Used to have multiple settings pre-pandemic when we were not in the house during the day. Now, with both of us working from home, H has turned that off - we are at a constant 65 all the time. It’s a tad bit too warm in the night for me - but too much of a hassle to keep fiddling with the thermostat!
Our family room is where we spend most of the evening and this room is always a few degrees colder than the rest of the house (tall ceilings, over a unheated garage). We converted the fireplace there to a gas fireplace several years ago and that’s the best thing we’ve done. We will turn on that fireplace to a good 67 degrees every evening…
70 in the great room, bedrooms are 62. Have a zoned heating system.
I’m sitting in my great room in front of my big slider wall of windows. No drafts, love this super insulated good windows house. It’s 13 degrees out, lightly snowing.
Got my gas bill yesterday. $133. That’s the highest it will probably be all winter. Summer is less than $30.
I was curious and made a little spreadsheet of our utility bills over the past 12 months, broken out by utility. Our gas, elec, water, sewer, trash (and taxes) all come on 1 bill.
Elec hovered around $85/month in the peak winter months and $170-200 in the peak summer months.
Gas hovered around $20/month during the non-heating months to $225-375 in the winter.
The rest is about $70-75/month
We also have high (IMO) customer fees. I could turn off all my utilities and still owe $67/month plus tax just for the privilege of being a customer/citizen.
However, our utility bills are lower now than when we moved in. In 2006, we averaged $350/month. It increased to a little over $400/month around the mid to late 2010s. Then we needed a new boiler and A/C in the same year! Ouch. But now, last year our bills averaged $301/month. Before that we replaced the attic windows, and sealed off where you could see daylight around the roof/wall connection. And then during the 2020 covid lockdown, we had someone replace the 100 year old insulation in the ceiling. That probably helped some too. But we aren’t willing to put too much $$$ into it now, since we plan on selling a few years down the road.
I should also say from 1996-2006 we paid over $200/month for our little 1960s ranch that had all new replacement windows and a new heating/AC unit. I didn’t pay attention to what it was set on back then though. It wasn’t a digital thermostat.
We have a vacation cottage that is a tiny place on an island. It can only be accessed 6 months a year. We pay $45.88/month for electricity when we aren’t there (more when we are)and we pay $48/for sewer all year round. We have to pay for the privilege of being able to have electricity and indoor plumbing when it’s needed (we did have a septic, but the township made everyone hook up to the sewer a while back).
68-70 in winter (but i sneak it up to 72 when H is at work and I am off, and we turn it down lower when we are both at work), still need socks and layers to deal with it that low . 78-80 in summer. We live mid-atlantic in a 75yr old home that has multiple heating sources(HVaC plus gas furnace). It varies widely depending on the outside temp(16 here this AM!), and we usually pay 380-500 a month for the coldest months. Summer AC is less. 4500 sqft but the original 3300 footprint of the house is the colder area that does not hold heat as well as it should(despite updated windows/insulation where possible)
I’m in North Carolina where it’s been in the 30s/40s the last week or so. As long as it’s dry, I’m happy to jog in shorts and a long sleeve shirt + cap at those temperatures, but I work from home and when I’m inside just sitting at my computer, 60 is WAY too cold.
We keep the thermostat at 68 day, 66 night in the winter. I would happily set it higher but our gas bill crosses the $150/month mark at that temperature. While working, I wear long underwear under my pants, two layers on top, and keep a blanket and hand warmers at my desk.
We keep it at 78 day and night in the summer. (Yes, I still wear the same shorts to jog in the summer. Short sleeve top though.)
My gas+electric bill was $101 last year, so an average of $8/month. Solar covers electric, and I don’t use much gas, for heating or otherwise.
Many years ago, I used to keep the house at a particular temperature. I’d have the thermostats automatically adjust the house to that temperature before I arrived home from work, and I’d maintain the temperature when sleeping. When outside, I’d either rush to get indoors at my desired temperature, or would thoughtfully select how heavy coat or other clothing is needed, depending on exterior temperature, sun, wind, … at the particular time I went out.
Over time, I’ve grown to accept a much wider range of temperatures. I spend multiple hours outside most days, sometimes doing full day hikes with my dog. I usually wear the same clothing throughout the day during these full day excursions, even though it’s normal for the temp to swing 15 degrees throughout the day, with varying sun/shade, wind, elevation, degree of physical exertion, etc. That degree of variation is fine. It doesn’t have to be a perfect goldilocks temperature.
At home, I also am okay with a much wider range of temperatures. I live in a moderate climate, so the indoor temperature rarely gets outside of 70F +/- 10F range at any point in the year. During summer months, I typically wear shorts and short-sleeves, rather than adjust the temp cooler (exceptions include when doing workout or when temp may hinder sleeping). During winter months, I typically wear heavier long-sleeves items, rather than adjust the temp warmer. Sometimes I wear a light, unzipped jacket on both inside and outside, rather than changing clothing selection. Today I kept it on while at the dentist, even though the indoor temp was probably low/mid 70s. It doesn’t make much difference to me, as I am fine with a wide range of temperatures.
I received $189 in the 3? California climate credits last year, I had $92 in non-bypassable charges, and $132 in minimum charge assessments. This leaves a net of $92 + 132 - $189 = $35. My excess generation credit roughly cancels out the remaining $35.
Ok, looks like you are still connected to the grid, and your utility allows you to sell excess electricity to them (and sounds like the state subsidies this?). Many other utility companies, like ours, just do net metering. No matter how much one generates, our $8 a month in connection fees and all taxes on them are still billed out. Thanks for clarifying.
I’ve always been a Jimmy Carter gal - 68 in the winter, 78 in the summer. But since we’ve upgraded our heat pumps and gotten thermostats I can monitor from my phone, I’ve paid closer attention to setting the temp up/down when we’re out of the house. And now that the temps have fallen to where the heat pumps are struggling to keep up, I’ve set it down a degree or two.