How Warm Do You Keep Your Home In The Winter?

I like to keep it at about 68, maybe a little higher on those days when I just can't get warm. I do take it down a few degrees at night, but I don't like to take it under 62 because I'm more likely to wake up with an aching and stiff neck if it gets cold at night.

I try to keep it around 68 (if I can keep my wife away from the thermostat).

John

I hate cold weather and I hate being cold. There is a constant struggle between myself and my wife over the thermostat,no matter what season it is.
I swear she keeps it at 65,while for me,anything above 72 is acceptable.

During the day, around 64 - 66. At night, 62.

I am lucky. My wife and I both prefer cold. Our bedroom is above the garage so it stays cooler. Our kids rooms are always about 6 - 10 deg. warmer, so we don't worry about them being too cold.

I never understood the logic of people turning the heat DOWN at night. (I had to break my ex of this)

When you sleep your body temperature drops!

In the day time during the winter I keep it at 60-65 depending on how cold it is outside Anything below freezing, generally the heat goes to 65.

I wear multiple layers of clothing during the day:

Long sleeved tee shirt. Sweater/sweatshirt over that. Hoodie/fleece over that. I also wear a beanie hat indoors. You lose most of your body heat through your head.

At night (bed time) I keep it at 65-68.

By doing it this way I save a ton of money since the majority of the heat is only used for 6-8 hours when I sleep.

Some people like to keep it very cold to save money, but then end up spending it anyway in health bills.

I try to keep MINE at 55 degrees. Apparently, that is the recommended temperature to SAVE ENERGY in winter. Much lower can cause too abrupt a change in the structure, and can cause ice/snow to accumulate. The structure of the home would be much colder than the 55, since it has to cool down to cool down the interior. ALSO, the thermostat is AWAY from the outside walls. If I am in really bad sorts, I MIGHT turn it up to 71. BTW the COLDEST you should set the cooler is perhaps 70, as some can freeze up, etc...

Jason,

People that are ASLEEP are less sensitive to the cold, and you can use more blankets. So keeping the heat up doesn't make sense. It is risky, and expensive. A lot of people like to be able to spend their waking hours free of a lot of clothing, while inside, so they turn the heat UP.

BTW it is LESS risky NOW, but STILL risky. MY heater checks the blower to make sure it works. If it were to fail, there could be CO poisoning. It ALSO checks to see if there is gas before a spark, otherwise, who knows what might happen. It ALSO checks that a flame is lit, otherwise, the place could fill up with gas. If that failed, or it was an older one that had no such measures, I would like to be AWAKE and dressed when it happened. I could call the fire department, and wait in safety, etc....

Keeping the heat lower limits the opportunity for such a problem to occur.

Steve

Back in my mountain man days I lived a couple winters in a cabin that was about a 10 mile ski or sno-sled ride from nearest paved road. Water source was pitcher pump and had to drain that at night so would not freeze. Also had to put dogs water dish in the proprane reefer so it would not freeze solid!

Then got civilized (married) and had agreement with wife. She could stoke the wood stove up as much as she wanted if I could leave the front door open to watch the snow. Took about 10 cords/winter but DAMN...that snow is pretty when it is about the size of chicken feathers and stacking up fast.

Then when I passed the entrance exam for this disability check, 80 degrees sometimes is not warm enough! Guess my blood takes it's time visiting my extremities!

Funny thing is now my wife is menopausal so guess what she wants the thermometer to be? Yep...I get to wear lots of sweaters and booty type mocs!

Ain't life grand!

I want my house WARM. My asthma does well in dry heat - and I burn anything I eat so fast that there's not a lot left over for extra body heat.

When I can do it, I have a window at least cracked for fresh air inflow - but keep temps cranked up around 75. Wood stove, space heater - whatever it takes. If my hands, feet, or knees get cold I can't rewarm them without outside heat sources. I'm okay dressed heavy in cold outside as long as I keep moving, but if I stop, there has to be fire. Took my roomie's daughter out for her first rock hunt yesterday - supposed to be sun so I figured 50 degrees wouldn't be bad - but there was no sun. We both started to get real cold when we stopped to eat lunch and there was no fuel for a fire nearby (desert region that only gets hunted on off summer seasons). Never got warm again all day after that. Give me heat - I don't care what the source.

If winters start getting too cold and heat too expensive or scarce, I'll be a Southerner for sure.

I keep my house at 70-72 year round. Well, except right now because our power got shut off and KCPL wants an insane amount of money (cash or cc only) to turn it back on. I could see my breath when I got up this morning. Thank goodness my grandma is okay with me camping at her house during the day so I can still work on my big project. But I really wish something would start making me some money.
I miss heat and being at my own house.

In WA I had to pay them almost 400 bucks just to turn my utilities on. And that was legal even though there were no competitors from which to choose services. I moved in winter and had no clue they could even do that legally and wonder what I'd have done if I couldn't have turned my utilities on because of it. I also wonder how many senior citizens out there freeze to death in winter due to our utility monopolies.

It doesn't get very cold here compared to most places although it is very windy.

I didn't turn the heat on for probably 5 years - (boycotting the utility company)

I would burn a 'presto log' in the fireplace if it got really cold.

... then the logs got almost as exensive as utilities so I don't do that as often now.

In really extreme conditions I turn the heat on just to warm the place up, put rugs at the bottom of doors, shut the blinds, and then turn it off.

Now I keep MYSELF warm - it's called "layering"...

... and lots of blankets...

What's the weather up to out there right now Pat? I couldn't reach my sister so am wondering if you folks are experiencing a tad of colder than usual, too? Last time I was out to the Stockton area on thanksgiving I sunbathed on top of a houseboat on the marina - in fact, I lived on it for 3 days while I was visiting her (kept me out of the fire of 8 cats I'm allergic to).

The last year I lived in this area I went rock hunting right up until December. We got snow at elevations already and yesterday I took the roomie's 7 yr old daughter out on her first rock hunt and we came home early it because it was so cold - and we had layers on.

Will be interesting to see how many people stick to those low temps in their homes this winter.

It's snowing today in Northern Iowa. Started out with sleet and now it's just plain snow.

Our furnace temp is set at 66 but we've got a corn/wood/bio burner and generally with it running it keeps the house temp about 70-75. Between the kids, hubby and myself we all need heat to keep our toes warm!

Though perrsonally I hate cold, but I won't let my house too warm in the winter. One thing, it is a waste of energy, the other is may not good for your health either!

We bought a few Travis Industries stoves for the winter, a gas for our bedroom and a pellet for downstars.

I FREAKING LOVE THEM!

They both have remotes, add massive value to the house, and KEEP THE HOUSE WARM!

If you buying a stove, check them out for the best of the best!

We keep it at 70 durring the day, 69 at night.
We have a geothermal unit so that really helps.

Lambert

We keep the house at about 75. I can't stand a cold house; I grew up in one and I swore I'd never live like that. Plus, we have a lot of reptiles and they like it nice and toasty too.

I think the standard is from 70 to 75....

But aside from using heater there are still ways on how to keep you home warm during winter time. According to article that I've read here are ways on how to keep you homes warm:
1. Go around your house and check all of your windows. Check to see that all of your windows are properly shut.
2. Seal your doors. Check around the door frame and also under the door.
3. Close off any unused rooms. The closed door makes that room another barrier between you and the wicked winter weather. It also stops air from circulating as much, which reduces heat loss.
4. Put up sets of heavy curtains. These can block drafts on both windows AND doors. Open them when the sun is shining to help pull in the solar heat into your house and close them when it gets cloudy or dark out to better keep the heat in.
5. Dress warmly. Hats are a great idea, as it is a well known fact that 75% of your body heat escapes from your head. Layer yourself with loose clothing article, rather than tight.. heat accumulates in the folds of the layers, keeping you much warmer than a tight sweater.
6. Cook. Steam will raise the moisture level in your home, making you feel warmer. Make a large pot of soup, put the kettle on for tea (or cocoa, or instant coffee.. whatever you please) Bake bread or cookies.
7.Light candles. Candles can produce a lot of heat, but be mindful of where they are placed and do not leave them unattended.
8. Take a hot shower. Not only will this warm you up quickly, but the steam from the hot water will raise moisture levels in the house, helping the ambient temperature feel about 15 degree warmer.
9. Last, but not least, cuddle up on the couch or in bed with someone or a pet. The closer you cuddle the more body heat you can build up between the two of you. Think of survival tactics in the elements... people lost at sea are recommended to huddle together in the water to keep body heat up and keep hypothermia at bay. These tactics apply in most situations, so use science to your advantage!

Source:hubpages.com (Handy Ways to Keep your House Warm this Winter)

When I was in Colorado, I didn't even turn the furnace on. Instead, I use a small ceramic space heater and just put it where I am and heat me up, instead of the whole place. Now that I'm back in Las Vegas, I'll only need the space heater a few days during winter.

66 here (19 Celsius).