What's the most cost-effective way to heat my apartment?

[Bunny™]

We have a gas furnace, when we're home, the thermostat needs to be at 70 degrees.
When we're out, is it better to leave it at 70?... or drop it down to 60-ish, and have the furnace work overtime to bring it back up to 70?
My huge gas bill is keeping PSE&G in business....sumbitches.
How can I lower my gas bill without compromising the heaty warmth of my apt? My best girl will not accept a thermostat reading under 70 degrees while we're home.

[DiabloSammich]

We have a gas furnace, when we're home, the thermostat needs to be at 70 degrees.
When we're out, is it better to leave it at 70?... or drop it down to 60-ish, and have the furnace work overtime to bring it back up to 70?
My huge gas bill is keeping PSE&G in business....sumbitches.
How can I lower my gas bill without compromising the heaty warmth of my apt? My best girl will not accept a thermostat reading under 70 degrees while we're home.



How long are you out at a time?

[Tall_James]

Run a long extension cord to your neighbors apartment and get the biggest space heater you can find.

[Bunny™]

How long are you out at a time?

about 10 hours

[DarkHippie]

arson

[DiabloSammich]

I'd say the best is to keep it down when you're not there. Actually, if you guys come home at pretty much the same time every day, the best thing to do is get a programmable thermostat. They're pretty simple to install, and it will kick your heater on about 15-20 min. before you get home. And you don't have to worry about remembering to turn the thermostat down when you leave. You probably won't be able to retire on the savings, but every little bit helps.

[Bunny™]

We were dropping the heat down to about 60-ish when we were out last month, and the bill skyrocketed, so we've been leaving it at a steady 70, so the furnace isn't in overdrive trying to make up the difference.

[ChimneyFish]

I would go with whale blubber.

[eeroomnhoj]

We have a gas furnace, when we're home, the thermostat needs to be at 70 degrees.
When we're out, is it better to leave it at 70?... or drop it down to 60-ish, and have the furnace work overtime to bring it back up to 70?
My huge gas bill is keeping PSE&G in business....sumbitches.
How can I lower my gas bill without compromising the heaty warmth of my apt? My best girl will not accept a thermostat reading under 70 degrees while we're home.

As my would Dad say, put on a sweater.

[SatCam]

wood pellets

[sailor]

We were dropping the heat down to about 60-ish when we were out last month, and the bill skyrocketed, so we've been leaving it at a steady 70, so the furnace isn't in overdrive trying to make up the difference.

i can't imagine it would work any harder getting it up to 70 than it would keeping it there for 10 unneeded hours.

and is this an apartment in a private house? just confused by you having your own furnace in an apt.

[PapaBear]

Ask your landlord if you can replace your thermostat with one that has a timer. If you gone for a long period of time, you can set it to be lower, then have it heat up about a half hour to an hour before you get home. Also... if you dress warm, 68 isn't that much worse than 70, and it actually will make a difference on your bill.

[Devo37]

Some helpful hints from HGTV.com (http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_home_building_other/article/0,,HGTV_3727_1384170,00.html)

[GonzoStyle]

set it on fire

[Bunny™]

i can't imagine it would work any harder getting it up to 70 than it would keeping it there for 10 unneeded hours.

and is this an apartment in a private house? just confused by you having your own furnace in an apt.
It's a two-story, two-family house. We're on the 2nd floor...conventional wisdom told me that heat rises, and the heat from downstairs would help heat our place just a little. No such luck. The only heat being generated downstairs is bong-produced.....fucking potheads.

[drusilla]

i would guess your landlord should start by insulating that weird indoor porch you have

[sailor]

It's a two-story, two-family house. We're on the 2nd floor...conventional wisdom told me that heat rises, and the heat from downstairs would help heat our place just a little. No such luck. The only heat being generated downstairs is bong-produced.....fucking potheads.

we just moved from a two family house. we were on the bottom and it cost an insane amount to heat. a few months ago i bought a space heater and we used that in the living room and kept the rest of the place cooler (60-65 normally). it's a great solution if you spend the majority of your time in one room.

[TeeBone]

arson

This really is the best solution that has been offered. It may not be a bad idea to do this while your Best Girl is sleeping. She sounds a little upiddy anyway.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:7qbJEixLhQ6P8M:http://www.laytoncity.org/public/Depts/Fire/Images/Fires/FalconApartmentFire.png

[StupidGirlllll]

This really is the best solution that has been offered. It may not be a bad idea to do this while your Best Girl is sleeping. She sounds a little upiddy anyway.



That was funny...TeeBone you are now my "Best Guy" poster.

[Jujubees2]

70 degrees? Lower the thremostat to 65 and just tell your woman to suck it up.

The thermostat in my five bedroom, three story, house is never set above 65 (usually it's about 62 or 63). My kids are used to it and actaully run around in bare feet most of the winter. My gas bill for last month was about $300 (we also have a gas dryer and stove).

[Death Metal Moe]

Burn the homeless.

[led37zep]

Do you have a fireplace?

[RhinoinMN]

http://www.madhousers.org/stove.shtml

[Cleophus James]

Babies. They have an insulation factor of r24.

[Jujubees2]

Do you have a fireplace?

Yeah, but using a fireplace can actaully make the rest of the house colder (saw it on Mythbusters).

[RhinoinMN]

Burn the homeless.

The only problem is you need a lot of them. They burn hot and fast. (the booze)

[Death Metal Moe]

The only problem is you need a lot of them. They burn hot and fast. (the booze)

With stocks in a free fall, gas over $3 a gallon and recession looming, there's homeless a'plenty!

It's Homeless A GO GO!!!

[led37zep]

Yeah, but using a fireplace can actaully make the rest of the house colder (saw it on Mythbusters).

We used to have a fireplace that helped circulate the hot air into the room (and thus into the rest of the house). That thing worked like a charm.

[TeeBone]

That was funny...TeeBone you are now my "Best Guy" poster.
Thanks(Shit, i may have just blown it with my one word reply.)

[STC-Dub]

It takes less gas to heat from 60 to 70 when you get home than it does to keep the place at 70 all day. Maintaining a constant temperature is actually less efficient because the furnace is cycling on and off and everytime it comes back on it loses energy warming up the combustion chamber, the longer it runs at a time the more efficiently it is working. Get a prograble thermostat and set it to drop the temp to 60 30 minutes before you leave every day and back to 70 30 minutes before you return. You can also drop the temp to 65 when you sleep as you have blankets to keep you warm.

[earthbrown]

We have a gas furnace, when we're home, the thermostat needs to be at 70 degrees.
When we're out, is it better to leave it at 70?... or drop it down to 60-ish, and have the furnace work overtime to bring it back up to 70?
My huge gas bill is keeping PSE&G in business....sumbitches.
How can I lower my gas bill without compromising the heaty warmth of my apt? My best girl will not accept a thermostat reading under 70 degrees while we're home.

GET AN AUTO THERMOSTAT, PROGRAM IT FOR THE WEEK, THEN WEEKEND.

i PERSONALLY SET MINE TO STAY AT 60 AT NIGHT, THEN AT LIKE 430 IT GOES TO 70, i DINT NEED IT 70 TO SLEEP.


K

[ATMfromChico]

Just do what we do when the power goes out. Drag in the BBQ, dump a ton of briquettes on it and fire it up. That presents a ton of heat a short period of time. And don't believe what they say about the carbon dioxide. it donut mek a difrencea wit da brane sels?

[MONICA5579]

arson



:furious: :lol: