When do you turn on your heat

[Daniel]

I know everyone says wait until you can't wait anymore and then set it at 68.

I turned my system off about a week ago

I'm having a few problems.

Before anyone says call someone, this wouldn't be in my '06 budget unless the thing actually quits.

So we're running about 80/ 60 every day. It's too warm to turn on the system but by the time I wake up it's cold (to me).

Then the house retains the cold until about noon. The porch is probably around 85 at noon and the house 75.

I've turned on the heat as an experiment.

I can't describe it much or tell you why but the heater air is unpleasant, whereas the air on air-conditioning mode is just fine.

I know I need to replace the filter but I have 100 other things to get done.

So when the heat is turned on, unlike the air-conditioning, the control box seems to kind of guess at what the inside temperature, and turning it up or doesn't seem to make any difference. ?????

The system could quit tomorrow (if course I hope not) but it was great in the summer. It could hold the temperature without going over 76 on the hottest days of the year.

I'm glad I can have the system off for some time because of the electric bill.

But it will have to come on when the lows reach into the 50's.

I'm not sure how to manage it except to say the heat will be on by Nov. 1.

Thoughts?

.

[jon-nyc]

I’ve become more intolerant of cold as I age (and lose weight involuntarily). I find myself putting the heat on when the house (not the outside) is below 70. And I put on the AC when it hits 74 or 75.

[Bernard]

At this time of year, my house temperature hovers in the upper 50s to lower 60s.

It's a little tricky, depending on the outside temps. If it remains 40 F or above outside, the stove is overkill--and it doesn't draft well if it's that warm, anyway. If it gets too chilly in here I turn on a space heater to chase the chill away. So my inside temps hover in the upper 50s, lower 60s.

One night last week the overnight low was 20 F and it was a little too cold in here the following morning. The following night I lit the stove at 9 pm and it was wonderful. The residual heat from the stove kept the house a comfortable low 60s through the rest of the day. That was the first night this season of lighting the stove. I lit it last night again. Probably will not light it tonight since the low is supposed to be 36 F. If it's too cold in the morning I'll light the stove.

Inside temps rarely go over 65 F in the winter here.

[CHAS]

Have a gas log fireplace made to act as auxiliary heat. I began flipping it on in the mornings for a while weeks ago. We finally got an inch of snow last week. That brought in enough cold for the heat to kick on. We no longer get the cold days in late June or August, but I never touch the thermostat. If it gets cold in the night the heat many kick on.
Had the old heat/water heater system replaced in September. It had started to need too many repairs.

[DougG]

Like my literary hero, External heat and cold had little influence on me.
No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill me.

I keep my heater set at 58° which is my HOA’s requirement to avoid pipes freezing in the winter.

[Daniel]

It would be better if I knew the history of the AC unit. It's quite strange. All stickers with the brand name have peeled off long before me. I can't even find and identification numbers anywhere on the outside of the unit. There's no way the brand name and identification numbers aren't stamped in m the metal or on metal plates where I can't find them. The control unit has the name of the business who installed it. I would call someone else.

Maintenance came. So after my light bulbs project, I sprayed down the carpet and washed my car to within an inch of its life.

All of it is drying. As soon as it's dry, I'm going to wax my car. Wax on. Wax off. I didn't think I'd get to it today, but the paint has to be cleaned and sealed, so dirt and grease roll off it.

I don't think it's been washed thoroughly and waxed in about a year. That might take a couple hours of elbow grease but at least it will be done for about 6 months.

I'll have to improvise. It worst comes to worst, I'll buy space heaters.

[Daniel]

@DougG said:

Like my literary hero, External heat and cold had little influence on me.
No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill me.

I keep my heater set at 58° which is my HOA’s requirement to avoid pipes freezing in the winter.

Wow. That's cold.

I'm thinking around 65 might be nice.

Artificial heat is stifling to me after living in the Sub-Tropics and Tropics for all but 12 years of my life.

I did live in a desert for 4 years in AZ not far from where you live now.

I always found the nighttimes extremely cold.

Btw, who is your literary hero?

[DougG]

@Daniel

Another quote from the same charactor..

“If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.