from Tom in Whitefish Bay, WI:
#74
I've heard that turning down the thermostat when we're at work will lower the heat bill. But I've always heard that this costs you more because it makes the furnace work harder when you turn the heat back up.
It will take less energy to run your furnace for a short time to heat up a cool house.
Your furnace will run for a shorter time and use far less energy to heat up a cool house than it would if you kept the house warm all day. The easiest thing to do is install a programmable thermostat. Set it to turn down the thermostat when you are away or sleeping. Regularly setting your thermostat to a lower temperature, by five degrees for eight hours every day, will save about 5% on your heating bill. Use a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature automatically, depending on the time of the day and the day of the week. Learn more about how to set your thermostat by visiting the Focus Web site.