if you can't stand the heat

[mauvaise_etoile]

I'm unsure how effective this poll is going to be because I'm not entirely certain that forced air/furnaces/gas is used everywhere for heating one's home. Here, it is the most common, but a lot of older homes have radiators or electric baseboard heat

Comments

[okokjazz]

...all these foreign fahrenheit thingies...I have no idea, and nor do I control my thermostat - the people in the salon and the landlord do I think, but it hasn't got cold enough for me to notice whether this is a bad thing yet.

[mauvaise_etoile]

I just edited in the conversions - totally forgot to include those!

Ah, so you have a centralized thermostat.

[okokjazz]

I think most places in britain do - my flat's odd because its heating system is connected to the salon downstairs, but it means we don't have to think about heating costs because they're included in our rent!

Have voted on the one I think I used to use when I did control my own thermostat...

[mauvaise_etoile]

Yay! When we lived in an apartment, it was included in ours as well, which was very nice.

[magic_at_mungos]

*looks supicious* What's all this foreign looking Faherenheit business? I don't know whether that's hot or cold :)

[mauvaise_etoile]

LOL sorry. I just edited in the conversions. /failing

[magic_at_mungos]

I kept the temperature a lot lower when I was living away from home and subscribed to the thoery that you can’t complain of being cold if you haven’t got a vest on. Now I am back at home, I sneak down and turn the heating up a notch if I get cold. :D But then again, I’m the one with my bedroom windows open well into October because my room gets really stuffy otherwise.

[mauvaise_etoile]

Hee! When I lived at home, I would get so mad at my mom for keeping the thermostat set really low. She is *always* hot, therefore the rest of us had to freeze. My bedroom was on a corner though too, so I had two exterior walls and windows; it was always sooooo cold. Now that I pay my own bills, I turn that puppy down if I get the tiniest bit warm. :D

[melandry]

I answered twice: I like to be toasty, and at this point in my life (living in small apartments, sometimes with the heat paid for by the landlord) I say damn the expense, so I would normally set the thermostat at 68.

However, this current apartment has forced hot water baseboard heat, and while I do have a thermostat, no matter how low I set it, it's always about 75 in here, sometimes hotter if the outside temperature climbs above 40 or so (as now) because there's something wrong with the baseboards and they're always on. My only "window" to crack is the sliding glass door onto my porch, so it even gets too hot for me in here - so in this apartment I set the thermostat as low as it can go, not that it does anything.

[mauvaise_etoile]

I was like that also in the apartment I lived in - it was paid for by the landlord, so I kept in cranked all the time. :D

I wouldn't like it being *that* hot all the time either. Ew.

[norus]

Um. I'm too lazy to convert, and I figure since you're the one that cares about this I should just offer it up to you in Centigrade and make it your problem... 19. (Sssh, long day, Friday, and whole day spent learning how we're all going to die of heart disease.)

My dad says it makes a much more dramatic difference going 20 to 19 rather than 21 to 20 or whatever, I didn't understand but he waffled a lot about energy efficiency. Unfortunately the thermostat is in the lounge (which is well-insulated) such that it's always several degrees colder in my room (three external walls, rubbish radiator, big windows). Turning up the thermostat is tantamount to not recycling in my scary-green house. Though, so it bloody should be, and when the world runs out of fossil fuels I can feel like a smugarse. A smugarse in a very thick sweater, mind.

[/blather]

[mauvaise_etoile]

Yeah, sorry. I added in the conversions. *fails* 19 is 66, so we're the same, then. :D

I've heard also that only 1-2 (F) degrees can make a world of difference in usage, so I'm with your dad!

[norus]

Just so's you know for your poll, then, I voted "other" before and tis now too late to change it...

[mauvaise_etoile]

Hee, s'ok.

[mrsesnape]

Dreamy picture!

I like it WARM! My heat has been on for a few weeks already and I keep it at 72. I have gas water heater, too, and my typical winter gas bill is around $250 per month; but my electric bill drops really low. My year-round average is around 315 per month for total electric/gas. What is yours?

[mauvaise_etoile]

Hello!

Our water heater is gas also (as is our stove and dryer). During months when the heat isn't on, our gas bill is usually no more that $15-20. Last winter the average for the months where the heat was consistently on it was about $150. Rates were much higher last year though, and in previous years, I think it was closer to under $100. But, of course, I keep it low and so it's chilly in the house at times. Sweaters and blankets are widely used! :D

Our electric doesn't really fluctuate throughout the year as we don't have AC. The last couple months it went up quite a lot, but I read that rates were creeping up, so that's probably why. Electric is on average, I'd say $25.

[mrsesnape]

Dang! And it's always advertised here that we have some of the lowest rates in the country. Damn liars!

[mauvaise_etoile]

I'm sure our rates can't be that much different. You have a much bigger house than I do! :D