The moment I realized my thermostat was working against me all winter

I used to set my thermostat to 72 degrees every morning before work, thinking I was keeping my house warm efficiently. Then last January my gas bill hit $240, which was way higher than usual. My neighbor Jerry, who works for the gas company, told me I was making my furnace work overtime by cranking it up so high after letting the house cool down to 58 at night. He explained that maintaining a steady temperature around 68 uses less energy overall, and my last bill dropped by $40 after I tried it. Has anyone else found a sweet spot with their thermostat settings?

2 comments

2 Comments

harperwright25d ago

That neighbor Jerry sounds like he knows his stuff, but I gotta wonder... what about the humidity factor? My house feels colder at 68 when it's damp outside, so i end up bumping it up anyway. Did Jerry mention anything about that, or is it just a straight temp number game? It seems like there's more to it than just picking a number and sticking with it... especially with older houses that aren't sealed up great. Maybe the real trick is figuring out what works for your specific place, not just following one rule.

elliotr3925d ago

Wait, hold on @harperwright... you said "straight temp number game" and that got me thinking... are you telling me your house feels colder at 68 when it's damp? Because that sounds like a whole different problem... I mean, I always thought it was just about the number on the thermostat, not how the air actually feels. Jerry never mentioned humidity to me, but now I'm wondering if my neighbor was holding out on the full story... maybe he just wanted to shave his own gas bill and passed along the tip without the extra details.