How cold do you keep your house?

[pearlieq]

Originally Posted by rachie

However, I do have a question for people with pets. I have three indoor cats. How cold is too cold for them? I know they're animals, they have fur, all of that...but they're used to being indoors, not longhaired, getting older...

I wondered what you all do when you have animals that are there when you're gone. Could I go lower than 60 with them, or is that probably safe? I want them to be safe and comfortable.

I actually had the same question a while ago. Here's a link to the thread I started and the responses:

How low is too low for cats?

Basically the consensus was that they should be fine with lower temps. Afterall there are plenty of outdoor and barn cats in the world who are just fine.

I do put out blankets for them to sleep on and burrow in. They like that. They also make these really, really cool cat beds that retain the cats own body heat and get all toasty. They're about $20, but lots of people swear by them!

[LittleGopher]

We have a 1200sqft 82yo house, with everything original (kind of like Tina's,) except for being located in MN. Our gas bill covers our furnace (sole heat source,) oven and water heater. We're on a budget plan, but I checked the actual cost for last month, and it was $110 (our budget is $79 a month.) We keep the temp at 62 at night, 60 when we're out of the house, and between 65-68 during the time we're home. We have 6 pets - an old dog, three cats, a guinea pig and a goldfish - none are affected by the temps we keep at our house. The cats love to be in the sun or in front of the heat vents all together in a ball, but they've been known to roast in the sun on the hottest days of summer too. (I'm sure if asked their opinions, they would say it's never warm enough - good thing they can only meow!)

[boefixepa]

It's been a COLD winter here in Utah. I think we are going two or three weeks without breaking freezing - 32 degrees - and I think we had over a week of sub zero temps. I have a programable thermostate. Night is 55 (I tried 50 but my nose got too cold), day when no one is home is 50 and 1 1/2 hours in the morning and from 5-10pm at night is 62. I do have to put a sweater on sometimes in the evening, but so far I keep the gas bill maxed at about 60. We will see what next months is after this cold snap. In the summer, aka no heater, it's generally between 10-15 dollars a month.

I tried to bring my dogs in when it got below zero, but they would have none of it. I guess that goes along with being an Alaskan Malamute. The cold hasn't phased them a bit.

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by rachie

I keep mine at 60 when I'm not home, and around 64 when I am home. It is a little chilly on cold nights, but I just bundle up.

However, I do have a question for people with pets. I have three indoor cats. How cold is too cold for them? I know they're animals, they have fur, all of that...but they're used to being indoors, not longhaired, getting older...

I wondered what you all do when you have animals that are there when you're gone. Could I go lower than 60 with them, or is that probably safe? I want them to be safe and comfortable.

Thanks!

Rachel

I am sure it is fine - just don't shock them. I've left the house colder for my cat but she is used to it being cold at night overall.

Reminds me though it gets pretty hot up here in the summer and we have many weekends away - I always set the AC to 90 or so (I think dh is nicer and tries 85 or something) for the cat. I had a friend who went away one weekend, terrible heat wave, her fish fried. Really sad! I used to think I Was a little silly leaving the ac for the cat since the house doesn't usually get too hot or cold overall. But she had a newer energy efficient house had gotten 100 degrees INSIDE. Crazy. A freak thing for sure but I don't feel as silly. I usually set it so high or low it won't even turn on, but just in case of a cold spell or a sudden heat wave the cat would be fine. I imagine 100 degrees could be pretty dangerous to any animal for a prolonged period.

In the winter I usually set it around 60 while we are out - just in one zone - since that is what it usually settles at anyway without the heat, and the cat is used to. IF the rest of the house gets too cold at least the upstairs will stay a little warmer for her.

[JanH]

I guess we spoil ourselves a little in this. Of course in the summertime, we keep our air conditioning nearly 80 most of the time when most keep it cooler, so I guess it balances out. We have the heat on 69 at night and about 71 to 73 in the daytime, depending on how damp and breezy outside. Our house leaks like a sieve. Our gas bill is averaged so it was only 45, but the actual cost was 85.

[DebbieL]

I live in Victoria, BC where the winters are pretty mild (we're very close to Seattle, but Seattle is alot rainier although we get our share too). Electricity is pretty cheap here. I keep the place at about 22 degrees celsius (around 73 farenheit) and turn it down a little at night if I remember. Our power bill is equalized payments of $32 per month. I still pay $40 because I know I am using more this year with keeping the heat on so much. If our heat was as expensive as some of you are posting I would definitely invest in some warm sweaters and turn it way down.

[joesbaby]

i have a 3 bedroom 2 ba mobil home in the country. no wind break, and i keep mine at 65* almost all the time. excpt when the kids first get up, it kicks up to 70 for them. when they leave for school, it goes back down. its an automatic thermostat.

but luckily for me, i have the leveled bills at 162 each month. my highest in the winter was 250.00. ouch for me, but a grand..id never be able to pay that at all. so suddenly i feel much better.

[lrjohnson]

I've had ice inside the window in my bedroom. Where I could reach out and touch it, lying in bed.

1880s Victorian, 12 foot ceiling, mostly unheated, two rooms heated when inhabited. Each breath can be a cloud. We sleep with hats on. The temperature inside is the same as outside often.

We rent and don't own, the gas heat is super inefficient and heats only one room, the one room that we are never in, and the place has old windows, no insulation. I am awaiting being shocked by the bill just to keep two rooms livable!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Our house is 1900 sq ft and we're one of three units in a Victorian. Our neighbors keep the house closer to 70 and pay about $1k/month. We have brand new double panned weatherproof windows. We also have 3 floors. We keep the 1st and 2nd floor at 50. We only heat the top floor to 68 when we're at home, but otherwise it's 60.

We have individual programmable thermostat on each floor, but we keep it cold. We walk around in socks, house slippers, sweaters, robes. The house has settled and the floors are uneven. Our windows have double celled blinds, and we insulated the attic more, we also filled the walls, and put on a storm door on our back door. But the doors don't shut and there are crack.

I guess we'll just have to live with super high bills. I pay gas $200/month all year even though I don't use it half a year. And our electric is very high.

[markio26]

we bought temp guages and placed in each room, when a sale was on at sears last yr... we keep the common areas heated at 68 degrees, the computer room is at 60 degrees with a fan, the hot water tank from the laundry room, heats it, the bathroom heats the hallway, the 2nd middle bedroom, does not require heat, just an overhead fan, the master bedroom is on 69 degrees with an overhead fan... my all electric home cost $140 to heat last month, we cook everyday, we do use a toaster oven and crockpot endlessly....

[cheapdoggy]

We set it at 66 during the day and the auto thermostat kicks it back to 63 at night. My oil guy asks if we all wear parkas in the house because he doesn't deliver to my house as often as my neighbors! I have just replaced all the windows with vinyl replacements. Five years ago we got a new furnace (the old one was a converted coal burner). As I do rooms over I insulate them (walls and ceilings).

[Coleroo]

My hubby is from upstate NY (we're in mid SC right now) and he's always hotblooded (he'll sweat in the snow... *sigh*). We have a 1150 sq ft home, and have not used our heater all winter. According to our hallway programable thermostat the temps stay between 50 and 58 degrees. I freeze my bahoonkie off sometimes, but i do have a little portable heater that i carry in the living room with me if im on the couch and we use it at night to heat the bedroom (it works great). Our electric bill runs about 70$ to 90$ a month.

[PauletteGoddard]

Not cold enough apparently. We're just $2 below the annual average natural gas expenditure for our area. A recent energy online audit showed a heck of a lot of energy used on Sunday (when I bake). During the day it's 64 until my husband's fingers start getting numb, 60 at night, and 68 during the "family milling about hours" of 7 - 9 AM, and 5 - 10 PM.

[sweeps]

Top Ten Signs You Need To Turn Your Heat Up:
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#4:

Originally Posted by lrjohnson

I've had ice inside the window in my bedroom. Where I could reach out and touch it, lying in bed.

[christy38401]

I cannot stand to be cold. I keep mine at about 72 degrees and my bill runs about $75 a month.

Christy

[Coleroo]

Originally Posted by christy38401

I cannot stand to be cold. I keep mine at about 72 degrees and my bill runs about $75 a month.

Christy

WOW Christy! you must live in a low rate area or have come up with some great ways to save on the bill otherwise? I wish ours was like that. Hubby and I are practically never home (we both work 7 am to 6 pm and spend most of our evenings with my parents at their house. I'd say we're home only a total of 11 pm to 6 am M-F and about 10 daytime hours on the weekend. And we havent even turned on our heater all winter. We turn off all lights when not in use, we dont have a TV that stays running, no computer is on, my laptop is only on and being used a few hours a week, the diswasher and washing machine / dryer only runs maybe 2-3 times a week...and our house is only 1150 sq. ft. Yet our bill this month was $92. I've become strapped at finding more ways to reduce the bill without going nutso... lol

[christy38401]

Well, I live in southern Tennessee so it is not very cold to begin with. But it has been in the 20's and 30's lately and that seems like bitter cold to me. I have not really been doing anything else to cut down the bills. I live in a newer mobile home.

Christy

[Ima saver]

I think a lot of people adjust to the weather differently. When we play bridge, I turned my heat up to 67. The other ladies sit there with sweaters on. I wear my coolest shirt and I still sweat. I keep my heat on 60 all day and turn it up just a little when dh gets home.

[crabbypatty]

I keep my heat at 60 during the day and recently about 58 at night. My bill today was $400 for a 3200 sq ft home. It is heated half by gas and half by electric. Electric costs are due to be increased by 50% this June. We are looking into having heavy curtains and/or window quilts made and will insulate our basement in preparation for next winter.

[ChimbleySweep]

I have gas heat and my bills this winter have averaged about $130/mo. We keep it at 60 during the day while we're gone and then at 69 when we're home. My home is 12 years old, split level, about 1600 sq. ft.

That's about what my electric bill is in the summer, too. Right around $120-30.