With winter approaching and the cold weather season setting in, it is important to keep your home warm and comfortable for the cooler months. While it is important to allow your home heating system to warm the living areas of your house, it is also important to do so in an energy efficient manner that won’t cause massive electric bills from your utilities company. So what’s the perfect temperature to set your thermostat during winter to provide you with a balance of comfort and cost efficiency?
Typically in the wintertime, setting your thermostat to 68-70 degrees will be the ideal temperature to keep your home warm without breaking the bank. This depends, of course, on the time of day. Many people will find that 68-70 degrees is suitable for day time in the winter. At night however, it can be a good idea to drop the thermostat a few degrees down to around 65 degrees. Because we typically sleep under layers of blankets at night, there is much less of a need to have the ambient room temperature in your home set so high.
If you have multi zone heating and cooling system, try setting the temperature lower in areas of your home that are not used at night, such as your kitchen, living room, etc. This will allow your heating system to work on heating only the areas of the house where people sleep. Saving energy by not running the heater in empty areas of the house will help you save money on your heating bill throughout the colder months.
Another thing you can try is gradually lowering the temperature of your thermostat as your body adjusts to the cold weather. As winter progresses, your body will become acclimated to the cold weather. Because of this acclimation you will not need the temperature of your thermostat to be so high, so you can try dropping it by 1 degree each week or every two weeks until you find a comfortable baseline for your home temperature.
Try these tips this winter season, and stay warm and confident that you won’t break the bank just to keep your house heated!
