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Where do you set your thermostat?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Baraka_Guru, Oct 28, 2013.

  1. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    There is something really nice about sitting in front of a glowing radiant heat source, as opposed to baseboard or radiator heating, on a cold winter night.
    It also lets my wife, who usually likes it warmer, sit up close and stay happy and warm while I am farther back and not complaining about how hot it is!
     
  2. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    We have a fireplace. We don't use it very often as it's kind of awkwardly placed. However, today we're home all day, so hubs is making a fire that will keep us warm long into the chilly evening we're bound to have tonight since the sky is clear.
     
  3. DamnitAll

    DamnitAll Wait... what?

    Location:
    Central MD
    My living room fireplace is also bricked and plastered over, but that's because it had been used to ventilate the furnace in my basement... until earlier this year, when Mike (my HVAC) guy discovered that the furnace's vented air temperature wasn't hot enough to offset cold air creating condensation inside the unlined chimney, effectively disintegrating its bricks and mortar from within. I'm lucky we figured this out when we did, as I might have otherwise ended up with carbon monoxide poisoning sometime in the not too distant future.

    That being said, my basement furnace is now in the process of being replaced with a more efficient unit that will no longer vent through the chimney (though the fireplace will, sadly, remain boarded up). That unit isn't yet hooked up, so I've got no heat source for the first floor except a single duct coming from the upstairs furnace—yes, my house (currently) has two furnaces—that blows air into the open first floor. The second floor furnace is, as Mike believes, likely an older unit purchased second hand at some point by previous owners and rigged to inefficiently heat a space far too small for its size. Combine that with the fact that there's a gaping hole cut out of the ceiling above the furnace for the vent piping to exit the house through the uninsulated attic, and each time I turn on that furnace I'm pretty much burning my own money. So I keep it cold—setting the thermostat anywhere above 63°F does no good, not only because so much heat is lost into the attic but also because my bedroom has terrible insulation and there's very little force to the warm air being blown into it through the ceiling ducts.

    Needless to say, my next big home improvement project, once this basement furnace is hooked up, is to have Mike rip out the second floor furnace and air conditioner units and replace both with a smaller, more efficient heat pump to heat and cool, freeing the space being taken up by the current mess of machinery for a possible bathroom expansion. The brick exterior to the house does wonders with keeping it moderately cool in the summer and decently warm in the winter, and I'm a huge fan of ceiling fans (rimshot), clothing moderation and–when available—cuddling body heat to keep comfortable before resorting to either AC or heat.

    Yay, older houses! Yay, home improvement!
     
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  4. As warm as I can stand it in the summer. AC is for wimps. :p

    I'll just run a fan or two, or go jump in a lake, or take a cool bath, or something. Maybe I'm just spoiled by never being more than 25 minutes from a body of water. Michigan FTW!

    In the winter, usually as warm as I can afford. Up in East Jesus Nowhere it's a bit chilly in the winter sometimes, and heating can get pretty expensive. When I lived in a house with an oil tank we usually kept it between 50 and 55 in order to avoid having to re-fuel more than once a year. When I moved into a house with gas lines running to the house, we usually kept it between 55 and 60, depending on how many people were in the house.

    Now that I have my own apartment with gas rolled into rent, I keep it at a toasty 65 degrees. It says in my renter's agreement that I can't go above 70, which is fine as I have no plans to.

    I must admit, there are some days during the winter where I wish I could curl up next to a fireplace with a good book and a pet and just... veg out. Unfortunately, I only have one of those things right now, and it makes me rather sad.
     
  5. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I don't have a furnace or air conditioning.

    I try to remember to turn off my ceiling fans when I leave the house.
     
  6. Fangirl

    Fangirl Very Tilted

    Location:
    Arizona
    First let me explain my abode's heating situation: Our home is a former 2-story apt. (one of six joined together) converted into a condo, so our condo unit is two floors. Conversion meant changing the name, not the structure.
    It was a cheaply-made apartment complex in a pricey part of town. The exterior of the building is brick which is good, the interior walls are thin. The windows have been replaced in the two north-facing (bed)rooms, the (south-facing) sliding glass door is the original, so about 35-years old--needs replacing.
    Not a great situation and it gets worse, the downstairs, finished basement, plus one bedroom, only has a couple of space heaters--no central heat like the upstairs.
    So things are incredibly inefficient. Right now we've been through a cold October. I turned the heat on for the first time a week or two ago. It does not come on often yet and it is set @ 70F°.

    Summer cooling is wacky, too. We had a central air system that died and we are waiting to save up enough to change out the entire system, heat and air, which will run about $5000. The heat works fine. We purchased what would be equal to a window unit for the spare bedroom office and used an elaborate system of tower fans to coax the air into the bedroom adjacent and down the small hallway. In the living room, near the sliding glass door, we have a bigger A/C unit that takes care of the rest of the upstairs. Downstairs being a basement, stays pretty cool though there were some brutally hot periods this summer past so again, elaborate fan setup trying to coax some cool air downstairs. A/C's are set to 75F°
     
  7. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    The new sliding glass doors are a whole lot better than the older ones. I have to cover my old one with a plastic sheet for the duration of the winter.
     
  8. Fangirl

    Fangirl Very Tilted

    Location:
    Arizona
    Yeah, I'm really looking forward to new sliding glass doors but, another couple thousand <sigh>.
     
  9. Saiorse

    Saiorse Vertical

    Location:
    My recliner
    My thermostat is at 67 degrees. When I first moved north I spent a fortune, even shutting unnecessary rooms off, because I kept it at 70-72 and was bundled up.
    Each year in north I decreased thermostat setting by 2 degrees. Now about 66 is ok with me.

    ( CinnamonGirl My dad has one of those old coal burning stoves in his garage from my grandparents' house - and it's mine someday. No hurry! But I do miss my brick fireplace and want to move so I have another one - nice in emergencies, for special times, and on the wallet)
     
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  10. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!

    The apartment fireplace was all stone, and it was just beautiful, as well as functional. I had cats at the time, and they both loved to curl up next to it.I'd forgotten about it until just now, but my grandparents had a brick fireplace at their old house...many, many Christmas pictures with that as the backdrop :)

    ***

    Man, I thought we were doing really well at 65. I think maybe I'll experiment with keeping the thermostat on 60 this winter.
     
  11. Saiorse

    Saiorse Vertical

    Location:
    My recliner
    I've found thru experience a large drop is more difficult to maintain and also feel comfortable, less change of success in maintaining it esp those New York and other severe northern winters (a severe one is "predicted" for this winter) I had better luck taking the temp down about 2 degrees at a time - I suppose you could try changing it beginning now so your bodies adjust.
    Then on super-cold days I treat myself to a small area heater near me and let rest of house be cold, drafty. It has lowered my bills a lot. Ceiling fans on low, I always use - room stays warmer.
     
  12. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!

    To be honest, it wouldn't be TOO difficult... I like being a little chilly, and I love wearing sweaters--plus, my dogs like to snuggle. The only thing I dread about the experience is the shivering pre- and post-shower. Then again, I've been waiting for an excuse to buy an extra fluffy robe :)
     
  13. Saiorse

    Saiorse Vertical

    Location:
    My recliner
    Oh, I didn't mention I cheat a little - Not freezing in my bathroom during shower, I like comfort too much for that. So I do use the little heater in bathroom ONLY when I'm showering. Rest of the time I suffer cold seat shock because it's the chilliest room in the house for some reason.
    --- merged: Oct 29, 2013 at 4:25 PM ---
    I wonder what temperature the thermostat is set on at the White House?
    Now, doesn't that make you wonder, too? LOL
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 5, 2013
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