OT: Home heating

[RivaDawg]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

 

[5049]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

Yes, I have heard that it is best to leave it at one temperature. I keep mine on 65 during the winter and 75 in the summer. I will sometimes get it closer to 70 during spring and fall to keep ventilation going, or use fans. I use space heaters too.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

I just had a new RUUD 5 ton outside unit & new air handler installed in the attic back in December. I asked my HVAC man about the programmable thermostats. He said that the only time you benefit from it is if you're gone for extended days, and want to leave it off for days, and turn it back on before you go back home to cool or warm your house before you get there. Otherwise, using a programmable thermostat on a daily basis causes you to actually use more electricity or gas by letting your house get too cold in winter or too hot in summer, then having to run a long time to bring it back to a comfortable temp. He also said it's bad on the outside unit to run that long. He said that he did a test using a programmable thermostat, and it confirmed that the programmable one ended up causing him to use more electricity than a standard thermostat set at a 70 in winter, and 74 in summer. He said that he has a standard thermostat in his house. Don't know if that specifically answers your question, but it's the same principle.

 

[ronpolk]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

50 at night... I’d hate to have to take a midnight piss in your house!

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

You are doing it right. The simple answer is programmable thermostats would not be required by law in California if they didn't save energy. Not sure how much it matters for most of that state as they brag about 75 and sunshine 365.

In reality, I worked in an office a couple of years ago and we did a study on programmable thermostat vs leave it going. We were really pinching pennies. It was a massive savings to program vs leave it running. The science would be at 35° outside and 65° inside you have rapid heat exchange. Not so rapid when the difference is 55° vs 35°. The constant off and on was the big drain, much like a vehicle.

As a caution, I would advise not to let it get to low. I remodel houses and when the wood framing and trim has been accustomed to 60°- 80° for years and you let it get too cold, the moisture content of the air changes and can cause wood to shrink or swell. I have seen brand new ceilings split because somebody forgot to cut the heat on before a cold spell. 55° is my lower limit on remodels, but the crews like it at 70° when they are working. So I guess that 50-65 swing is safe.

ETA. The programmable thermostat was controlled by corporate office. No tinkering locally. I have a friend who has his on an app and constantly wants to show off his toy, I imagine he is costing himself money.

 

[Grove Sh*tter]

The guy who sold us our programmable tstat said that the average savings is about 10%. It is attached to the security system, and when you arm the system to leave, it allows a 2° difference on where you normally keep it. That way you don't have to make radical changes (and be uncomfortable) when you return and consume more energy to resume desired temp

 

[basedawg]

If you want to save money and you haven't had your attic with new insulation in a while, do it. Most folks never put new insulation in the attic but when you do you will notice a big difference.

 

[jxndawg]

Programmable thermostats def save you money, but only if you use them right. Key is to keep the temperature difference no more than about 6 or 7 degrees than it would be if you were home. During the winter I keep the heat on 70, so it goes down to 64 while I’m at work. Any bigger of a swing means it’ll have to run too long to get it back up to 70.

 

[bulldogcountry1]

A programmable thermostat will help, you just don't want to go crazy. Don't try to swing the temp more than 5 degrees because all the stuff in your house will get cold. Then, it takes a lot of energy to warm everything back up again. It's not just about heating the air.

Everyone's situation is different, so there's no single answer. If your home is empty during the day, let it drop down 4-5 degrees when you leave, and let it start warming back up during the warmest part of the day, say 1:00-3:00pm.

 

[dorndawg]

Your programmable will likely save you quit a bit. Anyone saying it's better to leave at one comfortable temperature even when no one is home does not understand how HVACs work. Pure physical nonsense.

 

[kired]

I've heard if you're away from home for long enough that your house will settle at the lower temperature for a few hours, then it does save money to change the temp. So for instance - you keep the temp at 70 from 4pm till 10pm, then let it drop to 62 and remain there until 4pm the next day, you're certainly saving money while it's being maintained at 62 instead of keeping it at 70.

But if you're only going to be gone for 2 hours - letting the temp drop and then almost immediately heating it back up to 70 isn't going to save you any money. All the money you saved not maintaining a temperature for that short period will go into bringing it back up.

 

[thf24]

The simple answer is programmable thermostats would not be required by law in California if they didn't save energy.

Not saying anything else in your post is wrong, but there are a lot of laws in California that are ineffectual towards or work against their intended purpose.

 

[tbaydog]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

What is residential propane cost a gallon, I live North of Tampa and paying 3.79 a gallon plus $ 5 delivery charge which equates to another .16 a gallon. I know we are getting ripped............

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

i just bought a nest thermostat and love it. You don’t have to keep messing with the programming to tweak it. If you have the app, it will automatically go into eco mode when you leave assuming you have your phone with you. You preset the eco temps and boom. Plus after a while it “learns” where you like the temp at times of the day and keeps it there. It’s like a programmable thermostat that programs itself after you put the temp where you like it for a few days.

Also there is no programming it if you leave for a few days. It just goes to your eco temp when you leave and stays there.

You can also see how long it has ran on past days and you can adjust if you want it to run less. It will even show you when your auxiliary heat kicked in and how long it ran.

It’s made a difference in the electric bill. This month will be higher of course but it should really make a difference in the spring.

 

[RivaDawg]

i just bought a nest thermostat and love it. You don’t have to keep messing with the programming to tweak it. If you have the app, it will automatically go into eco mode when you leave assuming you have your phone with you. You preset the eco temps and boom. Plus after a while it “learns” where you like the temp at times of the day and keeps it there. It’s like a programmable thermostat that programs itself after you put the temp where you like it for a few days.

Also there is no programming it if you leave for a few days. It just goes to your eco temp when you leave and stays there.

You can also see how long it has ran on past days and you can adjust if you want it to run less. It will even show you when your auxiliary heat kicked in and how long it ran.

It’s made a difference in the electric bill. This month will be higher of course but it should really make a difference in the spring.

I have Nest thermostats, too. Be careful with “letting it learn” your routine. Get up a couple of nights to let the dog out and the thermostat “learns” you are up at night and will learn to come on every night at that time. I had to disable that function and I set the schedule.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Not saying anything else in your post is wrong, but there are a lot of laws in California that are ineffectual towards or work against their intended purpose.

You are not wrong. They can turn facts and science into BS really fast with policies.

 

[RocketDawg]

I keep house cool in winter to try to minimize propane use. Temp is set on 65 if I’m there. Is it more efficient to leave on 65 all of the time or turn it off during the day and at night? I have programmable thermostats that drop to 50 degrees at 8:00 in the morning when we leave for work, turn to 65 at 4:00 in the afternoon, go to 50 at 10:00 at night, then come on at 65 at 5:00 a.m. Does it take more energy to warm up a cold house than it would to keep it warm?

I think yours is a good method if you're heating with gas or propane. But if you have a heat pump, running the temp up and down might hurt more than help because it can cause the resistance heat strips to kick in. If you have "dual fuel" (gas backup) it would be OK. That said, I drop my setting a bit at night. Not sure if it helps any.

I've read some of the other posts in this thread and would freeze to death in some of your houses. I have a two story house with two heat pumps, electric backup. My utility bill in the spring and fall when no heat and cooling is needed is around $100, and that includes electric hot water, electric dryer, lights, and $25 for garbage. Water is separate.

My December bill, which was the entire month, was $150. So basically, I heated my house for $50. I have it set on 72 most of the day, and drop it to 68 from 10 at night to 6 in the morning. I'm not going to set it any colder ... want to be comfortable. This is one of the coldest locations in Alabama (just out of Huntsville). R-60 in the attic, 13 in the walls, and 25 in the crawl space.

 

[ronpolk]

i just bought a nest thermostat and love it. You don’t have to keep messing with the programming to tweak it. If you have the app, it will automatically go into eco mode when you leave assuming you have your phone with you. You preset the eco temps and boom. Plus after a while it “learns” where you like the temp at times of the day and keeps it there. It’s like a programmable thermostat that programs itself after you put the temp where you like it for a few days.

Also there is no programming it if you leave for a few days. It just goes to your eco temp when you leave and stays there.

You can also see how long it has ran on past days and you can adjust if you want it to run less. It will even show you when your auxiliary heat kicked in and how long it ran.

It’s made a difference in the electric bill. This month will be higher of course but it should really make a difference in the spring.

The nest is awesome. I’ve had it for a few years and it’s hard to imagine a better one.

 

[notoriousD_O_G]

If you want to save money and you haven't had your attic with new insulation in a while, do it. Most folks never put new insulation in the attic but when you do you will notice a big difference.

This has helped me a ton. I also replaced the majority of my windows and noticed a big difference. Going to do the rest when I get the money.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Light your couch on fire.

 

[ShrubDog]

go to 50 at 10:00 at night

I like it cold at night but this is next level stuff right here.

 

[RivaDawg]

I like it cold at night but this is next level stuff right here.

House is well insulated so it doesn’t get that low. It has gotten down to 58-59, but electric blanket makes it comfortable to sleep.

 

[bulldogcountry1]

I like it cold at night but this is next level stuff right here.

Yeah, these guys must not be married. I try to turn the stat down to 68, and the wife swears she's going to "litrally freeze to death". Thank goodness for dual climate control in the car. It should be called "duel climate" with my 71 and her 82 battling it out.