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House heating argument


87GT

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Help me win an argument I am having. I have gas forced air heating in my house. I believe it will cost less money to lower the heat while I am sleeping and/or not home. This is because the colder my house is the longer it will stay at the temperature on my thermostat. Some people keep telling me when I get home and the temp is set higher then the furnace will run more (DUH) and cost more energy to heat up the house then just keeping it set at a high temp 24/7. Fucking run-on sentences.

 

Thoughts?

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My thoughts is you are losing it through cracks and windows ect in the old house and the further you are away from the outside temp the more it's gonna cost you regardless of when you adjust it.

 

The "catch-up" period will cost less overall than it cranking all day long. There is some method to it I guess. You do not want it so cold that all the stuff in your house is freezing and has to be substantially warmed when you get home. Just a couple degrees (5ish) is good.

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Also have programmable thermostat. Just did some research on the interwebz last week about this.

 

Based on a study, it's a myth that you use more energy heating your house back up after you turn it down during the night(if you do it right). For every degree you turn down for an eight hour stretch, typically takes 1% less energy, so 10 degress equals 10%. During times where the temps are mild (like right now) you won't see that much of a savings, it's when the temps vary greatly from outside to inside is where you see the savings.

 

It's great if you keep the house cool during the day, but most people crank the heat really high once they get home and lose the savings they made during the day. Set it for the temp that you want, and most programmable thermostats are 'smart' thermostats and will turn on whenever they need to in order to be at the temp you desire at that time. For example: If you set it for 68 degress at 6:15am when you wake up then the thermostat will learn over time that it needs to turn on at 6:07am in order to reach 68 degress by 6:15am.

 

If you spend most of your time in one room, you will save a lot more money by using a space heater in that room as opposed to heating the whole house.

 

Also, if you have bedrooms that you rarely go in, shut the vents in those rooms and close the doors. The heat will get pushed to other rooms in the house, and theoretically, heat less of the house. Although, don't close too many vents, as this will create back pressure and could hurt your furnace.

 

Cliffs: If you turn down the heat when you don't need it, you'll save money. But don't overheat the house when you are there, which will negate the savings you made while sleeping or not at home....and use space heater if you mostly use one room at night, this equals big savings.

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I don't have an unlimited account but I have disposable income every now and then, It's suposed to pay for itself in one season. And let's just cut to the chase, if I can lay my lazy ass in bed and be cold/hot at night and grab my iphone and turn up/down the heat/ac, I'm sold.
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I don't have an unlimited account but I have disposable income every now and then, It's suposed to pay for itself in one season. And let's just cut to the chase, if I can lay my lazy ass in bed and be cold/hot at night and grab my iphone and turn up/down the heat/ac, I'm sold.

 

Would you buy an Apple dildo if they made one?

 

Just wondering

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The only thing I'm going to miss about my apartment is that I still haven't turned my heat on. The fucking dumbass neighbors I have suck, but they aparently like to be toasty warm because my apartment hasn't gotten cold enough to kick on set at 72. The stat says its about 73-74 in my place. My wife was running the A/C a few weeks ago because she was hot.
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I don't have an unlimited account but I have disposable income every now and then, It's suposed to pay for itself in one season. And let's just cut to the chase, if I can lay my lazy ass in bed and be cold/hot at night and grab my iphone and turn up/down the heat/ac, I'm sold.

 

I bought a digital programmable thermostat at home depot for $40. It has 4 different temp settings for the heater M-F and 4 Settings for Sa-Sun. It is setup so you can have a temp for sleeping, waking up, going to work, coming home from work. Oh and it has 8 other settings for the a/c. Seems better then $250.

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Can you lay in bed and turn on the heat?

 

Oh and it learns and sugests better ways to set the temp in your house so you save more money. Seriously, read about it.

 

I wouldn't need to turn on the heat in bed. If I was cold I would adjust as needed before I went to bed. Also I have blankets once I am in bed that work just fine. I don't need a device to learn better ways to set the temp in my house. It doesn't take much knowledge to know when to adjust the settings on a digital thermostat... you are a guy right??? :gabe:

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Help me win an argument I am having. I have gas forced air heating in my house. I believe it will cost less money to lower the heat while I am sleeping and/or not home. This is because the colder my house is the longer it will stay at the temperature on my thermostat. Some people keep telling me when I get home and the temp is set higher then the furnace will run more (DUH) and cost more energy to heat up the house then just keeping it set at a high temp 24/7. Fucking run-on sentences.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Kindly tell those "other people" they are stupid fucking morons.

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Help me win an argument I am having. I have gas forced air heating in my house. I believe it will cost less money to lower the heat while I am sleeping and/or not home. This is because the colder my house is the longer it will stay at the temperature on my thermostat. Some people keep telling me when I get home and the temp is set higher then the furnace will run more (DUH) and cost more energy to heat up the house then just keeping it set at a high temp 24/7. Fucking run-on sentences.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

From a guy who installs furnaces and thermostats everyday, programmables can definatly save money. Same as someone turning the t-stat down manually, just does it automatically. Combine that with a modulating furnace that ramps up only as needed and you can save a lot of money.

 

$250? no thanks. Cool idea if you have unlimited bank account.

 

umm $250 is damn near starting price for a thermostat that's worth a shit. The programmables that we install with our modulating 90+'s start at 550. All the new furnaces are coming with communicating control boards and have options to use communicating thermostats that can cost over $1200. These can also be used with your phone and controlled even when away on vacation. It sure can be nice if you were on vacation during the winter when your furnace goes out and your system sends an alert to your phone. Sure beats coming home to frozen and busted water pipes.

 

 

There can even be money saved by paying a little more for a better, more accurate t-stat.

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68 during the day if nobody is home, 71 during "normal" hours, and 68-69 overnight. I believe it saves a lot of money. Back when it was just my wife and I, I think we always kept it between 67-69. I go higher now in the lame hopes that it will keep my 3 kids from getting sick as often.

 

I am on natural gas as well.

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I don't have an unlimited account but I have disposable income every now and then, It's suposed to pay for itself in one season. And let's just cut to the chase, if I can lay my lazy ass in bed and be cold/hot at night and grab my iphone and turn up/down the heat/ac, I'm sold.

 

That is awesome. I'm on the waiting list for one.

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I have my programmable thermostat set for 69 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. After that, it drops down to 65. My gas bill hasn't been over $90 since I moved in. My wife complains until she sees the gas bill, then I usually get a few days of silence.

 

I totally believe in turning it down at night.

 

Oh, and adding more insulation to your house (if you can) works wonders.

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I have my programmable thermostat set for 69 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. After that, it drops down to 65. My gas bill hasn't been over $90 since I moved in. My wife complains until she sees the gas bill, then I usually get a few days of silence.

 

I totally believe in turning it down at night.

 

Oh, and adding more insulation to your house (if you can) works wonders.

 

How large is your space?

 

$90 seems REALLY cheap

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From a guy who installs furnaces and thermostats everyday, programmables can definatly save money. Same as someone turning the t-stat down manually, just does it automatically. Combine that with a modulating furnace that ramps up only as needed and you can save a lot of money.

 

 

 

umm $250 is damn near starting price for a thermostat that's worth a shit. The programmables that we install with our modulating 90+'s start at 550. All the new furnaces are coming with communicating control boards and have options to use communicating thermostats that can cost over $1200. These can also be used with your phone and controlled even when away on vacation. It sure can be nice if you were on vacation during the winter when your furnace goes out and your system sends an alert to your phone. Sure beats coming home to frozen and busted water pipes.

 

 

There can even be money saved by paying a little more for a better, more accurate t-stat.

 

 

My furnace is 15 years old and still works fine. I can't justify $250+ for a thermostat. This battery operated one I have has never failed me. I really don't have a need for knowing if the heat stopped working. Every time I am on vacation I have friends and neighbors watch my house. That is good enough for me.

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