What temperature are you keeping your house at? (Denver: 2015, townhouse)

[Indigo Cardinal]

I sold my home of fifteen years and moved into a new house three weeks ago, and of all the things I'm 'dealing' with, it's the thermostat.


Old home: San Francisco-style townhouse, built 1985, a bit over 1300 sq feet (including the garage), all windows facing east and west. The windows were not great when I moved in--the house would be freezing, frequently, and at a point I'd replaced most of them with energy-efficient windows. I also wound up replacing the furnace too (it completely died). Even with all this, I frequently had to keep the house between 75-78 degrees to keep from feeling cold.


New home: Paired home, built 2001, almost 1700 sq. feet (again, including the garage), most windows facing south with a few also facing north and east. I figured I was going to be blasting the heat to keep this place comfortable, and instead I've found myself going between 63 and 67 degrees on the thermostat, trying to find the 'right' temperature. (Right now I've got it at 66 degrees, and I'm feeling a little too warm.)


What do most here consider average for keeping their house at during the winter in Denver?

[cowboyxjon]

North-facing duplex/paired-home and I keep mine around 67 degrees. Most of the time it's comfortable, but on the off day that it's not (like yesterday), I'll bump it up to 69 or 70. It has energy-efficient windows and is well insulated.

[bluescreen73]

Ours is at 68 during the day and 64 at night.

[Gorges]

68 during the day and night. 10-year-old detached house with lots of windows, most facing east or west. I'd like it cooler at night but dh doesn't agree. If we get cold pockets or if there are guests staying in the lower level, we'll turn the fan on continuously and the temp evens out nicely.

[alloo66]

68 F facing the north. Your body adapts to the temperature that it's used to.

[davebarnes]

Gas is cheap and getting cheaper.

70 (mostly) to 72F (at dinner time) during the day as we work at home.
Let drop to 62F at night.
Duplex - 1900 sqft above ground with finished basement. North side of east-west facing.

2014-2015: 30-day period straddling the Winter Solstice, gas usage was 90 therms at a cost of $71.

[TigerLily24]

67-68, though when it is really cold outside, like today, I'll push it to 70-72 to take the edge off.

30+ year old house, original windows, oriented north/south, front faces east.

[TCHP]

72 during the day and 65 over night.


As you noticed, there can be considerable differences in the ability to maintain heat depending on age, location, and orientation of your housing.


My house, built in 1902, and just under a 1000 sq ft, needed the thermostat set at 80* to keep it decent in the winter and cost me around $350 a month to heat. After a significant remodel effort that put me at nearly 3000 sq ft and updated all the systems, insulation, and windows in the house, I can keep use the programmable feature of the thermostat to maintain better control of the temps and keep the bills around $275. I love that!

[skins_fan82]

70, south facing house with lots of windows.

[Hschlick84]

70F in the winter, 65F at night