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View Poll Results: What month do you first turn on the heat?
November 20 19.23%
December 31 29.81%
January 11 10.58%
I don't use the heat at all 42 40.38%
Voters: 104. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 12-10-2012, 05:53 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
9,524 posts, read 16,505,688 times
Reputation: 14560

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Thank you everyone for your comments about the electric heat. I was out most of the day and got home at 430pm. The temp in the house was 66 without the heat being on. Thats the lowest high I have seen it get in this house so far. The outside temp was around 63 today. So its safe to say as the temps get into the low 40's and into the 30's, this house will get down to the 50's without heat. So I will take peoples advice and turn the heat on at least occasionally. Since the heating systems are the heat pump type things I guess it won't bad. Besides the winter season is short here and much milder than what I am use to back east. I'm so use to oil heat back east, and the outrageous cost we pay in the winter. So this should be much cheaper here in Arizona to heat the house. Yep its not worth being cold. I just wasn't sure what to expect, since I'm so new in the state.
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Old 12-11-2012, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Massachusetts
9,524 posts, read 16,505,688 times
Reputation: 14560
I turned the heat on this morning. It was 37 when I got up at 6am and it was 60 degrees in the house. So I turned it on set it at 68 for the daytime temp, and then I will lower it to 66 at night. See how that goes. I knew it got cooler temps here in these winter months. I don't think I realized how cold it can get here, or how pooly insulated some of these houses are. Thanks.
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Old 12-11-2012, 07:55 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,073 posts, read 51,209,674 times
Reputation: 28314
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimrob1 View Post
I turned the heat on this morning. It was 37 when I got up at 6am and it was 60 degrees in the house. So I turned it on set it at 68 for the daytime temp, and then I will lower it to 66 at night. See how that goes. I knew it got cooler temps here in these winter months. I don't think I realized how cold it can get here, or how pooly insulated some of these houses are. Thanks.
One thing if you are new to a heat pump. When temps are low in the morning and you run the HP for a long time because your desired temp is a long way from the temp in the house, your HP is going to go into a "defrost" mode from time to time. When it does, it will start blowing icy cold air out the vents even though you are on heat mode. What is going on is that the outdoor coil has started to ice up and the HP reverses for a minute or so to melt it. Brrr. But it's normal. If you keep it at 66 and then only warm to 68, it probably won't be a problem.

Consider an auto setback thermostat. You can buy them at Lowes or HD.
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Old 12-11-2012, 07:59 AM
 
Location: Hard aground in the Sonoran Desert
4,866 posts, read 11,219,303 times
Reputation: 7128
My house must be insulated well as it was 70 degrees in the house when we woke up this morning and no need for the heat. I'm enjoying the break of not running the A/C...funny thing, my neighbors A/C still kicks on every afternoon which I can't understand as mine hasn't been on for a month or so.
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Old 12-11-2012, 06:43 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
9,524 posts, read 16,505,688 times
Reputation: 14560
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
One thing if you are new to a heat pump. When temps are low in the morning and you run the HP for a long time because your desired temp is a long way from the temp in the house, your HP is going to go into a "defrost" mode from time to time. When it does, it will start blowing icy cold air out the vents even though you are on heat mode. What is going on is that the outdoor coil has started to ice up and the HP reverses for a minute or so to melt it. Brrr. But it's normal. If you keep it at 66 and then only warm to 68, it probably won't be a problem.

Consider an auto setback thermostat. You can buy them at Lowes or HD.

Thank you for telling me about the defrost mode. If that had happened I would of thought it needed to be repaired.
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Old 12-11-2012, 06:46 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
9,524 posts, read 16,505,688 times
Reputation: 14560
Quote:
Originally Posted by LBTRS View Post
My house must be insulated well as it was 70 degrees in the house when we woke up this morning and no need for the heat. I'm enjoying the break of not running the A/C...funny thing, my neighbors A/C still kicks on every afternoon which I can't understand as mine hasn't been on for a month or so.

Evidently so. I am noticing temperatures can have abit of a range from place to place in Metro Phoenix. It can be 45 in Phoenix and 37 out here in the Surprise area.
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Old 12-12-2012, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Louisville, KY
1,590 posts, read 4,624,111 times
Reputation: 1381
i flipped mine on yesterday after leaving the windows open all night. Got a little chilly inside! Now it's back off, and I might use it once or twice before the heat comes again...
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Old 12-14-2012, 04:33 PM
 
Location: Queen Creek, AZ
7,326 posts, read 12,327,602 times
Reputation: 4814
FYI, we decided to turn our heat on this week. We used our existing thermostat setting from last year, and I haven't actually noticed it turn on. However, my father said he heard it turn on in his room. We have a dual-zone setup, and typically the zone where my room is located is typically warmer than the zone where my parents' room is. In the summer, the AC unit for my zone runs more often than the one for theirs.
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Old 12-14-2012, 08:41 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
1,069 posts, read 2,945,993 times
Reputation: 1447
Roommate and I kept a close eye on the temperature in our house last winter. We didn't use the heat at all. The coldest it got inside was 64 degrees one morning. Our electric bill was unbelievably low all winter!

One note with not using heat: put yourself in a different mindset. You don't have to have the house at a "shorts and T-shirt" temperature. On most of the cold days at our house, I'd sit around the house in sweat pants, a long sleeve shirt, and socks. Very comfortable, and much cheaper than running the heater. Heated blankets are also a nice thing to have for trying to get to sleep on a cold night. Most have timers, and will automatically go off at a certain time. I'd turn it on before going to bed, and it'd turn itself off after a few hours. Barely drew any electricity, and put me straight to sleep.

I honestly don't see a reason to use a heater in Phoenix...
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Old 12-15-2012, 09:51 AM
 
777 posts, read 1,336,319 times
Reputation: 720
We don't really turn our heat on unless the overall house temperature drops below 62*. It's been lingering at 67* lately. But we did whip out our portable heater a few days ago. Over the course of the 3 cold months, we probably only turn the heater on 5-10 times. It doesn't really get unbearably cold in the house.
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