Winter house heat setting?

LeftyWilbury

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 6, 2014
Messages
279
Location
Western Montana
we heat up to 66F in the winter, bedtime 58.
i'm not made of money
and my house ain't made of straw bales and adobe.

but A+ on programmable thermostats. i'm ok with that.
if i'm still in bed when the heat comes on in the morning, i should probably get up. i need coffee. and i don't do programmable coffee makers. well, except for being one.
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2023
Messages
448
Do you guys that use almost exclusively wood just have a ton of acreage you can harvest from?
Even if I did, the time involved, I'd have to give up a hobby or work less.

I love my wood burning stove, but at least here, wood to keep the place 70 all winter is significantly more expensive(by the cord) than the natural gas to keep it 70. The wood is for extra toasty evenings and ambiance more than cost savings.
I know we can get permits from the FS to cut trees, but the time involved in that, it's far cheaper to pick up an extra shift at work and pay for the NG or wood.
When i was building log homes I had a ton of doug fir scraps, etc. Now, I buy a semi load. It's lodgepole so it splits easy and I enjoy doing it. ( Like they say "wood heats you twice"). I'll happily pay a logger rather than the power/gas company any day and I just like wood heat.

Buying permits to cut dead wood on public land ( mighty white of our public servants ) pretty much only makes sense if you consider it recreational time and you have the equipment required.
 

pass shot

FNG
Joined
Oct 25, 2023
Messages
31
Try for 68 during the winter and wife's cold...try for 73 during the summer and she's hot...smh
 
Joined
Nov 14, 2020
Messages
1,030
70 during the day, turn it off if we leave. Turn it off at night and open several windows partially even if it’s cold out. (Teens and low 20s) So it’s often low 50’s at night and in the morning. I sleep much better when it’s cold in the house.
 

Fordguy

WKR
Joined
Jun 20, 2019
Messages
585
65 during the day (winter) 60 at night. Usually have one room significantly warmer with the wood stove.
When I was a kid, you could easily have subtracted 15 degrees (or more) from those numbers. My parents cut costs by not using the fuel oil furnace. My brother, sisters and I would each place a bowling ball sized rock next to the fireplace and take it to bed in a spare pillow case to stay warm overnight. Some mornings we could see our breath when we woke up. Lol.
 

Fullfan

WKR
Joined
Jul 31, 2016
Messages
983
Location
Nw/Pa

Do you guys that use almost exclusively wood just have a ton of acreage you can harvest from?
Even if I did, the time involved, I'd have to give up a hobby or work less.

I love my wood burning stove, but at least here, wood to keep the place 70 all winter is significantly more expensive(by the cord) than the natural gas to keep it 70. The wood is for extra toasty evenings and ambiance more than cost savings.
I know we can get permits from the FS to cut trees, but the time involved in that, it's far cheaper to pick up an extra shift at work and pay for the NG or wood.
Have 398 acers to get fire wood from. Have not cut a tree " down " for 6-7 years. I can find enough blow down, and tops left from select cut timber. Being able to drag the wood to a location 100 yds from the house, cut, split and stacked there. Most years I wait until the ground is frozen w some snow. Keeps the wood from getting muddy, and also from tearing things up. I can cut and split enough in 2-3 solid weekends for the entire winter. For 20 years everything I cut, I split w an old maul. Wife bought me a log splitter several years back. Wish I would have had it 20 years ago.
 

Gseith

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 7, 2018
Messages
267
Location
Ohio
Do you guys that use almost exclusively wood just have a ton of acreage you can harvest from?
Even if I did, the time involved, I'd have to give up a hobby or work less.

I love my wood burning stove, but at least here, wood to keep the place 70 all winter is significantly more expensive(by the cord) than the natural gas to keep it 70. The wood is for extra toasty evenings and ambiance more than cost savings.
I know we can get permits from the FS to cut trees, but the time involved in that, it's far cheaper to pick up an extra shift at work and pay for the NG or wood.

I only have 1 acre and burn about 4-5 cords a year. After burning wood for over 10 years I always seem to find someone looking to get rid of wood. Some years I barely have enough and other years I’m getting ahead.
It seems enough people know that I will come and take unwanted wood away and help clean up a down tree. And most yard trees are also easy to get to. I’m also not picky. Just mix the soft wood in with the hardwood.
 

Lurch12

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Messages
194
Location
Western, PA
68 on the thermostat. Fireplace insert burns all winter long. Keeps the basement at 75 probably.

At camp we are solely on wood heat. Still trying to figure out the wood stove. Currently it’s at 76 in the main room..
 

CHWine

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 22, 2019
Messages
222
68 day........55 night. The heat comes on about 4:00-5:00 in the morning.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2023
Messages
10
Location
Upstate New York
Do you guys that use almost exclusively wood just have a ton of acreage you can harvest from?
Even if I did, the time involved, I'd have to give up a hobby or work less.

I love my wood burning stove, but at least here, wood to keep the place 70 all winter is significantly more expensive(by the cord) than the natural gas to keep it 70. The wood is for extra toasty evenings and ambiance more than cost savings.
I know we can get permits from the FS to cut trees, but the time involved in that, it's far cheaper to pick up an extra shift at work and pay for the NG or wood.
We have plenty of dead ash down in the woods, we bring them back to the garage and cut them up when the farming slows down.
 

Walkstoomuch

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jun 30, 2021
Messages
152
63 during the day and 57 at night. We’ve got natural gas and have looking into getting a wood stove to supplement
 

Jpsmith1

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
Messages
211
Location
Western Pennsylvania, Lawrence County
Another hvac guy, there is no "correct" temp. Set it at whatever temp is comfortable for you. You won't notice a difference between a setting of 68 or 69 degrees.
I always recommend a maximum 3 degree difference between schedules. Example: 66 at night and 69 during the day.
Smart thermostats are a waste of money and are hot garbage.
However ductless and variable speed heat pumps are meant to maintain temperature so keeping them at a constant setpoint is desired.

Pro tip for those with spouses that focus on the number. Some thermostats can be programmed to display an offset temperature. So you can set it for 68 but the display says 70. Everybody wins
Too low of a return air temp causes combustion gasses to condense in the HX

That condensate is corrosive and will cause the HX to fail prematurely.

Other than that caveat, set to comfort and go
 
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