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Post by Cabin Fever on Nov 7, 2022 16:01:45 GMT
During the winter, we have a fire going in the fireplace. This will bring the temp in our combined livingroom/dining room/kitchen to around 75ºF during the day. The bedrooms, which are on the other end of the house, will be in the mid-60s during the day.
We let the fire go out at night. Consequently, the house temp will drop during the night. Since our house is well-insulated, the house temp will be in the low 60s when we get up in the morning.
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Post by daw on Nov 7, 2022 18:25:29 GMT
My furnace is turner off except to warm the house of a morning. It can get down tto 61 at night but warms quickly with the furnace. I do not think the bedrooms in this house are well insulated.a all electric heater makes a big difference.
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Post by UseLess on Nov 7, 2022 19:00:59 GMT
If a home is properly insulated, the cost to keep it at 65* or 70* would be equal if the home was at temp to start with. Turning down the temp to save money only costs more run time to bring it back up to temp as you want it later. Keep it at one temp and forget it. I as curious about this. The string of online articles look to run about 50% saves $$, 50% doesn't save money. Setting a thermostat lower all the time has to cost less than running it higher, though.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Nov 7, 2022 19:50:11 GMT
If a home is properly insulated, the cost to keep it at 65* or 70* would be equal if the home was at temp to start with. Turning down the temp to save money only costs more run time to bring it back up to temp as you want it later. Keep it at one temp and forget it. I as curious about this. The string of online articles look to run about 50% saves $$, 50% doesn't save money. Setting a thermostat lower all the time has to cost less than running it higher, though. Yeah, I was using my few math skills the other night to do some comparisons between having it set at 68 and dropping the temp 8 degrees for 8 hrs every night vs lowering the daytime temp 2-3 degrees and dropping it just a little more for 5 hrs at night. Savings seemed about the same, without having the greater variations in temperature. I think I’d be happier with that.
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Nov 7, 2022 19:50:22 GMT
A few years ago with did a couple things to reduce our propane usage. First, we had a tankless water heater installed, as even with a water softener in line we get enough lime buildup in a regular water heater that the buildup in the bottom makes it inefficient. Second, we had 9" of insulation blown into the attic. Since that stuff settles over time I'll probably get another 9" blown in in another couple years. We can really tell the difference in propane usage, and electrical too in the summertime. Our furnace and AC both used to cycle much more often, and even though flushing the tankless heater is a pain every 6 months, it's sure worth the savings.
In the winter we usually heat with the wood burning fireplace insert, but sometimes I get a severe case of the lazies, and flip on the central heat. That insert, with even a moderate fire, keeps the whole home warm enough for comfort even in the furthest parts of the house.
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Post by woolybear on Nov 7, 2022 20:12:03 GMT
Experimenting with the heat this year. I have the thermostat set to 68*. When the mornings are cold I run a space heater in the living room where the thermostat is. Space heater heats the room to mid 70s, and keeps the oil furnace from running. Last year I had to do the space heater dance when the fuel oil company kept putting off filling my tank for over 3 weeks from my first request and it got between empty and 1/4. Furnace only runs for about 8 hours at night. Not sure how this will work out when the dead of winter hits. If it were just me here I would set the temp lower, but I have a short hair dog that gets cold easily and 3 old cats that have arthritis and don't do well with the cold now. Cold never used to bother me but in the last 2 years I don't tolerate it as well as I used to. So I wear a tank top, t shirt, flannel shirt, wool socks and sweat pants when it gets really cold. Hoping to be able to get gas logs installed in the fireplace soon, then I'll switch from the space heater to the logs. Fuel oil is probably close to $6/gal., propane is running something around $4.50/gal but my first fill will be $2.69/gal. Propane place uses 100 gal tanks, I'm going to push for a bigger tank (like a 150 gal.) and explain that I want to install a backup genny next year.
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Post by sawmilljim on Nov 7, 2022 21:08:57 GMT
This area most LP tanks are 500 or 1,000 gallon.
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Post by woolybear on Nov 7, 2022 22:27:09 GMT
This area most LP tanks are 500 or 1,000 gallon. I think around here when you get that size tank you have to bury them. Don't think I would need one quite that big.
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Post by farmrbrown on Nov 7, 2022 23:18:23 GMT
Always remember, wood is the fuel that always warms you up twice.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Nov 7, 2022 23:36:57 GMT
woolybear, you’re like me…willing to be cold yourself but not willing to let the animals get uncomfortable.
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Post by farmrbrown on Nov 8, 2022 0:20:20 GMT
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Nov 18, 2022 0:28:19 GMT
I had a big misunderstanding with what the home inspector told me about my heat/AC system last summer. Had a talk with the guys installing my new system…I have a GAS furnace, everything else is electric. So I’m now getting a gas bill, which the gas co. says should average $35 or so per mo. I’ve had heat on now for the last 2-3 weeks. Have had the thermostat at 67*, sometimes I turn it down a few degrees at night but often just leave it at 67*. Temps have been mostly around 35* I think, with nights in the low 20s or teens. Last month’s bill with no heat was $107. This month I had the heat on but have been more careful about lights, appliance use, hot water etc. Electric bill this month was $2.50 lower than last month. I’m sure it’ll increase some over the next several months but I suspect I can keep it reasonable.
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Nov 18, 2022 14:04:07 GMT
wildhorseluvr , Getting a $107 bill for gas when you're not burning any makes no sense. You might want the heat/AC guys to check for a leak between your meter and the unit. Old black iron gas pipes corrode over time.
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Post by Cabin Fever on Nov 18, 2022 14:11:55 GMT
We are lucky to have natural gas at our place which is in the middle of 40 acres of forest. Our gas bill during the non-heating season averages $35/month. Gas is used by our range/oven, hot water heater, and clothes dryer.
During the cold months, we may run our gas furnace in the morning to quickly reduce the chill in the house before the woodstove takes over.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Nov 18, 2022 15:15:59 GMT
wildhorseluvr , Getting a $107 bill for gas when you're not burning any makes no sense. You might want the heat/AC guys to check for a leak between your meter and the unit. Old cast iron gas pipes corrode over time. I didn’t make myself very clear…or maybe I still don’t understand what I was told, which wouldn’t be surprising. The $107 was the previous month’s electric bill…everything that uses electricity in my house but with no heat or AC running at all. Since then the new heat/AC units were installed..which has a gas furnace…and I’ve been running the heat at 67* for approx 3 weeks. With the furnace running, I expected my electric bill to go up, instead it went down by a couple of dollars. 🤷🏻♀️ Just paid the other half of the bill…this was my copy of the work order, which is all Greek to me. Attachment Deleted
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