My home heating bills are going up fast. What is the best way to save money on home heating? Some say it is better just to leave the thermostat at the same temperature all the time, as it costs so much to bring a cold house up to temperature. Others say to use a programmable thermostat. Still others feel you should set the thermostat down to 50 degrees at night and while at work. What do you suggest?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for keeping your home comfortable cheaply.
If you want to save a significant amount on your heating bills, you could set back the thermostat to 60 degrees Fahrenheit for the entire heating season while you're awake, and then to 50 degrees when you are asleep. Go out and buy some long underwear, a hooded sweatshirt and maybe some light gloves. This may be a drastic change in your at-home lifestyle, but the savings will be amazing.
Most homes are very different from one another. Each one loses heat at a different rate -- a well-insulated home being better at retaining it, of course. But, given the different sources of heat that a home can have, the rate and amount of heat produced can vary significantly. Keep in mind that furnaces, boilers, heat pumps and so forth are like shoes -- they come in all different sizes. To make things even more complicated, the heat produced at the point where you and I can first feel it, the floor or wall register or radiant source, can be as cool as 98 degrees with a heat pump or as high as 125 to 130 degrees with an oil furnace. Natural gas heat can also produce high register temperatures.
Far and away, the best way to save money and remain comfortable while you're awake and at home is a high-quality programmable thermostat. The best ones are outfitted with mini-computers that can figure out how quickly your furnace or boiler can bring your house up to the desired temperature, so as to use the minimal amount of fuel but also keep peace among those who want the house to be warm.
The trouble is, many people who have programmable thermostats do not extract the full amount of savings from them. You need to set them up to match your family's schedule. The best thermostats have settings for each day of the week, as well as vacation settings and temporary override settings. The people who save the most on their home-heating costs are those who make the furnace go up and down in temperature at least four times a day.
When programming the thermostat, keep in mind what time you jump in bed each night. As it takes the average house a while to cool off, you might program the thermostat to set back an hour before you slide under the sheets.
Expert home builder and remodeling contractor Tim Carter has 20 years of hands-on experience in the home industry. He is a licensed master plumber, master carpenter, master roof cutter and real estate broker. If you have a question, go to askthebuilder.com and click on "Ask Tim."