When do you turn on your heat

[AndyD]

We have a Nest app for our gas central heating.

Although we have programmed Nest to heat the water supply twice a day at 6am and 5pm, the heating isn't programmed.

To answer your question, we literally turn the heating on when we feel cold, using the wifi thermostat dial (in the entrance hallway) or the app on our phones.

So if we feel cold during the day and Nest thermostat displays 66, we put the heating up to 67. Takes half an hour or so to reach that temperature by which time the house is warm. Once 67 is reached, the heating switches off automatically.
The trick is to put the thermostat in a cool place like the hallway rather than the hottest or variable place, such as the kitchen.

We set the thermostat low overnight, so the heating is mostly off then (for much of the year).
If we feel cold when we wake up we use the phone app to turn the heating on before getting up.

We like the house to be a comfortable 66-68f. Though during winter months it may be a couple of degrees higher.

[Daniel]

Omg. I just finished waxing the car. The toxins I absorbed through my skin and lungs will affect me for the next 2 or 3 days. I did wear nitrate gloves. I should have worn a surgical mask too. So tomorrow the wax sets in and bakes dry. That's the plan.

I used to wash and wax my car and my grandparents' cars, vacuum them out from floor to ceiling using every attachment, clean the interior surfaces with cleaner/ sealant, and clean the glass inside and out, without stopping.

It didn't phase me .

I think I'll put money in a piggy bank and just have it detailed in 6 months.

[Steve Miller]

I turn it on when I feel cold.

I tell myself it is to test the system.

[RealPlayer]

Turned on last week. We needed a new thermostat, as the old one malfunctioned. Still dialing in the set point. Outdoor temps are mid 40s to mid 60s now.

The kitchen is always cold. The baseboard radiators there just don’t work. We use a space heater there, but not all the time, just when we’re busy in there.

[ShiroKuro]

I started turning ours on last week I think. If it’s below 66F it feels too cold to me. I also don't like it if it’s too hot. So it seems like I had the AC on a lot and then next day switched to heat

At night I’ve been setting the heater to 66, then turning it up when we get up to take the chill off.

[Daniel]

The entire time I lived in NY once I was old to have a concept of it I wanted it to be 72. My mother and I would turn it from 68 to 72 when my father wasn't home and he would come home from a job at any random time and catch us. I hated the cold. Still do.

[AndyD]

@Daniel said:

Omg. I just finished waxing the car. The toxins I absorbed through my skin and lungs will affect me for the next 2 or 3 days. I did wear nitrate gloves. I should have worn a surgical mask too. So tomorrow the wax sets in and bakes dry. That's the plan.

I used to wash and wax my car and my grandparents' cars, vacuum them out from floor to ceiling using every attachment, clean the interior surfaces with cleaner/ sealant, and clean the glass inside and out, without stopping.

It didn't phase me .

I think I'll put money in a piggy bank and just have it detailed in 6 months.

Sounds like a good idea.
Why bother if you don't enjoy it? God washes our cars. As long as the lights, glass and number plates are clean.
Not once have I ever heard anyone complemented on their nicely washed & waxed shiny car. Probably because
a)nobody notices
b)in 24hours it's grubby again
c)nobody cares

[Daniel]

Oh, I just wanted to protect the paint. That's why I put myself through that ordeal. I think it cost me $6. But I like what you said. God washes our cars. Well said @andyd

[Mik]

@jon-nyc said:

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.

I find the same thing. I used to love going on cold winter hikes. Janet was always cold and I was always hot. We've completely reversed. We keep at 72 year round.

[wtg]

@Mik said:

I find the same thing. I used to love going on cold winter hikes. Janet was always cold and I was always hot. We've completely reversed.

Same here. In his much younger youth Mr wtg wore a t-shirt and shorts in the middle of winter and I was bundled in wool sweaters. As reverse puberty hit me I shed the sweaters and he switched to sweat pants. There was a point when we were in our late 40s/early 50s when a single thermostat setting met both our needs. Our winter setting is 70; summer setting is 76. We used to let the nighttime setting for the furnace drop to 68, but since his stroke Mr wtg tends to get cold at night so we just leave it at 70.