If you keep turning up the thermostat because the living room still feels chilly, the answer isn’t always raising it another degree. The right setting for winter depends on your heating system, your schedule, and how your house holds heat. Our team at Premier HVAC Services helps Chambersburg homeowners find a comfortable balance without paying to heat up an empty house.
Best Winter Thermostat Temperature for Your Home
Your house may feel comfortable at 68°F, but if that feels too cool, try 69°F or 70°F. There’s no single setting everyone has to follow, especially if someone in your household needs a warmer room. Before raising the temperature, check to see if furniture is blocking a supply vent or cold air is sneaking in around a window. It could be making one room uncomfortable even if the thermostat reads 70°F.
Your thermostat measures the temperature where it’s installed, which isn’t always the same as the rest of your house. If it’s exposed to direct sunlight or cold drafts, your thermostat could turn your heat on or off at the wrong time and leave some rooms feeling uncomfortable.
Lowering Your Thermostat at Night to Save Energy
If you heat your home with a conventional furnace, try turning down the thermostat a few degrees while you sleep or are away to reduce heating costs. Your furnace will need to run longer to warm the house back up, but you’ll generally still save energy. Try 65°F at bedtime and see how everyone feels, but don’t crank the thermostat to 75°F in the morning. It won’t warm your house faster, and you could waste energy if you forget to turn it back down.
Winter Thermostat Settings When You’re Away on Vacation
If you’re heading out of town and have a conventional furnace, you can lower your thermostat to save on heating costs, but don’t turn the heat off completely. Keep your home at 55°F or higher during cold weather to help prevent frozen pipes. Pipes in exterior walls, basements, or crawl spaces can get much colder than the rest of your house, especially during a Pennsylvania cold snap.
Using a Programmable Thermostat in Winter
A programmable thermostat lets you set a heating schedule around your daily routine. For example, you can keep your home at 68°F while everyone’s there, lower it to 64°F when the house is empty, and have it warm up again before everyone returns. You can also set different temperatures for sleeping and create separate schedules for weekends. This technique works well with conventional furnaces, but heat pumps usually need smaller adjustments to avoid using expensive backup heat.
Thermostat and Heating Help in Chambersburg, PA
If you’re constantly adjusting your thermostat but still can’t get comfortable, we can help. Our team at Premier HVAC Services can check whether your thermostat is reading the temperature correctly, turning your heating system on and off when it should, or needs replacing. We’ll also check for heating problems that could be affecting your comfort or driving up your bills. We’re there when you need us most.
Contact our team at Premier HVAC Services for thermostat help or heating service in Chambersburg.