just beneath me and, with the thought that hot air rises, I thought she must have her heat cranked all the time because I rarely turned my heat on all last winter; but she has moved out and the downstairs apartment is empty and I am sure the heat is not turned on down there. This building must be pretty well insulated!

The few times I did turn my heat on last winter (usually, if it got down below freezing for a few days) I would turn it on between 65 and 68 degrees. I like it cool at night when I am sleeping. 

I hold off longer than most. Because of my allergies I have to open all the windows and turn the heat up really high to burn off the dust, etc that built up over the summer and get that awful smell out. I usually do it before leaving the house. I did it on the first floor Saturday morning and it was just in time. This morning is our second "hard freeze" of the year and it is 25 degrees F out there right now.

We came "this close" over the weekend. Last night, TWC said we were down to 30 F; our outside thermometer said 27 F. It was right around 60 inside the house this morning. We're trying to go to November 1 before we turn the heat on; I don't know that we'll make it. Thankfully, we are to get back above normal temps (mid-60s to 70s) by midweek.

It helps that we have an electric blanket on the bed and both sides stayed on High throughout the night last night. And all six cats were back in bed with us all night, too, so their heat helped keep us warm. The cats love the warmth from the blanket and when it's on, I swear they tell each other. Boo usually walks around the house, being cantankerous and meowing pitifully. I go back, turn the blanket on, flop him on the bed. His whole meow changes....it's like he's saying, "Hey! Blanket's on, guys! Get back here!"And the rest of them go plodding back. I swear they know.

I pretty much lived in a heavy long-sleeved tee with sweat pants and a heavy sweatshirt over the weekend. It was chilly during the day. I was in the kitchen working on applesauce Sunday afternoon and it started to....snow. Just a wee bit of a snow shower is all....but that was more than enough! Our pool cover was white, then it melted. Depressing.

As for the garden, it's done. I took the remaining peppers and butternuts the other day. The lawn was white this morning and so was my car. I had to start the car to warm it up a bit. Hannah has a remote starter and seat warmers, so life was good. I just walk over to the kitchen table, aim the starter, press the button and she starts.   

Before we do turn the heat on, I'll go around the house and vacuum out all the registers. I usually find a couple of Tabby's meeces in a register or two, esp in the bedroom.

We had an overnight frost in my area.  Once it's below 40 degrees F and the house doesn't seem to be holding its temperature, I'll flip the heater on.  It was definitely in use last night, lol.

For me, it's more like "how cool does it have to get before you turn off the air conditioning?" It's on 24/7 a good 10 months out of the year. It's just too hot in the house for the kids for me to shut it off during the day. I rarely use the heat more than a handful of days a year. Those days are in the 6 weeks or so in January-February that we actually need it and it's usually just at night. It warms back up enough during the day that I can shut it off but not worry about it getting too hot for the kids. 

We seem to turn the heater on when the temperature gets below 10°C or 50°F. The exception is in July or August, when the temperature can easily drop below that, but being from Texas I can't turn the heater on during those two months as a matter of principle.   

Heat has been on and off for a few weeks now.  We have a very old home, and while we've replaced all the windows and most doors; we still have 2 doors which really need to be replaced.  Both leak a substantial amount of air into the house but each are odd sized (old homes!) and will cost a fortune to replace since it isn't only the door we have to deal with - it's the entire framing around it and, potentially some masonry work also.

Once the outside temperatures hits in the low 60's the house really starts feeling the chill.  It's been there a few times already.  Today we woke up to 35 degrees. Good thing we did turn it on overnight!

I've had mine on for about a month aside from the odd warm day. It's set to 70 so it only turns on when it gets below that. I had to turn it on because my house was going down to about 65 overnight and it was cold in the morning. My daughter was saying she was cold. I hate to turn it on early but I'd rather pay a bill than have cold kids.

Last year at my new co-op, I have not once turned on the heat. I doubt I'd do the same this year, unless they fix the boiler room issue.. I am right above it and the heat comes up through the floors. If I walk bare-foot, I can feel the floors heated.

I've asked them if they can insulate the boiler room and the rest of the basement so it won't get so warm in my place.

Last night, it was in its 30's outside. I had my windows cracked open.. my living room registered 70 degrees. Bedroom was colder since I had the window wider open. I prefer it cold when I sleep.. mainly because the kitties snuggle with me and they warm me!

I try to wait until November but last night it got down to 24 degrees so we put it on. We rent a large old house that always gets cold. In the winter I keep it at 65 degrees , any higher and we would go broke from the cost of oil.

Draco said:

 
Last year at my new co-op, I have not once turned on the heat. I doubt I'd do the same this year, unless they fix the boiler room issue.. I am right above it and the heat comes up through the floors. If I walk bare-foot, I can feel the floors heated.

I've asked them if they can insulate the boiler room and the rest of the basement so it won't get so warm in my place.

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My mother and I lived in an apartment that was next to the boiler room when i was a young kid.  It definitely added some heat to our house!  It also let crickets in.  My very first cat, Tinsel, loved that. 

I had to break down and put the heat on, but occasionally a couple of weeks ago. I live in a very poorly insulated apartment building with drafty windows. It is a nice apartment. You do not realize the issues, until you move in. 

Last week, for example: I only used the heat late in the afternoon and at night. I get the morning sun, which can increase the apartment temp by 4 degrees! When the sun moves, then it starts to get chilly. I put it up to 70 when I was chilly. At night I put it on 68. 

This weekend, because we had such a cold spell, 31 degrees last night; I set it at 68 degrees. I had to put it up to 70 when I got up. That was just to get the chill out. Back down to 68 degrees now, and the windows are open about 2 inches. I need to circulate the air. I have a hard time dealing with it being so closed in. I always circulate the air. Even in the middle of Winter! I love smelling the air. 

I absolutely love it when the sound shines in! so much warmer. I am a really cold person, but I do get some hot flashes. I can breathe better when it is cooler, but with the arthritis and Raynauds, it causes me to crave warmth...sometimes, I just have to turn the thermostat up. I would love to wait until November, but as I get older, and get more arthritis, that seems more and more impossible....sigh..

Once the heat is turned on officially, in the main areas of the building, It is much warmer in here. I do have apartments below about and adjacent to my bedroom,. The other bedroom is next to an unheated staircase. That room is cold. One of the closets is my: Cold Closet, during the winter. If I have anything as in Christmas gifts, i.e. chocolates, candles, etc; I store them in there. It is very cold. 

Well I'm going to switch the air conditioning off in a minute. We're still having summer weather. However my apartment doesn't 'heat' . The accommodation heats and cools the sitting room and my bedroom. I'll wrap myself up warmly and if I'm watching TV I've got warm fleeces. When it gets unbearable I'll put it on. However no matter how cold it gets I sleep in my summer nighties.
I'm going to the UK Friday. There it'll be freezing no doubt.

I don't go by the temperature outside. When my thermostat consistently reads under 70 F then I turn the heat on. That doesn't usually happen until November or so. The frist winter after I moved in I didn't need to turn the heat on until mid-December It was a mild winter that year. My place is pretty well insulated plus my unit faces southeast so I get tons of sun, not that the sun is all that warm in the winter. I have a programmable thermostat and it's set to 65 F at night and when I'm not home and 70 F when I am at home.

i, too, am enjoying my snick and jaspurr snuggling with me more now that it's getting colder.

i heat solely with the wood stove, until it gets warm enough in the spring that i let the furnace run during the overnights. we've been using the wood stove on and off for a good 2 weeks now. i still haven't needed to keep it running through the overnight, though a few mornings i got the wood stove going very early -- to take the chill off the house.

if it's under 60 degrees outside this time of year, there's a good chance i'll go ahead and light the wood stove. my ideal temperature range for my house is 78 to 82 degrees.