So far this winter I feel like we have been lucky. The weather seems to be more mild than last year. There is definitely less snow. There has been some bitterly cold days though and I am sure there are more to come. Here are a few ways to save a little money by adjusting your thermostat.
Turn the thermostat down if you leave the house. If we are gone for the day we turn our heat down to 64 degrees. If we are gone for more than a day we turn it down lower. If you have a cat or other pet you will want to make sure you take them into consideration before turning the temperature too low.
Try gradually reducing your temperature during the day. Reduce it by 1 degree and try it for few days. You may find out that you can lower it another 2 or 3 degrees and still be comfortable. We have gotten accustomed to 67 degrees. I use to have it at 70. Wear a sweater or extra pair of socks if you get chilled.
Turn the heat down at night while your asleep. Use extra blankets to keep warm. By lowering your heat 5-10 degrees at night you could save 5-10% off your heating bill. A programmable thermostat comes in really handy for this. You can set it to lower after your in bed and set it to turn the heat back up before you awake.
I only buy milk at ALDI. It is $1.79 a gallon all the time. I HATE to have to buy it any where else. Just knowing that I could buy 2 gallons for what other stores charge for one makes me sick to my stomach!!
ReplyDeletethis is great!!
ReplyDeleteI have ours programmed for 4 settings monday - friday to fluctuate: over nights 63 (we have a heated ceiling fan in our bedroom that we close off from the rest of the house overnight, 4am it warms up to 70, then drops to 68 after 7 (when the door is done letting kids in & out), then back up to 70 5-10pm. We are in the basement all day for childcare & as much as I'd like to drop that a few degrees I don't dare as it was 66ish down here today w/it set @68 :)
I must be made of sterner stuff. Here, our heating is set at 18 degrees centigrade and it comes on from 5 pm until 9 pm. Other than that time, the house is unheated. Out side, it's around 4/5 degrees centigrade at this time of year - so indoors at maximum we have it at 64 degrees farenheit and outside it's 43 degrees farenheit. To be honest, I don't find it cold outside and I;m barefoot and without a jumper inside. We could easily do without heating inside as the house is around 55 degrees farenheit without any heating at all. I'm 45 and grew up in a house with no heating, except one coal fire in one room, our bedroom windows had ice inside in the winter so my modern, insulated, double glazed house always seems warm to me. We're hardy old things over here!
ReplyDeleteI have your same philosphy, although we manage to get it down to 60 when sleeping or away from the house and it suits us just fine.
ReplyDeleteWe keep the thermostat at 60 degress 24/7. I read somewhere that fluctuating the temps. actually costs more...your furnance is working more and energy price cost differs at different times of the day. We have cut our heating costs in half by this method. No, we are not cold and we have a toddler/pets and plants..all thriving!!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love our woodstove. We haven't turned on the electric furnace in months. Sometimes I have to open a door to cool things off if it gets to warm, and I keep doors closed for rooms we don't use to keep the heat centrally located. Has saved a bundle on the electric bill and the wood is all off of our 5 acres from trees we selected, fell, cut and split.
ReplyDeleteFrugal Queen, that's awesome! I don't think we could go that low here! I am already listening to my kiddos complain about the cold.
ReplyDeleteHope, Joy and Faith Farm, I would LOVE to have a wood burning stove or a fireplace. I am afraid that won't happen though in the house that we live in now.