Question Of The Day, Sunday, September 3, 2017

[micknsnicks2mom]

good morning!

it's been quite chilly here during the night lately! i've used the wood burning stove 3 times so far, during the overnight (and only for a few hours each time) to take the chill off the house.

for today's Question, let's talk about heating......



When do you usually turn on the heat in your home for the first time of the fall (or cool season, depending on where you live)?



i'll start!

it's usually sometime in October for me. i'm able to keep the house comfortable enough using the wood stove, and have the house retain enough heat to carry through the overnight, until usually towards late October.

running the furnace in early September just seems......wrong to me. part of that has to do with the heating bill, as i see absolutely no reason to generate a heating bill early.


okay, now it's your turn!

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
Summer was on a Thursday this year here in western New York. We had nights in the 40s (around eight degrees on that funny thermometer, or about 280 Kelvin) at the end of August, and the pool heater's been on just about ever since that stupid eclipse ruined the sun. The forecast suggests that it's only a matter of time before we have that hard water problem again (it's far less a problem in a glass of Scotch, but the silly twits on the New York State Legislature have never even considered draining Lake Ontario and replacing the water with Scotch), and besides that, my Snowshoe would just set the thermostat herself, so... well...

*sigh*

Yeah, yeah... August.

If any of you people out in Arizona answer this question, I'll just scream.
.

 

[Winchester]

I thought about turning it on yesterday! And then I thought about putting the electric blanket on the bed! I did neither. Yesterday was chilly and last night we had the windows closed. I just looked at TWC at our local ten-day forecast; after Monday, our lows will hang right around the 50s and some nights we'll be in the 40s. I may be putting the flannels on the bed next weekend.

As a rule, we don't turn the house heat on until we close the pool. In the spring, we don't open the pool until we've turned the house heat off. We have electric heat and I guess we feel that turning the heat off balances using the pool pump and vice versa. We'll be closing the pool, probably next weekend, depending on how things go.

I'd say usually sometime around the beginning of October, the house heat comes on. Rick goes around the house, taking the registers apart (fur, pet toys) and I'll give them a good cleaning. Then he'll put them back together and we'll turn the thermostats on. The electric blanket will go on the bed sooner than October, though, I'm sure.

 

[neely]

I'm stubborn when it comes to turning on the heat, i.e. I try to hold out as long as possible even if it means several layers of clothing. But usually by late October or early November I have to give in and turn the heat on.

 

[verna davies]

I'm with neely. I resist as long as I can. If I get chilly, I grab a cat. The part of Wales I live is more rain than frost, very little snow but I usually have the heating on about November. I'm just an old skinflint

 

[bodester413]

I usually hold off until later September, but it felt so cold here yesterday morning I kicked it in for a bit to get the chill out of the air....Now today it's supposed to get into the 80s again so hopefully can leave off again for awhile.....

 

[pushylady]

We hold out as long as we can, usually October. This year will probably be the end of September though. It's been nippy at night! Now I have to think about bringing my plants in.

 

[Freedom]

Usually October for me as well.

And as several have said, the nights have been going quite low, 46 F! Yesterday morning I realized the heat came on! It was set for 65, so I bumped it down to 51 and hold.

I have finally had to close some of the windows completely, and the others are just a 2 inch gap. They've been full open around the clock for almost a week which was lovely - no heat and no a/c, just fresh air! The kitties loved it, sitting in the window up against the screen, watching and listening to all the critters, lol.

 

[LTS3]

It tends to vary every year. The first year at my current place I didn't need to turn the heat on until mid-December. I think last season I turned the heat on in November. Whenever the thermostat drops to 65F is when I turn the heat on. The heat gets turned off sometime between early and mid March. Usually the heat stops turning on around then anyways because it's fairly warm inside so I just turn off the entire heat system.

 

[momto3cats]

We're still using the air conditioning here, although it is somewhat less hot than usual for this time of year. It's starting to feel like early Fall already. We typically turn on the heat sometime in October.

 

[DreamerRose]

It varies for me, too. I'm allergic to cool temps, so I'm no skinflint about turning it on. It's been a cool summer for us, and this week the night temps have been quite cool - high 50s F. I put on my winter pjs a couple of nights ago, but haven't added a blanket to the bedding or turned the heat on yet. It's still in the 70s F during the day. But the time is getting closer all the time. I imagine the furnace will come on in a couple of weeks. Yikes! That means it's due for a preseason cleaning!

 

[sivyaleah]

Usually sometime in late September. However that fluctuates since the climate is unpredictable now. Yesterday, I seriously considered putting it on as I am today. It's raining, cool and damp and my feet are freezing. Instead I'm going to put on a pair of socks

 

[MoochNNoodles]

We go by inside temperature. So if it gets below 70 in here; it goes on. We've pretty much always been this way; but more so since having kids. We've had a few cool days recently but the house itself has stayed comfortable because I didn't open the windows. I might do that today though since its nicer today.

I don't like it to get below 68. Everyone has robes, hoodies and slippers to wear if they are chilly. I'm also in the middle of making the kids new fleece blankets.

 

[margd]

I didn't run it at all last year because the heat leaking from my neighbors (I live in an apartment) kept my apartment at least 63 which is comfortable enough for me. Sponging off my neighbors brings me monthly emailed kudos from the power company which change to horrified shrieks when summer comes around and the a/c goes on.

 

[Willowy]

Whenever I need to. I don't stand on ceremony. The snakes can't get too cold so I put it on a bit earlier than I would if I didn't have snakes. Someday I'll get them fancy enclosures with heating tiles and then the temp outside the enclosure won't matter, but for now I have to keep the house temp no lower than 64.

The weather around here is unpredictable so it's not unusual for the AC to be on one day and the heat on the next, and then the AC on again 3 days later, and so on. September and October can be very interesting around here .

 

[kashmir64]

Mine is usually somewhere around Thanksgiving. The temp is a beautiful 40, nice and cool, but not cold. Then two days later it's 20, so it goes on.

but for now I have to keep the house temp no lower than 64.

Mine hibernates in the winter and I put an Aspen bedding in her cage. About 1"-2" deep. Keeps her warm, lets her hide and I don't have to worry about her.

 

[Willowy]

Mine hibernates in the winter and I put an Aspen bedding in her cage. About 1"-2" deep. Keeps her warm, lets her hide and I don't have to worry about her.

Yeah, mine don't eat in the winter (sort of hibernating?) but ball pythons are tropical so I don't want to risk them ending up with pneumonia or whatever. They do have undertank heaters but the air temp can't be too cold.

 

[kashmir64]

but ball pythons are tropical

Understood. Mine is a Night Snake and indigenous to the area, so she can handle some cold.
Only she doesn't have to worry, since it's so bloody hot here I'm going to combust.

 

[Kat0121]

It depends. Some years it gets cold enough to turn it on in January-February but usually only at night and not all month. Just here and there. Some years I don't turn it on at all. I will just snuggle up with an electric blanket- and the cats of course.

 

[muffy]

I turn mine on usually in October. I wear the same clothes all year round, no sweats or robes or anything with long sleeves because I sweat so bad. I usually keep it at 68.

Muffy