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mrsjpierre
LIF Infant
Member since 10/07 263 total posts
Name:
cindy
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turning off heat when e are not home
Is it safe to completely turn off the heat in the house when we are not home or should i leave it at like a comfortabe 66-68?
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Posted 12/17/07 6:56 AM  |
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-Lisa-
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Member since 5/05 6530 total posts
Name:
Lisa
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
you should never turn it all the way off - your pipes could freeze. You can turn it down though - you don't need to keep it at 68. I think ours goes down to 60 when we're out.
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| Posted 12/17/07 7:01 AM |
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Kissy331
My two miracles!
Member since 5/06 17826 total posts
Name:
Kristen
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
When I lived home with my parents, they use to turn the heat completely off when we left the house just bc they had an old oil burner & they were always afraid of something happening. With that said, it was always so cold in their house when you came home & would take some times to warm up. Of course if it was going to be in the 20's or so, we would leave it running.
In my house now, DH & I leave the heat at 61 when we are not home. We have programmable thermostats, so the heat turns back on around 3:30 to warm the house up to 68, so it is nice & toasty when I get home 
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| Posted 12/17/07 7:05 AM |
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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
turning it all the way off is not a good idea.
From a NYS website
Energy Saving Tips
*Lower the thermostat
For every one degree you set back your thermostat, you can save 1 to 3 percent on your annual heating bill. Turn down the thermostat when you leave the house for two or more hours. It takes less energy to warm a cool house than to maintain a higher temperature all day and night. An automatic setback thermostat
can cut heating costs by raising and lowering the temperature at preset times. Since dry air makes you feel colder than moist air at the same temperature, place shallow pans of water on radiator tops or use a room humidifier. By maintaining your home's humidity level, you will be able to lower your thermostat setting, save money and maintain your comfort level.
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| Posted 12/17/07 7:34 AM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
About 2 winters ago, I turned the thermostat down kind of low during the day. However, part of our 1st floor is over an unheated crawl space. The house never got cold enough inside to circulate the water in the pipes..... The pipes froze in that section of the house, we had to get a plumber in, took a few hours, $$, etc.....  I keep the house much warmer now, and don't drop it that much during the day....
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| Posted 12/17/07 7:55 AM |
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Mrs-D-Girl
Love my fur baby
Member since 8/07 5183 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
I would NEVER turn it off.
When you leave, drop it down to about 60-62
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| Posted 12/17/07 8:13 AM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by Mrs-D-Girl
I would NEVER turn it off.
When you leave, drop it down to about 60-62
That's what I used to do.... see my previous post for the results...  
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:23 AM |
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Ang-Rich
Beyond Compare
Member since 5/05 17988 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
I agree with the other posters. We try keep it down to about 60 when we are not home.
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:26 AM |
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Mrs-D-Girl
Love my fur baby
Member since 8/07 5183 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Even though around this time when it's not that cold? When we start getting into the 20's and teen's, I plan on leaving it around 65 during the day when we are not there.
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:27 AM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by Mrs-D-Girl
Even though around this time when it's not that cold? When we start getting into the 20's and teen's, I plan on leaving it around 65 during the day when we are not there.
No, it was very cold, not borderline freezing. However, if people program their thermostats, they rarely (if ever) change the programming on a regular basis. You would need to follow the forecasts and change the temps on a weekly, or daily basis, which I can't imagine most people doing.
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:33 AM |
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PotofLuck06
Our Baby Boy Is Here!!!
Member since 11/06 13241 total posts
Name:
Betsy
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by -Lisa-
you should never turn it all the way off - your pipes could freeze. You can turn it down though - you don't need to keep it at 68. I think ours goes down to 60 when we're out.
She's right!! Never turn off the heat in this weather! Pipes can freeze very quickly.
When we're out, we keep the temp at 64.
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:35 AM |
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Mommy2Boys
My Boys!!!!
Member since 6/06 14437 total posts
Name:
C
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
I would never turn it off b/c it is going to take more heat and oil to heat it back up...and longer
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| Posted 12/17/07 10:19 AM |
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Diane
Hope is Contagious....catch it
Member since 5/05 30683 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by Mrs-D-Girl
I would NEVER turn it off.
When you leave, drop it down to about 60-62
that is what we do
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| Posted 12/17/07 10:26 AM |
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Kara
Now Zagat Rated!
Member since 3/07 13217 total posts
Name:
They call me "Tater Salad"
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by jellybean1420
I would never turn it off b/c it is going to take more heat and oil to heat it back up...and longer
This is actually not necessarily true. If you're going to leave the house for more than 2 hours, it's a good idea to lower the thermostat. Warming a cool (though not cold) house is not nearly as energy-consuming as keeping the temperature high around the clock. If you're all gone every day for 8 hours for work (or, in our case 10 - 12 hours+), dropping the thermostat 3 degrees or so and turning it back up when you get home will save more energy than leaving it high all day long.
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| Posted 12/17/07 10:52 AM |
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ml110
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 5435 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
we just got a programmable thermostat- it goes down to about 60 during the day, and up to 68-70 when we're home, and then turns back down to 60 when we're sleeping at night.
you don't want to turn it completely off- pipes could freeze...
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:19 PM |
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bikramaddict
mommy-to-be
Member since 8/06 4376 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
ours is 64-66 during the day. i'm always afraid that the dog will get too cold.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:46 PM |
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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Ours is at 60 when we are not home, 65 when we're there.
Although for some reason on days like today when its very windy, the house gets too warm, so I turned it down to 55 before we left. 55 is still way above the freezing mark, the pipes are not going to freeze at 60 or 55. I would not turn it completely off though.
But I would also not keep it at a warm temp when no one is there, not only is it a waste of energy, but my gas bill is high enough!
Message edited 12/17/2007 12:57:02 PM.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:55 PM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
The key factor is not the HOUSE temperature, but the PIPE temperatures. Yes, if the house is anything about 32 degrees, it won't freeze, but if the house is well insulated, and you keep it at 90 degrees when you're home, and 80 when you're away, the pipes can still freeze.
If it takes 4 hours to drop from 90 to 80, the water in the pipes isn't moving for 4 hours. That's when the pipes start to freeze. It has very little to do with the inside house temperature.
It's more of an issue with slabs or crawl spaces under the house, since that usually gets colder than inside a basement.
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| Posted 12/17/07 2:41 PM |
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mrsjpierre
LIF Infant
Member since 10/07 263 total posts
Name:
cindy
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by mrsjpierre
Is it safe to completely turn off the heat in the house when we are not home or should i leave it at like a comfortabe 66-68?
thank you ladies!
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| Posted 12/18/07 4:47 AM |
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SweetestOfPeas
J'taime Paris!
Member since 3/06 32345 total posts
Name:
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
ohhh! bad idea! you can lower it all the way down, but never shut it off.
DH and I are going away for Christmas week and will probably lower the thermostat to 60 degrees.
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| Posted 12/18/07 8:00 AM |
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mrsjpierre
LIF Infant
Member since 10/07 263 total posts
Name:
cindy
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by mrsjpierre
Is it safe to completely turn off the heat in the house when we are not home or should i leave it at like a comfortabe 66-68?
now you all should read my new post"spinoff to oil burner question"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Posted 12/18/07 10:15 AM |
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SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: turning off heat when e are not home
Posted by GoldenRod
The key factor is not the HOUSE temperature, but the PIPE temperatures. Yes, if the house is anything about 32 degrees, it won't freeze, but if the house is well insulated, and you keep it at 90 degrees when you're home, and 80 when you're away, the pipes can still freeze.
If it takes 4 hours to drop from 90 to 80, the water in the pipes isn't moving for 4 hours. That's when the pipes start to freeze. It has very little to do with the inside house temperature.
It's more of an issue with slabs or crawl spaces under the house, since that usually gets colder than inside a basement.
You could also insulate the pipes. We did this and the water stays warm in them for a very long time.
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| Posted 12/18/07 10:52 AM |
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