Question about Heating the House

QM · 11-22-2008, 10:18 PM

Do you know if it costs more to turn down the heat (when you're out of the house) and turn it back up (when you get home) than maintaining the indoor temperature? DH thinks the cost of reheating the house is greater and I disagree. Anyone know for sure?

**RetiredVeryEarly** · 11-23-2008, 12:53 AM

What I have read about this in the past is that as long as you don't turn it down more than 10 degrees you are definitely saving money by turning it down and then back up again later. Certainly all the experts at places like Focus on Energy advise that you turn it down at night when you sleep so I would believe that it does save energy turning it down. Best to have it doing it automatically on a timer so that it is always happening, and the house isn't so cold when you wake up.

**Spikey1341** · 11-24-2008, 01:50 PM

I don't turn mine down more than 5 degrees because of my animals.

**fixer** · 11-25-2008, 12:17 AM

You are definitely saving money by turning down your thermostat. The cost of maintaining the temperature is greater than the amount to recover. I installed a timer on our water heater so I can turn it off when we are not at home.

**Greebo** · 11-25-2008, 08:25 AM

The number I have heard, recently, on some DIY home improvement show (don't recall which and I can't back the # with science) was that for every 8 hour period, a 1 degree temperature difference will save you 1% on your heating bill.

From a physics perspective, to maintain temperature requires a certain amount of energy. Maybe the furnace has to kick on every 30 minutes to raise the temp back from 71 to 72 (for sake of argument). Over 8 hours, that means the furnace kicks on 16 times for a few minutes.

So if you let the house drop 5 deg for 8 hours, you do not pay to maintain that 5 deg. To reheat the house by 5 deg after 8 hours takes less energy than it would have to keep reheating the house as it lost temp every 30 mins, so overall, you'll save, *IF* you leave the temp lower long enough.

The worst that you can do, however, is break even. It cannot take *more* energy to raise the house to 72 degrees after 8 hours of being at 67 than it would have to *keep* the house at 72 for 8 hours.

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 11-25-2008, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Spikey1341

I don't turn mine down more than 5 degrees because of my animals.

I am curious about this. I have a dog, two cats and a Guinea pig. we turn the heat OFF when we go to bed or out to work. They are all fine--happy and healthy. Are your animals elderly or have health problems? FWIW, my animals ALL have short coats.

**Cookimon3** · 11-26-2008, 04:19 PM

i have no idea on this...i usually just keep the house cool and use a tiny space heater to warm the room i'm in...that and layering clothing

but living in AZ, the house doesn't get *that* cold, even in the middle of winter!

**vigilant20** · 11-26-2008, 04:45 PM

I've been searching for the answer for this one for a bit. The rule of thumb seems to be saving 1% on your energy bill per 1 degree. The suggestion is about 5-10 degrees difference. This coincides with what I found at the Dept of Energy website.

You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.

**Trishagirl** · 11-26-2008, 06:51 PM

My dh turns down the heater before bed down from 67 to 64 at night but we're going to get a programmable one to also and we'll get a discount too!

**miss_thrifty** · 11-26-2008, 11:58 PM

i have budgies cannot turn the upstairs one down any lower then 66 even with a blanket on them. they do find it cold. it takes alot of energy for birds to keep their heat maintained but dogs cats etc have fur and maintain it easier (heat).

**madhen** · 11-27-2008, 12:09 AM

Actually, as long as they are acclimated to it, budgies do really well in lower temps. Many people keep them outside in my area, and it can get into the 40's at night. But if you want to lower your temp and still give the budgies a little comfort, you can purchase a really cool item called a thermo-perch. I have them in my parrots' cages, but they make them for smaller birds, too. The perch warms up, so the birds can sit on it and it will keep their little feet (which is where they lose most of their heat, as there are no feathers there) warm.

I do have a space heater in my parrots' room, but I have it set to kick on if the temp drops below 60F. (Just because they CAN tolerate colder temps doesn't mean they HAVE to.)

**shadowfax** · 11-27-2008, 08:40 PM

I have two dogs, A cat two finches and a Beta fish. My house is generally between 56 and 60 degrees depending how cold it is outside. I heat a 2 bedroom 2 story house with two 1,500 watt oil filled space heaters. Most times not turned all the way up. The one in the kitchen is set to the low 500 wat setting mostly and the LR one where the birds are is set to 1,500 watts when the outside temps get down below 35.

The animals do just fine with the cooler temps. Have been down to 47* in the house a time or two while I got the hang of life with no furnace and they weathered it just fine.

I have my electric on the budget plan that spreads the bill out for me and my average bill is about $60/month.