MickinMD ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #1 Posted October 13, 2018 I was hoping flannel shirts, sweat pants, etc. would get me to November before I had to turn my furnace on, but I gave up this morning, telling myself I'm not greedy to the point where I would rather feel chilly at home in the Fall. I woke up this AM, my arms felt a little cold then I picked up a dinner plate and it felt cold. The thermostat said 67F and I'm most comfortable at 73F in the cold months. The outside temp was around 50F and it was cloudy: the Sun wasn't going to warm the house for a while. Rationalizing that I needed to test the forced-air furnace anyway before it really got cold - I turned the thermostat to 73F and soon it was there and the self-lubricating fan was nice and quiet. I'll turn the furnace back-off if it gets warm enough to open some windows. Additionally, my furnace doesn't kick-on that much in October. My past-years gas-and-electric bill for October compared to September was (paid at the end of November and October respectively) from 2017-13 was $5 more, $9 less, $17 more, 23 cents less, $29 more, with the average bill being for November being $110 and most of that is electricity. The use of air conditioning in September probably accounts for the similar numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #2 Posted October 13, 2018 I turned ours on when the temperatures dipped into the 20s and teens. Thermostat is set at 62F, and we use lap blankets. Our big drain on electricity in winter is for heating stock water and warming out buildings. We do not run air conditioning, but use a whole house fan, so summer is a low use period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted October 13, 2018 42 minutes ago, sheep_herder said: I turned ours on when the temperatures dipped into the 20s and teens. Thermostat is set at 62F, and we use lap blankets. Our big drain on electricity in winter is for heating stock water and warming out buildings. We do not run air conditioning, but use a whole house fan, so summer is a low use period. I think what you're comfortable with has a lot to do with your local climate. My brother-in-law is from Northern Maine, lives with my sister and their son near Annapolis, and hates Maryland summers but is very comfortable in winter when most of the rest of the family is cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted October 13, 2018 Share #4 Posted October 13, 2018 I'm sitting in my living room in shorts, t shirt & bare feet drinking coffee. It's in the low 60's out, a light rain started falling and I have the sliders open listening to the rain, enjoying the rain smell and Im a little cold! I realised I don't even know where my slippers are... I'll grab some socks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2018 Share #5 Posted October 13, 2018 We have a high of 40 today. Not cold enough to start a wood fire but we did use the furnace as the baby is here. We’ve been cooking squash for a few hours so the furnace has not run but it’s quite warm in here. Will probably light a fire Monday night as it’s going into the 20’s for 3-4 nights this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffJim Posted October 13, 2018 Share #6 Posted October 13, 2018 Still holding out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2018 I'm at 70 degrees indoors and it's 56F outside at the moment and rising. I've been burning smaller fires in the evening and mornings to save my pellets for November. My furnace is a ternary source of heat. If my soapstone wood stove and my pellet stove are kaput, then I'll use it. That doesn't happen too often but did last year when my pellet flue was stuffed and I had to pull out the wood stove while my brother in law redid the hearth for a week. Otherwise, electric furnaces are highway robbery. I hope you have a gas one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #8 Posted October 13, 2018 Temps are in the teens and 20s overnight around here. I just finished a 52 mile ride. It snowed for quite a while. I'm going to push into Nov before I turn on the heat. $29 electric bills recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #9 Posted October 13, 2018 2 minutes ago, dennis said: Temps are in the teens and 20s overnight around here. I just finished a 52 mile ride. It snowed for quite a while. I'm going to push into Nov before I turn on the heat. $29 electric bills recently. Gawd, what a cheap bastard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #10 Posted October 13, 2018 I fired up the little Vermont Castings stove on the sun porch this morning to take the chill off the house. It was up to 46 outside at 9:30 this morning. Oh, and as usual it was raining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #11 Posted October 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, maddmaxx said: I fired up the little Vermont Castings stove on the sun porch this morning to take the chill off the house. It was up to 46 at 9:30 this morning. If it drops in the low 40s, during the evenings -- at any time -- my wife more or less insists on an indoor fire. And I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #12 Posted October 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, Dottles said: Gawd, what a cheap bastard. Most of that is the hook up fee. Lights and appliances otherwise. No AC here and some heat in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #13 Posted October 13, 2018 1 minute ago, dennis said: Most of that is the hook up fee. Lights and appliances otherwise. No AC here and some heat in the winter. Gas? Electric? Biomass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #14 Posted October 13, 2018 13 minutes ago, Dottles said: Gas? Electric? Biomass? electric baseboard heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted October 13, 2018 Share #15 Posted October 13, 2018 Gas forced air furnace, slab on grade house the duct work is terra cotta pipe buried beneath the slab. The first use of the season always is a bit musty smelling. I fired it up last night when it was still warm enough out to leave the doors and windows open. So I dried out the ducts and am now good to go. It has run a few times today. We keep the thermostat at around 67-68, my wife hurts when it's too cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #16 Posted October 13, 2018 5 minutes ago, dennis said: electric baseboard heat. I don't care for baseboard heating primarily because I can't stand the aesthetics not to mention being able to put furniture closer to the walls. Plus historically some brands have been a good source of hazardous fires. But definitely one great thing about them is they are usually room independent so you don't end up spending wasted money on heating rooms you never or hardly ever use. You essentially heat only the rooms you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #17 Posted October 13, 2018 So it's 70 and since I've got some extra firewood this year (it's all free), I just built a small fire. I'll probably build one late at night too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #18 Posted October 13, 2018 2 minutes ago, Dottles said: I don't care for baseboard heating primarily because I can't stand the aesthetics not to mention being able to put furniture closer to the walls. Plus historically some brands have been a good source of hazardous fires. But definitely one great thing about them is they are usually room independent so you don't end up spending wasted money on heating rooms you never or hardly ever use. You essentially heat only the rooms you want. I don't like it either, but it came with the place. It's in the living room and I use it there in the winter. The bathroom heat has never been turned on. I don't usually use the bedroom heat unless it's really cold. I do not have a thermostat so I'm never sure what the actual indoor temp is. heat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #19 Posted October 13, 2018 I started a fire yesterday, it’s still going. I don’t like to be cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #20 Posted October 13, 2018 Just now, Longjohn said: I started a fire yesterday, it’s still going. I don’t like to be cold. Nope, if you've got the wood, burn it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #21 Posted October 13, 2018 Ah a toasty 74 degrees in here now. It's beautiful outside. Some of us have to sacrifice and stay indoors watching a football game though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted October 13, 2018 Share #22 Posted October 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Dottles said: Nope, if you've got the wood, burn it! I could have sworn you were saying "if you have wood use it". Damn eyes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted October 14, 2018 Share #23 Posted October 14, 2018 61 inside, 40s outside. My feet are cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team scooter Posted October 14, 2018 Share #24 Posted October 14, 2018 Its almost mid October in Wisconsin so we've had the heat on for weeks. We've also had the AC on for a few days earlier this week, but then a heavy frost a few nights later. The leaves are falling, but I still need to mow the grass every four or five days. Seems like the weather gets more curious every year. This winter should be interesting since I cant tolerate temperature changes like I used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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