A poll on thermostats

[WaterWitchin]

My gas and electric bills keep raising year after year. This past year I've been asking my friends what they keep their thermostat set at in summer and winter. Wanting to see if I was in the "normal" range. It's become obvious to me it's an exercise in existential philosophy.

I keep my AC thermostat set at 76-78F. I move it from 76 to 78 when it gets to mid-90s and above. We supplement with ceiling fans that are in every room of the house, excluding bathrooms.

I keep my gas furnace thermostat set at 66-70F in the winter. It goes from 70 to 66 when when daytime temps are in the teens. It auto-drops to 62 at 9:00 p.m. and back up to 70 at 4:00 a.m. We supplement when we're sitting down (meals, TV, BSing) if we get too cold with an electric or gas fireplace depending on what room we're in.

What's "normal" in your neck of the woods?

[estación seca]

Do you mean what do we individually do, or what do most people around us in our area do?

[WaterWitchin]

Individual.

[Dimples]

I’m in inland-coastal Southern California, 12 miles/30-45 min from the beach. Winter lows are typically 40s with occasional 30s. Warm season highs are 85-100s.

Our location gets a good breeze so we don’t use the air regularly until July/August and we keep our AC set at 78F but manually turn it down a degree or two when it’s really hot outside. We also have ceiling fans and floor fans on almost year round.

Winter we have it set at 65F/day and 63F/night. At 5:30am it jumps to 69/70F for 30 minutes so getting out of bed is easier. We get significant solar heat gain during the day so it doesn’t turn on that much.

[Roberta]

I live about 4 1/2 miles from the coast, and there is usually a nice afternoon breeze. Summer highs don't usually get much over 90 deg F (a few days of exceptions) and for the most part humidity isn't too horrid. Summer nights usually drop into the high 60's F so the house cools off over night. A/C kicks on at 79 deg F, so typically only runs for a few hours in the late afternoon. If muggy and lack of afternoon cooling (August monsoon season) I might take it down to 78 deg. F and for another hour or two.

Winter nights can get routinely into the low 40's F but days typically in the 60's F. So mostly need heat at night, set to 65 during sleeping hours, 68-70 deg F during the day. So middle of the day don't need it at all, just in the morning (to get out of bed) and evening to be comfortable.

[rbarata]

I push the envelope and keep my conditions without any artificial means, except when I have extreme temps indoors. I count on the plant's adaptation and their resilience.
Obviously, I don't grow any of those demanding species but some of the ones I do are not suited for my conditions ,but even though, all of them grow well and bloom.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I push the envelope and keep my conditions without any artificial means, except when I have extreme temps indoors. I count on the plant's adaptation and their resilience.
Obviously, I don't grow any of those demanding species but some of the ones I do are not suited for my conditions ,but even though, all of them grow well and bloom.

My indoor conditions aren't for the plants, they are for me... for short times when I bring things in to enjoy while blooming, they aren't fussy. The rest of the time, they are outside and get whatever Mother Nature provides. VERY small greenhouse winter minimum about 58 deg F, maximum from the heater about 65 deg F. Warmer during the day from sunshine. (Don't grow anything that needs warmer than that... even the Phals put up with it though I don't do well with the really warm growing ones like violacea so those are off the list) Summer nights are ambient, use a fogger to keep it below about 95 deg F.

[Keysguy]

At our winter place in the Keys we use neither heat nor AC for 90% of the days between early Nov and late May. Just doors and windows wide open to the great outdoors. The only heat we ever use is maybe a couple of hours at night while we watch TV (an average of about 3 nights per season) and that's just a small electric space heater to take the chill off and I don't recall it ever getting colder than like maybe 62F in the house. When we do run the AC, we tend to do that at 74F. Just a comfortable temp for basically getting the humidty out of the air. The ceiling fans take care of the comfort level.

In New Hampshire we leave the heat set at 55F while we are in FL and all of my wife's houseplants survive just fine. On average, I would guess we run our 2 "through-the-wall" AC units an average of maybe 4-5 days per summer and that is only because when we go out and close up the house we run it for the pets. Even days we do run them we tend to shut them off at night and open up the house. We run those at 72F.

[estación seca]

I'm a single guy so I'm fine with more extreme temperatures. I lift weights for strength training, which keeps me warm in cool weather. I'm comfortable at home with temperatures down to the mid 40s - 50 F / 7-10C in winter wearing only shorts because I'm moving most of the time.

Our winters are warmer than in most of the US and days are usually in the 70s F / 19-24C so my doors and windows are open during daytime most of the winter. I use my heat only on the coldest nights, maybe 5-10 times per winter, and set the thermostat at about 52F / 8C.

Most of lower elevation Arizona uses a heat pump for both heating and cooling. This is like a reversible air conditioner. There is a compressor and two sets of coils, inside and outside the house. The coolant flow can be reversed so heat can be moved from outside to inside, or the reverse, by changing a switch.

Likewise high temperatures don't bother me at all if I have water. I rarely use the air conditioning in summer unless the house is over about 95 F / 36C when I go to bed. I'll set it at 86 F / 30C. I wear nylon running shorts at home most of the time and if I feel hot I'll step on the patio and use the garden hose to rinse off.

My electric utility loves me. They send out report cards quarterly comparing electricity use to that of our neighbors. I'm always lower than what they consider "most efficient neighbors."

My orchids are in a sunroom, my now enclosed former southeastern patio. It is warmed by the sun. It gets about 4-5 hours of morning sun in winter; most winter days it is above 80 F / 27C. We have 340+ sunny days per year, very unlike cold-winter climates. I have over 300 gallons/1,100 liters of rain stored in trash barrels in there. This holds heat and keeps the space above 50 F / 10C most nights. I find even warm growing plants tolerate occasional nights to 50 F if the next day is quite warm. On the coldest nights I open the French doors from the house to the sunroom and use a commercial fan to blow the heated house air down the length of the sunroom.

[RJSquirrel]

I dont enjoy living OFF the grid in my home so I keep the t stat at 72 year round.

I take no pleasure in sweating while I work.

I take less pleasure in sweating while I play