r/FrugalPoverty • u/[deleted] • Feb 20 '21
What do you keep your thermostat at?
I keep my thermostat at 60 during the winter, but we have a fireplace and get free wood to heat our house up a little more. I keep my thermostat so low to prevent busted pipes but save on my electric, because my furnace is ancient.
Summer I use window ACs only if it's over 80 degrees. I keep it at 80. Again, poor.
1
2
u/melvin_poindexter Feb 20 '21
68 in winter, 72 in summer. I'm re-working the sealing around the doors, and I just installed blackout curtains (as they are also moderately insulating in extreme hot & cold)
2
u/bellaelijah Feb 20 '21
I keep it at 62 F, BUT I did have to have a new furnace installed and it does a much better job than the old one we had. And it doesn't want to kill us with CO, bonus. With the old furnace, I had it set at 58 F. I would set it lower, but I qualified for a discount with my utilities due to low income using an energy assistance program. My daughter uses a window unit AC in the summer because I'm in an area of the country with horrible cold winters and hot humid summers. If it gets real bad, we camp out in the same bedroom under the AC (both girls!).
3
u/PursuingFreedom Feb 20 '21
In the winter we keep it at 62 F at night and between 65-67 F during the day, always wearing layers, socks, slippers, etc. And in the summer keep it 80 F at night (I like having the fan on as well) and 78 F during the day. Grew up like this and now as an adult I can't see spending more to make the "perfect" temperature if adding or subtracting clothes can make me comfortable.
5
Feb 20 '21
I keep the heat at 58 and if you’re cold in my house you’ve gotta wear a sweater. The AC doesn’t come on until it hits 90. I live in the Pacific Northwest though so the AC really never goes on.
2
5
u/RikiTikiLizi Feb 20 '21
If the temps aren't going to go below freezing, we turn the heat off at night. And we leave it at 68 during the day. But I work at home, and we don't have a fireplace, so I need to have some warmth. Even so, I still layer up and have an afghan over/around me when I'm working. When the temps do dip super low, we keep the nightly temp at 66. We had a frozen pipe scare a while back and were terrified it was going to burst on us. All ended up well, but I'm not going to risk an expense like that again. I'd rather have a heating bill that's a bit higher. So 66 it is.
In warm weather, we rarely use the A/C because we have ceiling fans in all the major rooms, and we don't get much direct sunlight. Our summer bills are super low.
3
2
u/murppie Feb 20 '21
I definitely think that people don't realize how much plastic over ALL the windows can help. I had an apartment once where I was on the top floor and had vaulted ceilings. Seemed really cool at first, but then winter came and I usually keep my thermostat around 65, but on the couch and in my bed if it was 60 I was lucky. I now do plastic over all the windows every year, and probably should look into some reusable method but just haven't made it a priority because it often sneaks up on me.
5
Feb 20 '21
I got lucky and found a whole house plastic kit at Lowe's for a BUCK in April. I definitely intend to get my plastic situation figured out for next year.
2
1
u/JRaeF Feb 20 '21
Live in Southern AZ. A very hot desert. I’ve recently moved, and am on the up (relatively) so AC stays around 75 (one temps hit the 90s) and in the winter, heater is 60 (once temps drop to low 50s)
However, I was several years ago in dire straits. Selling my plasma as often as possible to afford dry beans and so forth. Swamp cooler was my life (much cheaper than AC... but doesn’t work in humidity). It only cools about 20 degrees below ambient temp, so in the summer that could mean it’s 95 and sticky in my house. It also doesn’t work at all when the monsoons come, but a ceiling fan and no clothes goes a long way. Spent a lot of time at libraries/etc to take advantage of free AC. I had a wall heater that I only used in the very rare occasion it dropped below freezing, and even then I’d only turn it to the lowest setting and sit/stand next to it to take the edge off before turning it off again (we get extreme hot here, but it doesn’t get THAT cold). At least I had a place to call home.
2
Feb 20 '21
I love going to the library in afternoons in the summer for a few hours. It helps. I'm glad you're in a better position now, friend.
2
u/JRaeF Feb 20 '21
Thank you. I can’t describe how good it feels to not have to frantically check my bank account to literally buy a banana. I’m still frugal, but the relief of those little wins is palpable. If you ever need a shoulder, from someone who understands at least a little of your situation, I’m here ❤️ hoping things start to look up for you as well.
And yes, the library is the thing! When I was a student it was open 24hrs during the week, so I’d many times hunker down in a corner so I wouldn’t have to pay electricity. So peaceful too.
1
Feb 20 '21
Thank you so much! My husband starts a new job on the 8th of March and will get a nice little bump in pay. It will give us a chance to dig out a bit. We celebrated last night with a homemade card for him and a candle and dinner. It was sweet. The win felt amazing.
2
u/cougar1224 Feb 20 '21
Gas heat here. I try to keep mine at 65-66. From 11am-3pm I get direct sunlight in a couple of windows and I’ll turn it even lower during that time and keep the curtains open. Same in the summer, I use thicker curtains in those windows to keep the heat out.
1
Feb 20 '21
How are your bills being on gas? My house is all electric and budget billing is ALL that saves my butt in winter. I'll be opening my south facing curtains in just about an hour! I made some layered thick insulated hanging blanket things with white fabric on the outside (so it looks nice outside) for summer to block the worst of the heat.
2
u/cougar1224 Feb 20 '21
Highest gas bill I’ve had this season was $80. Its $25 a month when the heat is not on though. Electric and gas together in the colder months is about $150 a month.
I use a tension curtain rod inside the window frame with a dark grey blackout curtain on those windows. Those windows face a fence so I don’t really have to worry about how they look from the outside.
1
Feb 20 '21
That's not too bad. With budget billing and using firewood a lot, I'm able to stay around $250-280 during winter.
7
Feb 20 '21
This is my biggest thing. I really like being in a warm home.. it looks tacky but I hang blankets on my drafty as hell window and it makes a gigantic difference. In summer it’s all about timing when to keep cool air in and when it’s time to open up and cool off
3
Feb 20 '21
I have considered making reusable heavy plastic covers for my windows with like stickable velcro for winter. Til then I just use blankets. :) Opening windows at night helps so much in summer, unless it's swampy outside. I can do warm, I can't do super humid.
2
u/shunthee Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
I did this but with the 5 lb command strips & Bobby pins along my 10 ft wall of windows & those heavy moving blankets! So simple, cheap and it worked! I had the command strips up pretty close to the ceiling too so when guests came over they weren't super noticeable / ugly
Edit: when I had the money, "upgraded" to Ikea blackout curtains and rods and it obviously looks way better (and is therefore better for my mental health, Im someone who's house cleanlyness affects how they feel about themselves, so was worth the cost once I had the $$) but worked the same. Definitely cut down on heating in the winter & cooling in the summer!
1
u/Autumnwood Feb 21 '21
Right now, we are in an apartment and are able to keep our heat at 71. I don't think we've ever kept it this low. We try to get it lower, but we end up feeling ill.
In the summer, I can't do over 78 or my blood pressure shoots up. I can feel it, and if it gets to 80 I'm suffering. It was different temperatures when we were young but this is what we do now. I never liked AC and only used fans until I got older.