It’s Warmed Up . . .
January 7th, 2008 at 10:33 am by Dee O'Neil Andrews
It's warmed up and my circulation is back in working order.
It's just after 10 a.m. here and the temperature is a mild 66 degrees with the high today set for about 75. That's my kind of weather!
Thanks to you all for commenting on your heating and thermostat settings. I found your comments really interesting to read and learned a lot. It was interesting to see all of the different kinds of heating everyone has from a wood stove in sometimes frigid Missouri and Michigan (in a house trailer, no less) to heating oil, hot water baseboard heating to natural gas to all electric heat pumps.
I also found it really interesting to see the variety in temperature settings. Sounds like I'm the coldest natured one of the bunch and that I keep my heat turned up more than anyone else who commented. It would be interesting to know how everyone compares in the summer time and the variety of setting we have then.
So, this morning I want you to "think warm" and share with us what temperature you set your air conditioners on in the middle of July and August when it's really hot and humid around here. Tell us what kind of air conditioning you have, if any, and how you set it during the day and at night.
When we are through with this exercise, I'll try to make some kind of application about it all. There must be something to learn from all of these things, don't you think? How different and individual we all are, for one thing. Also, how we live differently in different parts of the country. What is applicable to one situation wouldn't work at all in another part of the country.
I'll go first . . .
Because I'm so cold natured, even in the hot summertime, I leave our central air conditioner/heat pump set on 80 or even 82 during the day. Even then, when I'm sitting still or not up around staying really busy I "feel" cold and cover up to take a nap or whatever.
The most expensive electric bill that we had this past summer (in August) was $176 for our entire utility bill. (Well, water and garbage pickup are separate, of course, but neither is very much.)
How do you set your summer temperatures and how much are your utility bills for A/C? Write a comment and share with us! I'm interested in seeing what differences we see here.
Cheers! & Blessings to you all today! I'm praying for you all. All my readers and blog friends. Dee
Well we try to keep in on 74 degrees during the days and nights in the summer…especially after the almost $500.00 electric bill one summer!! We do run the pool pump in the summer months and that draws a lot of power! We used to put it on 70 degrees but can you imagine the bill if we still did that!!
Barb and I are hot natured so a/c is kept at 72 to 74 during the hot Florida summer. Average bill is around $350 a month but we’ve hit the $500’s before as well. We have a heat pump for our a/c unit.
Great idea Dee. “80 to 82!” Wow.
As mentioned in the previous blog, we don’t leave our climate control set at anything. We just turn it on when we’re home, but in the summer, we keep it set at about 76 - 78m which is a HUGE difference from the high 90s to the triple digits outside.
I am looking forward to just how you’re going to make an application out of all this??!!
Remind me to limit my visits to you to the winter months. I don’t think I could handle 80 degrees. I honestly don’t pay that much attention to what temperature the thermostat is set at, just make it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We have a large house (over 3000 sq ft)in South Texas so our bills can run pretty high in the summer, the highest being around $300. We do have solar shades on the windows and the house is well insulated but actually could not tell you what the temp. is usually set at.
Dee,
I’m afraid that you would freezzzz or melt here, cause it runs about 50 to 60 in the winter, and about 80 in the summer, at our house!
During the day, when I’m gone to work, I turn the a/c up to 80, that way my apartment won’t be too warm or take too long to cool down if it is a little warmer than I’d like. But it’s usually not too bad, because I tend to be pretty cold natured. When I’m there, I’ll kick it down to about 74 or 75.
The highest electric bill I’ve seen since I’ve lived here is about $170.00 in the summertime. I guess there’s something to be said for being single and livin’ in a lil apartment after all!
However, whether winter or summer, in the mornings, when I’m getting ready, it gets really hot in my bathroom. You know, it’s hot and humid after showering, then you’ve got the hair dryer and the flat iron or the curling iron and…so almost every morning, I turn it down to about 65 just to keep the a/c blowing on me while I’m getting ready!
(Except one Sunday morning I accidentally forgot to turn it back up! When I got in from church that morning, my apartment was FREEZING!)
Our thermometer is set at 68 degrees right now, and I usually have a blanket on me when I’m watching TV. We leave it the same day and night. In the summer which is a long time here (AZ) it stays about the same. Our highest electric bill has been about $180. Our house is small and well insulated.
In our little New England town it can get pretty warm in the summer, reaching temps of 98 - 100 with high humidity. Somehow, all these years we have managed without AC while just using fans. We close up the house and just relax with a glass of cold water or tea. So I can’t be of much help with this discussion. I can’t wait to see where you will take this one Dee.
We only used the air conditioner a couple of times last summer. Most of the time, we simply leave the windows open. I do, however, use the air conditioner in the car quite frequently. I usually run it as cold as it will go.
Our thermostat is set about 79 to 80 in the summer. Especially since we both work, I work in the afternoon and by the time we get home, it can be hot! But we have the window unit in the bedroom so it is okay to leave the rest of the house warmer.
Our highest electric bill since living here was one summer when it went to almost 400$. But that was because our attic fan went out as well. Since we got rid of the attic fan and went to a ridge vent when we re-roofed, it has been about 200$ in the summer. We have a large house, about 2500 sq ft and I never cover up when napping. My husband does, but I am very warm natured! You would think I would want to live in a cooler climate since I am so warm natured, but I hate winter and cold! Sounds crazy, I know, and I have tried to figure it out as well. Don’t even go there.
I am glad it warmed up.
I have all the windows in the house opened and can smell the wonder breeze.
Dee, I hope you have a wonderful week.
God bless you sister.
Hi Dee,
Sorry I haven’t been around for a while; it’s hard to find the time/attention to blog well. I’ll try to check in more often. We keep our thermostat on 80 in the summer and 68-70 in the winter. Our utility bills can easily run over $200, but one of our top agenda items this year is to add storm windows and ceiling insulation, so hopefully that’ll come down.
Blessings,
Anthony
So much for warming up! It was COLD outside again when I left work this evening! The temp had dropped from 70 to about 50, with a wind chill that makes it feel like 40!
The church installed one of those fancy thermostats last year that lets us set four different times of day for different temperatures. They also put the thermostat on the third floor, meaning we have to set the timer based on where we’ll be in the house. It’s always warmer on the top floor than the bottom, so if it’s 72 on the top it’s likely to be 65 on the bottom.
Wow! $176 for everything. Must be nice.
Terri and I engage in a back and forth on the temp gauge in both summer and winter. Not good I know- and what is funny about it is that sometimes she wants it warmer/colder and sometimes it is me.