When Do You Turn On The Heat?

banana · #1 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 01:08 PM

I live in PA and we try to hold out till Nov 15th, but some years we turn it on by Nov 1st?

So where do you live and when do you generally turn on the heat in your house?

Ima saver · #2 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 01:39 PM

Well I live in themountains of North Georgia. It has been down to 42degrees so far. We get our first freeze before Halloween, so that is when i usually turn it on.

Broken Arrow · #3 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 05:36 PM

I will turn it on when it gets cold enough to affect my sleep.

disneysteve · #4 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 07:09 PM

We turn it on when it gets cold. I don't see how anyone could set a certain date.

When we rented a house in Vermont at the beginning of August, we used the heat a couple of mornings when it dipped into the upper 40s.

budgetmom · #5 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 07:33 PM

I live in Texas so it is usally pretty mild out this way, but I have lived in colder climates. I have kids, so I base it on them and me. If after we are walking around the house in sweaters, pants and socks still feel a little chilled, it's time to turn on the heat.

getforfree · #6 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 07:56 PM

Turning the heat on? It's still 90's here in CA. Sometimes I want to turn the AC on, but it's hot for only a couple hours a day, so we just open the windows. I close all windows except for the bathroom and our bedroom at night.

geojen · #7 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 08:02 PM

We are going to hold out as long as possible! At what temp do you generally feel the need to have the heat on? We are thinking of trying to keep the heat at 68 during the day and take it down to 60 at night, maybe a touch lower. Both hubby and I like to sleep in a cold room anyhow.

JanH · #8 (**permalink**) 09-28-2006, 08:20 PM

We have the problem with humidity. Sometimes, we will turn it on briefly just to dry out the house. Being damp makes the coolness icky. When it gets cool. On the coast here, it is much later than elsewhere I'm sure. Next week forecast: 80's.

pearlieq · #9 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 08:09 AM

When the internal temperature dips below 60, on goes the heat!

So far we're hovering just above that.

PrincessPerky · #10 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 08:41 AM

When the internal daytime temp dips below 65...but we are toying with a date..the longer we hold out (how long will it take to warm up past 65 anyway?) the less we pay...Course we need to know when we want to turn it on, and then we like to use 'hollidays' for the official date (July 4th is on for air, labor day is off)

Ima saver · #11 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 08:42 AM

It is 65 in my house right now, so I have put on sweat pants and a sweater. My doggie is on a heating pad to stay warm.

LuxLiving · #12 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 08:52 AM

I turn on the heat when just one more layer has me looking like a big fat rolly-polly and my feet are freezing thru the three pairs of socks and my 'Ethel' houseshoes. Basically when I can see my breath inside the house. I like it cool to begin with, so the longer I can postpone turning on the heat, the better for me.

Fern · #13 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 09:21 AM

I live in CT and generally i turn it on sometime in early to mid-October, and this seems to coincide with with indoor temps fall below 60.

Someone else said here, and i agree, that the dampness in the house realy makes it feel even colder.

cschin4 · #14 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 10:52 AM

I live in PA. There are days when I have had the A/C on in the morning and the heat on at night. I turn the heat on when I get cold. I am not going to "hold out". I want to be comfortable so I will just pay the bill. What is the point of having heat and A/C and trying not to use it?

disneysteve · #15 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cschin4

I live in PA. There are days when I have had the A/C on in the morning and the heat on at night. I turn the heat on when I get cold. I am not going to "hold out". I want to be comfortable so I will just pay the bill. What is the point of having heat and A/C and trying not to use it?

I agree. We're the same way. We will often use heat and AC in the same day around this time of year. It can be in the 40s or 50s at night and in the upper 70s or low 80s during the day.

Bookie · #16 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 11:59 AM

Judging from my payment history, I started using the heat in November of 2005 and continued to use it through March of 2006.

April, May and June were open window months. July and August were A/C. September has been another open window month. Maybe this year will follow the 2005 pattern.

pearlieq · #17 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cschin4

What is the point of having heat and A/C and trying not to use it?

Heating and A/C are expensive and consume a lot of resources. I'm willing to live at a less than ideal temperature to save money and conserve resources.

I view heating and A/C as protections against extremes in weather, not things for my everyday comfort. It's about 60 in the house now, and yes, I'm chilly, but I have warm clothes on and blankets out for the cats to burrow in and we're fine. If it drops below 60, which is the lowest temperature I'm willing to tolerate, I'll turn the heat on. Being a little chilly isn't going to kill me.

It's the same in the summer. In a perfect world I'd keep my house at 68 all day and all night, but I'm willing to turn on the fan and be a little warm instead of having a $300 electric bill.

banana · #18 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 01:33 PM

The point for me for not using it is to save some money. I heat with oil and prices were ridiculous last year. Right now my house is comfy and is 68 degrees inside with a couple of windows open. I know I saved a ton of money by not turning on the heat until mid November of last year. We did use space heaters as needed to take the chill out of the room.

Example we used to use around 750-800 gallons of oil a year for heat and hotwater, last year we were able to cut it down to 537 gallons. Noone complained of being too cold (it never got below 65 while we were home) but by waiting it out and by lowering it a few degrees really made a huge difference!

Jacklad · #19 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 07:53 PM

I haven't turned the furnace on yet, and we're in Canada (three hours north of Duluth). We've had a couple of frosts, but nothing untoward.

Of course, the buildings here tend to be well insulated, so that helps. I find that cooking dinner adds enough heat to the system to keep us snug during the evening, and the sunlight during the day warms the house as well.

I figure we'll probably turn the system on around Halloween, if history is anything to go by. Then we make use of a programmable thermostat to control heating through the day. The temperature is set at 15 C (59 F) from midnight on (a good sleeping temperature); goes up to 20 C (68 F) at 5:30 to bring the temperature up before we get up; goes back down to 15 at 9AM when we've all left for work, and back to 20 at 4:30. One of the best $50 I ever spent was for that thermostat; it paid for itself within a couple of months.

We do have cats that are home during the cooler settings, but they just snuggle together in their fleecy cat bed, and they're all wearing fur coats anyway.

Jackie

PrincessPerky · #20 (**permalink**) 09-29-2006, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cschin4

I live in PA. There are days when I have had the A/C on in the morning and the heat on at night. I turn the heat on when I get cold. I am not going to "hold out". I want to be comfortable so I will just pay the bill. What is the point of having heat and A/C and trying not to use it?

umm, it is for a need, I need to keep my house above freezing, I do not need to be perfectly comfortable..though if that is your luxury, no prob your bill.

unfortunatly I can't afford that luxury