What temperature do the experts suggest we place our thermastats during winter months?

I keep the areas where I spend the most time at 62˚, and bedroom at 55˚. (House is zoned; unused rooms at 50˚).Keep on adding those layers; jersey, sweater, fleece vest, heavy socks, warm cat…

I think it depends on personal preference and what you can tolerate.

As low as you can stand it, keep it there!

I would look into getting a programmable thermostat instead of keeping things at a fixed temperature. That way you can set it to drop the temperature at night and while people are at work and or school.

@gallicalled

50 degrees in the bedroom? Jeez.

@Spar; you are speed-reading. I sleep in a bedroom with thermostat set at 55˚. I keep the doors closed on rooms I don“t use. They are set at 50˚ to keep pipes from freezing.

Two wool blankets and a thick down comforter (and lumpy old Milo, who radiates heat) do the trick.

Does the light turn on when you close the door?

Appoligies, 55 degrees still sounds so uncomfortable. Power to you.

I actually don’t even have heat in any of my bedrooms (old, funky house). The only upstairs room with any heat is the bathroom. Downstairs, I usually keep it set at 68 degrees. In my children’s bedroom we use a ceramic space heater. We have one for our bedroom, too but rarely use it…and we sleep with a fan on! Fleece sheets (heavenly!), wool blanket & heavy quilt are usually enough.

I live in a converted factory very exposed to wind and rain. I keep a strange infrared radiant-heat plug-in thingy in the main room set at 62 – an experiment, seems to be working.
We always heated our teeny little bedrooms with body heat and breath. I’m slowly having the old factory windows upgraded to double-pane vinyl jobs in spite of the aesthetic loss.
I wear a lot of wool and fleece.
For visitors I crank up the propane stove. Very cozy, but having a dinner party costs me $30 in heat plus I get all flushed and sweaty because I’m not used to it.
Like Gail, I have rooms that I don’t use much in winter. I leave them unheated unless we get a series of freezing days – then I break out the plug-in radiators and keep a fire going in the back-room woodstove.
We burned wood for about 20 years. It was a big drag, and the smoke gave me headaches. I’m glad it’s over, though it was a delicious kind of heat.

I keep mine on 72 all year long.

I should mention that I’m a big baby when it comes to the cold.

it’s very interesting to read the layers you will go to to reduce fuel. I have a programmable thermastat that swings between day/night temps. The question was what do the experts recommend.

Experts (such as us here) suggest you try lowering your therm o stat several degrees from your accustomed settings and see how you tolerate/compensate for slightly chillier house.

Randy, for example, described him/herself perfectly. Get a grip, or perhaps a sweater and fleece socks.

Susan; the other problems with woodstoves are heat loss, pollution and the creosote build-up in the chimney, necessitating the chimney sweep yearly.

As low as you can go.

The family agreed that 65 all the time was comfortable. It’s a small place.

I would prefer lower, because body heat, the lights on, cooking, etc. all push the heat up a few degrees, and hospitals keep the heat lower. It’s healthier to sleep in a cooler room, so I think I could easily spend the night at Gailcalled’s house!

@Rowenaz; The porch light is always on.

When my daughter or sister come over, they ostentatiously leave their coats on (and my daughter simply sneaks around and raises the thermostat). 65˚ would seem tropical to me now that I have gotten used to the invigorating atmosphere.

I need to have a warm house because my circulation is bad (side affect) of my disease. I don’t let anyone tell me how low my thermoatat should be so I put it where my wife and I are comfortable.
We have a gas fireplace in our living room, and can warm the whole downstairs of our home just by running that during the day. There is no door between our living room and dining room, so the heat moves around very good. There is a fan on the fireplace which helps move the heat around quite well. Good question..