Monday, October 19, 2015

Heat

I broke a self-imposed rule.  I turned on the heat yesterday....2 weeks before my November 1 standard.

We had a showing (which went really well!) yesterday morning, and it was 56 degrees in the house.  The new cold front that has moved in is dropping the temps into the 20s and 30s overnight, and the daytime high is barely in the 50s.  The house was chilly, and it wasn't going to warm up by much before the showing.

So I turned on the heat.  There is always a moment of "oh please work" when you turn the heat on for the first time in a season.  Since our furnace also produces our hot water, I knew it was working.  But kicking it into high gear to warm the radiators is another thing.  Even the oil company prints right on the monthly statement "please test your heat before winter hits!".  When a system has been dormant for 6 months, there is always a chance it is going to rebel.

But it didn't.  And within the hour, the temperature in the house was rising.  It actually felt HOT in there to me, and I had it on 68. 

After the showing came the flip side of my decision....do I shut it back off?  I looked at the forecast, and a low of 28 was in store for us over night, and a few days of 50s, but back into the low 60s later in the week.  So I compromised....I left it on, but turned it down to 63.  This seems to be able to keep the chill off the house (because I have to admit....a few mornings of waking up to the house in the 50s was mighty cool!).  If the natural temperature of the house warms above 63, the heat won't kick in.

I installed the storm windows on Saturday, so that helps with draft,  By opening the blinds on the south side of the house (typically I just open the slats, not the full blind), the sun helps warm the house some. 

I may change my mind and turn the heat off later in the week.  We will see how the week goes. 

Anyone else kick their heat on yet?

10 comments:

  1. We turned ours on, as it was 53 in our house one morning. I keep it set low though right now...I think we have it set on 65 during the day and then bump it up to 68 at night. I will probably turn it back off tomorrow since we are supposed to be warming back up to close to 70 each day after today for the next few days.

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    1. You should turn it down at night....your body doesn't need it as warm. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it to start warming up an hour or so before you get up. Usually I keep the house at 64 at night...may go a little lower!

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  2. Turned ours on as mom needs a warmer house. I am so praying that the showing will turn into a selling.

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    1. When the kids were small, they needed it warmer too.

      I hope the showing works out too...but like everything else in my life....there is always a hiccup. Waiting to see what happens!

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  3. I turned ours on last night but only to 58 (We live in Central Connecticut) and then turned it right off after the kids and my husband left this morning. Yesterday during the day we stayed in the family room with the fireplace blazing, keeping us very comfy. I'm thinking tonight we will do the same. Can't wait for the 60s and 70s to come back later this week!
    Smart idea to turn the heat up before the showing - you want your potential buyers to come in from the cold and feel all cozy inside! Fingers crossed for you!

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    1. I am fine telling the kids to put on a sweatshirt...but like you said, for the showing I wanted it to be warm. I also put out a few small Fall decor items....so maybe that did the trick. ;)

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  4. Here in the PNW, you may find the heat on in July on some mornings, the a.c. on the same afternoon. Come November, I only use the woodstove, but that's not sensible in summer. When I lived in New England, like you, we had the "No heat between April and October" rule. That really doesn't work here. I didn't believe the truth of switching from heat to a.c. in the same day.! When we lived in TX, I only turned on the heat on the rare occasions we got freezes. I paid more for a.c. than heat!

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  5. I turned the heat on so my programmable thermostat would have the house warm when I needed to get up. Hard enough to wake up at 5:30am on a Monday. Impossible for me if the house is cold. Hope your showing will be THE ONE.

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  6. Same standard (although I live in a more southern state); same rule; same broken (turned on heat yesterday.)

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  7. I'm in Northern Illinois and we had to turn ours on. I usually wont until Nov 1 but the baby is only 7 months old. I don't want him to be chilly and not sleep. Hope it helped with your showing though. That is most important right now.

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