In the name of all things random

So now that winter is here, I have a question that is begging to be asked. 

I grew up in an older house, fairly typical for the south side of Chicago, with radiators for heat.  I remember coming in from playing in the snow and stripping back down to the last layer of clothing, putting all of our wet coats, hats, and gloves across the living room and dining room radiators to dry.  When it was cold in the house, I remember laying a blanket across the radiator and laying on top of it to warm up.  When I wanted to write on the winter ice that formed on the living room window most mornings?  I sat on the nice toasty radiator.  Both my younger brother and my younger sister split their heads open on those radiators and needed stitches, but that is neither here nor there.

The first house we purchased when we got married (that we very much still own, renters going strong, holla!) had forced air heat.  That was something very new to me, and I found that I was cold all the time that first winter.  Not that it had anything to do with the fact that both our non-existent insulation and our windows went back to, literally, 1904. 

So I ran the heat on 74 that first winter.

The second winter we realized that we should close the storm windows and cover the leaky front door.

The third winter we had KJ and finally put hair dryer plastics over the windows and ran the heat on 75.  Did I mention our furnace was twenty-five years old, too?

I was always so cold in that house.

Fast forward to this winter, 2008.  We live in a house that was built in 2004.  Our furnace and windows are four years old, and our walls have insulation (amazing what the human race has come up with over 100 years of house building).  I would like to tell you that it is because we have a new baby that I have kicked our heat up with the arrival of winter temperatures, but, eh, we carried the same constant temp last year.

74 during the day.

73 at night.

I hate being cold.  I can't stand the thought of a cold nose or toes, living in a sweatshirt and under blankets to keep warm inside the house.  So I keep it what I've been told is fairly-tropical in here. 

My parents, my in-laws and most everyone else I know runs their heat lower than we do, and even our doctor's office suggests we keep the heat at 68 or higher.  Sixty-eight, really?  Often times when we have visitors who have, ahem, visted in the past, they wear short sleeves - sometimes even pointing out that they are intentionally wearing short sleeves because our house is so warm.  (Not that I'm offended.  I'm completely secure in my heating needs, thank you.) 

Recently I wondered if I really should kick it down a bit, with the conversations out of curiosity I've been having with people lately.  So I set our heat on 70 before I went to bed.  And when I got up the next morning, pulling back my double blankets, I went downstairs to find my six-year-old watching television on the couch.  Wearing his winter coat. 

So I just need to know...

poll by twiigs.com

Comments

[Allison]

I think we're at about exact opposites. When you said you hate being in a sweatshirt under blankets, I was all "Awww!!! That sounds SOOOO good right now!"

My thermostat is currently set at 61 (I turn it down to about 59 some nights while I sleep.)

[Jess]

You're poll asked how I liked it in the house...not how we actually keep it. Thanks to the Mr. Cheapskate that I married, the house is set at 66 during the day and 62 at night. I HATE having to have socks and shoes on in the house just to keep my toes from freezing off. It's often that my fingers are stiff because they're so cold. My kids, however, run around half naked and love it. Ugh. So, if it were up to me, we'd have it 70-75 in here all winter but until we have wood heat, that won't happen. This would explain why I have a perpetual pot of water on the stove for the cocoa in my hand to never get cold. We go through an INSANE amount of cocoa mix!

[heels]

Same here- I would LOVE to have the house at 75+, but we keep it at 68 when we're home and awake, and 66 for sleeping. I freeze! It's awful! But we do save a lot of money, especially because our heater runs on very expensive natural gas (BOOO!).

[Mrs. Higrens]

If the temp in the house gets lower than 70 I am a cranky puppy, even with wearing socks and sweaters, while cuddled up under the down comforter we keep on our couch year-round, and the gas fire going.

There is no way in this day of insulation and central heating that a house should be kept any colder than that. But that's just my personal opinion.

[ktjrdn]

We set the thermostat at 70 when we're home and awake. At 68 when we're sleeping and at 65 when we're gone during the day. And then sometimes we get cold and turn it up to 72.

I wouldn't mind leaving it at 74 all the time, though. We don't becasue we're trying to save a little money. My ideal would be the capability to wear short sleeves year-long in my house.

[Alissa]

i live in Florida, remember. If it gets below about 73 in my house, I start really complaining. So, our thermostat is 73 day/night.

[crookedeyebrow]

ours is set about 69 in the winter in a house about 55 years old.But some what warmer thanks to new windows.

Remind me if I ever to come over int the winterto wear a tank top

:D

[Mrs. CPA]

My children and I would combust in your house, I swear. Tim is the only one here who is slightly cold natured. You know those blanket sleepers? None of my kids can wear them because they would sweat themselves into dehydration. We keep it at about 68 at night and 68-70 during the day if I'm here. Yearround. Great in the winter, not so great in the 100 degree summer.

[Jen L.]

We're holding steady at 70 right now, but we're also in Alabama, so it's not cold here like it is at your house. I'm just happy to have CONTROL of our thermostat! In our apt. in NY, the thermostat for the four-apartment building we lived in was in one of the upstairs units and the crazy old lady who lived there kept it so hot we had to open the windows in January!

[Rachel]

I've been keeping mine around 68-70. I will kick it up first thing in the morning to knock off the chill, but turn it back down after that.

It can be a bit chilly at times, but it keeps the utility bill low. I have a woodburning fireplace, so I am going to be buying some wood, hopefully today, and start having fires at night, then I can turn it down even more!

[Stefanie]

At my apartment, where I was insulated by three other apartments, I kept it at like 74 or so. I liked to wander around in shorts and a tee while at home. Now that I own my own two-story home and my utility bill is more than twice what it was, I keep it at 68 to 70 and wear more clothes, lots more clothes. Ugh. I would love to be that toasty, though.

[Erica]

We try to keep ours at 68. But we turn it up to 70 in the evening then back down at night. I sleep better when it is a bit cooler. With all of our breathing/asthma/allergy probs it is necessary to keep it a bit cooler at night. How funny that he was in his winter coat. I guess you got the hint huh?

[Jana]

Dude, if I can't afford to be comfortable in my own home, then other things need to be trimmed. I refuse to walk around cold. I don't think you should have to wear tons of clothes at home just to keep warm. So, yea, our thermostate is at about 73-74. Plus, if it's too cold, it's too hard to get out of that cozy bed. I say "Be warm and comfortable" in your own house. I do turn it way down if I plan on having company.

[Bethany]

Normally I keep it to 67/68 but with the babe who can't have a blanket due to her mother's fears of suffocation and such, we have been keeping it 70/72.

[Jenny]

I am SO glad you raised this VERY important issue. I am serious.
At my old house, with radiator hear, I could keep it set at 68 or 69 and was very very seldom even chilly. Now, in my new house, with forced air, I try to refuse to put it above 69, but it is FREEZING upstairs, esp in my bedroom and the spare room. I closed the vent in the spare room and it gets a full 10 degrees colder in there. My bedroom is about 66 when the rest of the house is 69. I was just debating with myself about getting a space heater for my room, but knowing me I would forget to turn it off in the morning and burn down my house. Every fire in the winter I hear of is because of a "faulty space heater." So I think I would rather freeze.
Or turn up the themostat, which I will do ONLY when my teeth start to chatter!
As I said, IMPORTANT issue!

[Christina]

We keep it at 68 now and its okay but we are in socks and sweatshirts. Before the baby we kept it at 66 and I kid you not the dog would shiver but our bills were reasonable.

[sant&weswie]

two words for you; BED HEAT!! =)

[Marilyn]

You would HATE our house. :) 68 is about as high as we ever set the thermostat, and that's only in the morning and evening. I generally keep it at 64 during the day. At night, we set it back to 58. LOL. The thing is, I cannot stand the heater to run in the night. I like to be able to cuddle under the blankets and even if my subconscious hears the heater, I will start sweating and throwing covers aside. I guess I'm a heat-phobe!

[Sadie]

I keep it kinda cool (68-70) because I like to be wrapped up in blankets. I live alone (except for two cats) so I don't have to meet anyone else's expectations.

[Tina]

Wow, you keep in toasty....I never realized how toasty. My parents keep there's between 70-72 and that is what I grew up with. But I keep it at 69 or 70 typically. And I turn it down to 65 when I go to bed or when I am not home. I dont like to wake up in the middle of the night hot and I love going to sleep on a nice and cold pillow. =) Steve used to think it was way too cold during the day.......so, if and when I have children I would probably turn it up a few notches....probably to about 72.

And I have read that you should turn it down when you go to bed about 3-5 degrees.....they say that you sleep better. =)

[Cindy]

Hey Moll: We set ours at 68 during the day and 65 at night.

I made little rice bags for the kids to sleep with. Zap them in the micro for 1 minute and the kids have a toasty bed when they get in! LOVE IT!

[Carrisa]

We keep ours on 60 during the day when we are at work at around 62 in the evenings. But we also keep one of those floor heaters in the office. We spend most nights together in our office on our computers watching tv. That little $40 heater has saved us hundreds of dollars on our gas bill. And we keep an electric blanket on our bed for night time. The rest of the house can just be cold for all I care.

[BetteJo]

I DO like it warm but my furnace is a dinosaur that isn't about to be replaced. Costs a lot to run. I use electric space heaters - only in the room I'm in - usually pointed right at me. Nice and toasty. At night the space heaters are turner off, the thermostat goes down to 66 and I have an electric blanket.
My gas AND my electric bills are fine, and I'm comfy!

[Amy W]

I too have a cheap husband, and we keep our heat on 73. And actually, the girls' rooms stay nice and warm, it's our room that is freezing.

And I have been known to turn the downstairs up to 74...I pretend the dog did it.

[Operation Pink Herring]

I have to qualify my vote (67-68) by saying OH MY GOD IT'S NOT JUST ME? I am ALWAYS cold and I hate it, but I thought that was just my lot in life. I actually thought 67 was pushing it... I come from a family where my mom doesn't turn on the heat in the winter. Ever. I thought I was the rebel daughter, the one who moved 200 miles south and still has to jack up the thermostat just to keep from shivering... and now I know that I'm NOT crazy. I'm going to go turn the thermostat up to 68 in celebration.