Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

How low did your thermostat go this winter?

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » The DU Lounge Donate to DU
 
burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 10:04 AM
Original message
How low did your thermostat go this winter?
I have to keep two residences and when the combined bills were over $350 per month, I set the temp at 60 and kept bundled up.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
GOPisEvil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 10:11 AM
Response to Original message
1. I left it at about 68.
I have a small apartment, I don't think I got an electric bill over $70.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Auntie Bush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #1
12. We got an electric bill for Janurary for over $400.00
And we have OIL heat! That cost about $500.00 a month and we got $00.00 tax break. I don't know how we do it!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BlueEyedSon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 10:11 AM
Response to Original message
2. REEEEAALY expensive.
Dunno if it was the weather (which was definitely colder than usual) or the price of NG/electric.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
grannylib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 10:13 AM
Response to Original message
3. Deliberately...about 64. When we ran out of fuel in the middle of the
night once....about 50. Brrrrr.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pansypoo53219 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 10:32 AM
Response to Original message
4. ha,
we got a new boiler in JANUARY. i think the house got down to 50 or so before the heat was turned on.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Az Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 11:11 AM
Response to Original message
5. 60 degrees
We have a fairly big house and an ancient gas powered steam heating system. The next person to tell me steam heat is the best gets kicked in the shins. $400 a month at 60 degrees is insane. We had to carry space heaters around the house and just heat the specific rooms we were in.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 11:15 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. Love that Spidey gif by the way
I put it everywhere
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
TXlib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 11:25 AM
Response to Original message
7. The temperature once dipped as low as 52 outside.
I think we had to turn the heater on for a few hours.

*ducks*
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 11:33 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. well then we'll just have to pose the air conditioning question in august
then, won't we.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
TXlib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 11:35 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. heh heh... touche
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BiggJawn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 12:11 PM
Response to Original message
10. Shut OFF.
What a DRAG! Shut it completely OFF when I leave for work, turn it up to 66 when I get home, turn it down to 60 when I go to bed, turn it up to 68 at 5AM piss-call so it's warm when the alarm goes off at 6:30, then shut it off when I leave for work...

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

And sometimes I forget and the dust bunnies enjoy a nice torpid 68 degrees all day.....

I have a 400-sq-foot 2 bedroom apartment that cost me $90 to heat last month, even with all that up and down. And it wasn't really that cold!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 12:19 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. Maybe it burns more fuel to re-heat than it does to keep at a low heat
that's what I heard once anyway
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BiggJawn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 01:42 PM
Response to Reply #11
13. Perhaps, I wonder too...
But by leaving it at 66, I spend over $100 to heat the place.

Just a Royal Pain to have to remember to crank it up and down....
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
geniph Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:19 PM
Response to Reply #10
15. Wouldn't it be easier to just buy a new thermostat?
You can get a programmable one for about $40, and they're very easy to install. Keep the old one if you don't own your place, and re-install it when you move. Take the programmable one with you.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
geniph Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:17 PM
Response to Original message
14. 55 at night or when we're gone,
Edited on Mon Mar-15-04 07:18 PM by geniph
64 in the morning when we're getting ready for work/school, and 68 in the evenings until an hour before bedtime. If I find any windows or doors left open, at all, I turn the furnace off. I'm the only one who knows how to operate the computerized thermostat, and I pay the bills, so it was one way to teach my stepsons to SHUT THE F***ING DOOR BEHIND YOU.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Padraig18 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:20 PM
Response to Original message
16. 65 when we're awake, 60 when we're in bed.
We have a heated mattress pad and plenty of blankets and comforters. :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:38 PM
Response to Reply #16
20. I actually sleep better when the heat is under the comforters as opposed
to in the room.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Padraig18 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:39 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. So do we.
But it makes getting out of bed not much fun. Thank God I have a Pendelton ankle-length bathrobe and fleece-lined houseshoes. :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
fire1234 Donating Member (15 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:23 PM
Response to Original message
17. Set the temp
At about 70, bill came out about $150.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
nini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:25 PM
Response to Original message
18. Mine's at about 50...
I use an electric room heater for the bedroom that doesn't use much energy and use alot of bankies..

It's cheaper than heating a 3 BR tri-level with cathedral ceilings.

My electric bill ran about 30 dollars a month. :-)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
SOteric Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:36 PM
Response to Original message
19. I bought one of those inexpensive programmable thermostats
Edited on Mon Mar-15-04 07:38 PM by SOteric
that kept my apartment at about 58-60, then turned up to about 68 just before I got out of bed and again before I got home to bring the place to a lovely ambient temperature. For unusually cold or unusually warm weather, the programming could be easily (1 button) and temporarily over-ridden, and be set to different times for different days of the week.

My combined heating bill for the 3 coldest months of the year was $82.

I'm happy.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
burythehatchet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:40 PM
Response to Reply #19
22. whaa?
in Seattle? That's amazing.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Piltdown13 Donating Member (829 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-15-04 07:50 PM
Response to Original message
23. Hmmm, about 65-68 during the day,
below 60 when we go to bed. Wish we didn't have to keep it up so high during the day/evening, but our 90-plus year old house has the heating double-whammy: very poor insulation, and a furnace that dates to about 1960. We're probably losing about half the heat it generates, so it always has to be on or else we'll freeze (I'm talking cold enough that we're still uncomfortable in several layers plus a blanket). Unfortunately, the landlord can't put in new insulation because after we move out, he has to have the place rewired and a bunch of other work done that would be much more difficult if a bunch of new insulation were blown into the walls. And of course a new furnace is similarly out of the question. Our gas bill topped $300 in January! Oh, well, at least our rent is fairly reasonable for the size of the place...tough to find a 3-bedroom or equivalent much cheaper than we've got around here.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Fri Dec 27th 2024, 11:37 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » The DU Lounge Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC