We have ours set at 64 also. We are used to wearing sweaters in the house. I think the people who put in the heating system we have didn’t get one big enough for the house, so it goes to “auxiliary” when it gets cold and costs a small fortune. It’s at least 13 years old, but we are hoping not to replace it for at least a couple of years.
Wow. You guys are hardy. We keep ours at 68.
Lol. 68 here, too, supplemented by gas fireplace. 
No outdoors.
Because we all sometimes like to chew on these things:
Complicated answer. 100+ y.o. house, steam rads, new boiler. Old thermostat is in the DR, which is right above the bsmt boiler. Plumber added new vents to all rads and balanced the settings, per priorities. Testing (last month/warmer) worked, all rads heated (because the system was cranked up.) Now BR above DR gets nothing. Kitchen nothing (near enough to the DR, not an open layout.) And now it’s colder outside.
I set old therm to 68, heats to 64 or so. (Tested rooms with another thermometer.) Two bedrooms 70, (end of the steam run.) The one above DR, 61, cold rad (same vent settings as other BRs.) I’ll skip the rest.
It could be the vent settings. Plumber comes tmrw. I asked here about target therm settings, wondering if I’m aiming too low (since it only reads 64.) It could be that we need to move the new therm to another room. It could be that they still haven’t rewrapped the bsmt steam pipes (asbestos wrap removed) and the DR floor gets warm, system slows down. ?
Trying to understand if I have an issue to press with the plumber or just see how things change with the new therm and when the pipes are wrapped. She’ll rebalance the vents tmrw. I haven’t paid her.
Does this make enough sense?
New therm tomorrow. I hope.
I would start with rebalancing and see if it fixes the problem.
And does the house feel warm enough or this is a concession?
Feels warm enough to me. We did adjust downward from 67-68 over a winter or two. I prefer to be on the cold side. Husband still wears shorts around the house half the time. haha. I do use an extra blanket at night because I like to sleep with my head cold. In the rare event I get too cold, I’ll grab a throw blanket. It’s 17 degrees outside right now and very windy out and I feel just fine.
Our new system incorporates a heat pump and ecobee thermostats (similar to Nest). One change with the new system is we’re supposed to pick a temp and stick with it to be the most efficient. No turning the thermostat up and down.
Kk. Yeah, the 2 good BR need to come down bc the rooms are too warm (oddly, in the past, the master was freezing, needed a space heater.) I’m surprised, tho, bc the cold BR is the shorter run.
I understand bits about steam, distance, and heat loss, but this puzzles me. I just cranked up the therm a cpl degrees and all came on except the cold BR.
Thanks.
@doschicos We were running it lower than 60. Yeah, one adjusts. And I joked that just when it becomes too much, the deeper snows come and insulate the foundation. (Life in New England.)
Behind all this is a concern that if we sell, any residual heating issues will be a headache. Especially if buyers have little kids. But maybe, what the heck.
Even writing this out here clarified. But dang, that cold BR is my study.
Thank you both.
Put in a nest bluetooth (3rd generation ) thermostat and get a few inexpensive remote temperature sensors. I have one sensor in DS#1’s old room, which is over the garage and gets cooler, but is near where my computer is. I let it read that sensor when I am over there, and then at night read the sensor in our bedroom. Love it!
@lookingforward Not sure how many hours per day you spend in your study but have you considered using a space heater in there? We have a finished lower level and watch movies down there. It is definitely colder down there in the winter vs the rest of the house so we just use a space heater when we are down there. Maybe not the most efficient fix but it works for us. The room heats up quickly with the door shut.
Hope she’s bringing a Nest. I’ll ask her about sensors.
I feel a lot more comfortable about all this now. Thx.
@doschicos Yes to a space heater. We’ve lived here with the workarounds for 25 years. It’s more a future resale concern. Putting this money in and having someone think the house is too cold. Right now, I’m thinking wth, worst case, I give a concession. Or list in early summer.
The 4th bedroom and attic bedrooms have their own elec heat.
72 daytime (when home) / 65 nighttime and when out of the house
We keep our downstairs (living areas) between 68 and 70 in the winter. This means our upstairs (bathroom and all bedrooms) is 64 which is comfy enough for sleeping in with sufficient blankets and a space heater for pre-heating cold clothes about to go on our bodies.
We’ve gotten older and desire more comfort - plus can afford it. In our younger days we kept it the downstairs around 65 which would have put the upstairs around 61. Our green lad staying at home still lowers it when we old fogies are out of town.
I get cold easily. Usually set heat at 68. Sometimes I turn it up to 70 and then back down when it warms up.
Our main thermostat is set to 60 at all times. Sometimes I bump it up to 62 or 63 during the day. If we have people coming over, I’ll turn it up to 65 if I remember. The kitchen thermostat is set to 58 overnight, 62 during the day. I wear a sweater if I’m cold.
We also have an old steam system. The radiator in my bedroom is turned off almost all the time. I’ll occasionally turn it on if it gets really, really cold. I like a cold room to sleep in. I usually have the window open through at least mid-October.
It’s a good thing some of us don’t live together, LOL! At 68 or 70 degrees I’d be wearing shorts and a t-shirt!
We have ours on 67 during the day and 73-74 once the sun goes down (and I’m still wearing a fleece jacket and Wicked Good slippers with sox). I get really severe muscle cramps as a side effect of my meds and they are very limiting. Fortunately the gas bills are not horrendous, esp since we replaced the HVAC three years ago. It’s a bummer; I like a cold house and piling on the blankets.
We keep ours around 65 during the day and around 60 at night. I can’t tolerate it if it’s too warm at night, and during the day I put on a sweater if I’m cold. We have company coming for Thanksgiving, including a baby, so I know I’ll need to set it higher then.
My mom has had to up her inside temp to 75 with her cancer/body needs. She used to keep hers at 62 or 63 in her non-medical needs days. We merely wear short sleeves at her house. She’s wearing fleeces. I’d much rather she feel comfortable over us.
My FIL keeps his place around 80. He’s 90 years old and has major heart/circulation problems. We’re wearing short sleeves and still sweating there, but I don’t want him to change a thing for us. We can adapt.
We have our thermostat programmed for 67 during the day and 58 at night. I sleep with the window wide open all year.