For most of the ten years we lived at Blackrock, we had no air conditioning in the house at all. Our bedroom was upstairs, with windows facing the setting sun. Upstate New York--especially when living by a lake--is incredibly humid, and surprisingly hot in the summer. This meant some very uncomfortable temperatures in our bedroom at night.
Anytime I saw a nighttime low that was 70 degrees or above, I knew I would be getting no sleep. It would be well into the 80s in our bedroom, and so sticky that my skin would feel simultaneously hot and chilled from the clammy sweat.
It was very unpleasant.
Here, where the air is significantly drier, I start to notice a change in my comfort level at 80 degrees. Our furnace thermostat is in the kitchen, so I know what the temperature is in there. Our bedroom is right off the kitchen, and is usually about the same temperature.
Last night when I went to bed, it was 83 degrees. That's a little too hot. I didn't feel comfortable enough to sleep until about 10 p.m.
When I woke up at 5:30 a.m., it was 73 degrees. That's a little warm, but I could still drink hot coffee without sweating too much.
In the winter, I set our furnace thermostat overnight to 57 degrees. I mostly do this because otherwise it will cycle on and off and wake me up in the early morning, but that is actually a comfortable temperature for me to sleep in.
During the day it's set to 65 degrees, but with our woodstove going, it's usually between 68 and 70 degrees.
So I guess my ideal indoor temperatures are less than 60 at night and about 70 during the day.
I have a small window of comfort, apparently.
So tell me: What is your ideal indoor temperature?
12 comments:
We are in NC, north of Charlotte and we keep it at 70 during the day, 69 if it's a really hot day. At night it goes down to 67. When I see what power companies recommend, I have to laugh. If I'm paying, I'm going to be comfortable.
Don’t you ever use fans? I find that the moving air helps a great deal.
62 degrees is my optimal temperature.
Anonymous: Yes, we have ceiling fans in almost every room, and we do use them. I dislike the electronic hum, however, and A. doesn't like moving air at all, so it's always a relief when we don't need them anymore.
Anything between 45 and 60 at night is fine for me. The window fan helps in the summer, and I am able to sleep in the 70s. I haven't taken the temp at night this summer, which is worse than you ever felt
We keep our house at 65F in the winter and 61F overnight. The heat kicks in just as everyone wakes for the day. Then it goes down to 62F if it's a school day. We don't use the A/C much . We have ceiling fans and window fans- blow cool air at night and pull the blinds down and windows mostly closed during the day. If the daytime is above 90F and the nights are above 70F, that's when we'll turn on the air conditioning. We now keep it at 77F during the day and 75F at night. However, we just stayed in a vacation rental where the AC was set to 67 F. That was very attractive in the hot, muggy weather ( Vermont was humid- expected- but the temps was unusually high.) But I wound up wearing a jacket inside as I get cold.
Ice boxy!
Heat bothers me now more than it used to. I am getting old.I can stand colder temps in the winter as well, inside anyway.
In the winter we keep the house at 70 during the day and 60 at night. In the summer we keep it at 78. But we have a mini split heat pump system so there is a heater/cooler in every room. We don't heat the hall and I usually leave the bedrooms at 60 all the time in the winter and just shut the doors. This house is so old that there's no room in the walls for ductwork so that's why we ended up with the system we have. I don't like ceiling fans, but I do keep a couple box fans going on low in the summer. They're pretty quiet that way. But my ideal temperature? Probably the tiny window between 69 and 71 or so.
The record low record in my bedroom is 37, which is great for sleeping, just not changing clothes. Once it hits 64 in the winter, we start stripping down to short sleeves and asking who turned the heat up so high. 80 outside with no humidity is quite pleasant, but once that dew point hits 60 were melting cranky messes.
Prefer warm to cold. The installer of our heat pump 15 years ago advised us not to be constantly changing the thermostat, for vague system-load reasons I can't articulate with any kind of accuracy, but since I'm a set-it-and-forget-it kind of person, that's good. So, 73 degrees in summer, and 64 in winter. I'd rather be warmer in the winter, but I don't want to pay to be warmer in the winter. I'd like to have the windows open in appropriate weather, but there are around 150,000 cattle within four miles of us and open windows are just not an option. Win some, lose some. Very thankful for the heat pump.
77 or 78 during the day. Dad would like 65 or colder at night. Since marriage is all about compromise and I like 70/72, 69 is the nighttime setting. I guess age and so much time living in the heat has changed our internal temperature!
My husband would prefer 79 or 80 during the day and even warmer at night during the summer. He’s a weirdo.
We compromise at 77 and I usually turn it down to 76 and turn the fan on high when we go to sleep. Although, he does try to slip it up to 78 when he is home during the day. I can always tell…so it is retuned to 77 pretty fast. I told him that’s our compromise because I would have it lower…75-76
In the winter, we keep it around 70 when my husband is home and when he is gone, I usually bump it up a degree or two.
We keep the AC on 78 during the summer, but run ceiling fans in every room. In the winter, we keep it on 68 during the day when we are home, but cut it down to 60 at night or if we are out.
DH and I keep the windows open as much as possible if the outside temperature is between 50 and 75.
I grew up in FL without HVAC this is a much smaller range than I grew up with. Most of the year was very hot, usually up to the mid 80s indoors if you are smart about window coverings and fans. But it does get down to the 30s for brief spells in the winter, which is pretty cold if you don’t have heat or appropriate clothing.
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