Inside house temp - do you decline over the winter?

[newbury]

I like to keep the house as close to outside temps as SWMBO will allow.

Two prime reasons are energy savings and it's easier for me to get my behind in gear to go outside and putter around if I'm already dressed for it.

This means warm in the summer, cool in the winter and usually even cooler on winter nights.

Right now in our living room (and most of the house) as we watch Sunday morning television on March 20th it's 60 degrees F inside, 42 outside. And SWMBO seems fine with it. And I'm a little surprised.

Back in November it was virtually a fight to get it down to 64, but it seems SWMBO has gradually adapted.

Do other TBN'ers let it get cooler as winter progresses?

I'm anticipating she's going to want it cool when spring comes and we have to turn on the a/c, but hopefully I can get her to adapt more quickly.

Along those lines we are calculating an addition for another house I own and the HVAC guy told me that in Fairfax County, Virginia we are supposed to design for a 70 degree inside temp for winter when sizing a/c

 

[ruffdog]

When we were on the grid, we set winter to 68 and summer to 80. We burn wood now and winter temps fluctuate more. I do notice that 78 feels great in January but it is way hot in end of March.

 

[SARG]

We are on total electric.
Lately I've noticed a chill in the house.
The "boss" has dropped the thermostats for the furry dog's & her "hot flash" comfort.
I'm left to wear more fleece.

 

[Garycw]

Mines at 62 usually sometimes less at night. I use a wifi thermostat and can adjust from bed under the covers or from another state. I tell the wife just pretend it's very hot & humid outside and we have really good AC.

 

[ruffdog]

her "hot flash" comfort.

Right....what's that? My wife just strips down and steps out the front door for a bit.

 

[Garycw]

Right....what's that? My wife just strips down and steps out the front door for a bit.

Ha, that's very neighborly of her

 

[s219]

Humidity might have something to do with it -- in the dry part of winter, 60F feels a couple degrees colder than 60F in the spring when humidity is higher.

We put in a whole-house humidifier and I noticed it makes the house a lot more comfortable in winter.

 

[newbury]

We are on total electric.
Lately I've noticed a chill in the house.
The "boss" has dropped the thermostats for the furry dog's & her "hot flash" comfort.
I'm left to wear more fleece.

Interesting you mentioned "furry dog".

I think that may be partially why SWMBO is accepting 60. Our Corgi is on meds for a bit which makes her need cooler temps.

Back about 32 years ago she was pregnant over the winter with our first, which let me keep the temps low. But I quickly determined any cost savings from lower temps were quickly spent on the child. So I would not recommend keeping your wife pregnant as a heating alternative.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Jeeze. Sharn Jean burns me up in the Winter and freezes me out in the Summer. I try to keep ours on 71 in the Winter and maybe 72 in the Summer. We have a heat pump and are total electric. No way we could handle some of the extremes mentioned here. I hate winter any way. I don't mind wearing sweats, but I don't wear a sweater or coat unless I go outside.

 

[buickanddeere]

I could never understand why some people want the stat set at 78F in the winter and 68F in the summer ???

 

[4570Man]

SWMBO likes it about 74'. since we heat with wood it isn't a big deal. This time a year we usually don't have a fire, and it is a little cooler around 68.

 

[murphy1244]

It is 75 degrees and climbing as I'm getting a good fire going. Very cold outside today.

 

[brasco426]

Humidity might have something to do with it -- in the dry part of winter, 60F feels a couple degrees colder than 60F in the spring when humidity is higher.

We put in a whole-house humidifier and I noticed it makes the house a lot more comfortable in winter.

Humidification helps with comfort during the winter months for sure. If you have Forced Air, a nice By-Pass Humidifier is a great add-on. Humidity will help cooler temps feel much more comfortable in the house. As for our house I put in a new Honeywell WiFi Tstat and really enjoy if it feels cool I can turn up the heat from my phone while sitting on the couch LOL:thumbsup:.

 

[Rustyiron]

The house stays at about 80 all winter, wifey stays in shorts and a tank top all winter. We have an indoor "gasser" wood boiler for heat. When you work outside all day, 80 is delightful to come home to and warm your core.

 

[s219]

We set the thermostat at 70 during the day and 67 at night in winter (those were both negotiated with my wife -- can't go any cooler without risking divorce -- she's a southerner and I'm a Yankee) . When we run our fireplace, it will boost the first floor up to 72-73 by the end of the day, which makes my wife very happy. I agree, it feels good when I come in from outdoors, but if I have to do any projects indoors, I end up sweating the whole time.

 

[ruffdog]

My wife has a CPAP machine so going cold at night was a problem. I found out I could get a heated hose for her which made it much better.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

We keep upstairs bedrooms at 66 or 67 in winter.

 

[farm boy00]

Dang you guys lucky. We have been stuck to heating with space heaters all winter because of house under construction and shortage of money. We were happy to get 50s most of the winter. Now if it goes over 40s outside we shut one heater down

 

[oosik]

I keep the house at 68 all winter. During the summer I open the windows on opposite ends of the house after sunset and pull in the cool night air with two fans. By morning the house is usually down to 62-65 and will climb to 68-70 by sunset.

 

[farmer2009]

We have a programmable thermostat. It heats to 70 about 15 minutes before the alarm clock goes off. Then once the wife and boy leave it drops back to 62. About 30 minutes before they normally get home it goes back to 70. At 10pm it drops to 67 at night. We both like it cool to sleep. Since I work from home to cooler temps help get me outside. And I can bump it up for lunch or if I'm doing inside work. We cut about a half a tank of propane off the winter heating bill with it.

In the summer it kicks to 80 when empty and then to 75 for wife's arrival home. Then at 10pm down to 72 for sleeping. Then stays at 72 for the morning routine. Also helped with summer power bills.