Now it stays set at 65. If it’s really cold outside during the day (say 30 or below,) I may turn it up to 67 - BUT no higher! Then it goes back down at night.

Our bills are lower by about $75 - but it’s the summer that’s a killer….. (It stays on 78 to 80 and I’m HOT!)

Blessings
Neva

We usually don’t get lower than about mid 30’s here in Southeast Texas. So, we stay cool most of the time.

I also sleep with a window unit a/c right above my head and it runs all year! Of course, in the winter, the compressor doesn’t come on and therefore it is just air that is blowing. But I love the cool breeze on my face, even in the cold. We have a water bed and turn up the heater so that our feet and body stays warm. My husband thought I was crazy at first, but now he likes the “white noise” the a/c makes and even likes the cool air. So, we are probably not the people to ask about heating and cooling!

Our electric bill is so much lower now that we have a new system with the heat pump. And remember you don’t have a gas bill! So don’t forget to factor that in!

When I lived in New England, this Oklahoma boy finally found out what they meant by “home heating oil.” I’d always heard on the national news about the rising price of home heating oil, but had not a clue what it was. Oil-fired, hot-water heat is the best. No blowing air, drying you out. But the oil does get expensive. As the winter drags on, the prices get higher and higher.

While in college up north, I lived in a modified house trailer, complete with wood stove. The stove, being old and cheap, did not have a thermostat. We’d stoke the stove before bed and hoped the fire kept the place warm enough through the night. By the time morning rolled around, however, the fire was nothing more than barely glowing embers and, depending on how cold it was outside, I could see my breath as I’d trudge out to the living room. I’d throw a couple of logs into the stove and make coffee while I waited for the wood to burst into flame.

As long as the wind wasn’t from the North Northwest, we were fine. If we got a sustained wind from that direction over the course of the evening, however, and if the temperature hovered around zero, our water pipes would freeze. I found out that the pipes were frozen when I’d turn on the faucet to draw water for coffee and nothing would come out.

Nothing we tried–heat tape, sawdust, straw, burning light bulbs–would keep the pipes from freezing when the wind came from that direction. Fortunately, we had a set-up whereby we could remove the pipe fairly easily, bring it into the trailer, stoke the stove and wait for the pipe to thaw out.

We did this because, at the time, we were “poor” college students and this living arrangement was very economical. I do thank God that I graduated, started making money, and hope and pray I never need to do anything like this again.