What temperature do you keep your home in Winter?

Chuck1906 · October 2011

I have a programmable thermostat and I try not to go overboard using my whole house heater in the winter months because I have gas heat and that bill can be insane. I tend to only stay in one or two rooms when I am home and usually will use an electric space heater to heat the room and wear sweats. Now I have a 3 week old LO, I can't have him freezing (me neither since I hate cold). So would 68-70 be a good temperature to program the thermostat? I was thinking maybe 70 in the morning to warm the house up then drop it down to 65 during the day and if its really cold out, maybe bump it back up to 68 at night. I wouldn't have it on continuous either...only for a few hours at a time. Now I have a LO in the house, I have to be conscious in making sure either his room or the whole house is somewhat warm but refuse to run the heat for hours on end even with my programmable thermostat.

Your thoughts?

julieb00lie · October 2011

We try to keep our house between 72-74, year round.

mandyhall2882 · October 2011

My thermostat is about 70. It keeps LO's room a nice temperature at night. She was sleeping in the coldest room in the house (vents didn't put out much heat), but a couple weeks ago we swapped bedrooms with her. Now we got the cold room and she sleeps great again.

I think your thermostat is set at a good temp (70 degrees).

demmie326 · October 2011

67, both day and night.

gferg · October 2011

70 day and night.

iteachk · October 2011

We keep it at 70

LadyVi33 · October 2011

We do 70 too!

TeacherVicky · October 2011

65 will be cold, IMO! We used to always keep it at 70 during the times we were home and 64 at night and while we were gone to work. It's now set at 70 during the day and 67 at night.

TeacherVicky · October 2011

Do you also realize that you are making your furnace work harder by turning it off and letting the house cool down so much? When you do turn it back on, it has to run that much longer and use that much more energy to heat the house properly. I know gas bills suck, but you have to make sure your LO is comfortable now. IMO, letting your house drop down that much during the day and not letting your furnace run when it needs to to maintain a certain temp will make it difficult to keep LO comfortable. I'm not happy at how much our gas bill is going to increase either now that I'm home all day and we keep it a little warmer at night, but it is what it is.

adri77 · October 2011

69 day 64 night

jackiemf · October 2011

68, we used to do 64 before LO, so we will see what 4 degrees does to our energy bill

Chuck1906 · October 2011

lisajay09:
My pediatrician said to check if a baby is at a comfortable temperature you should touch their ear. If it's hot, they're hot, if it's very cold, they're cold, but if it's cool, not cold, they're just right. I think it's good to have the whole house at a comfortable temperature so you don't have to worry about whether you're baby is comfortable.

Thanks for the suggestion and tip about touching their ears! The space heater I have is not a kerosene heater. It has an emergency shut off if its tipped over or if you pick it up to move it while its on it will shut off as well.

Chuck1906 · October 2011

mandyhall2882:
My thermostat is about 70. It keeps LO's room a nice temperature at night. She was sleeping in the coldest room in the house (vents didn't put out much heat), but a couple weeks ago we swapped bedrooms with her. Now we got the cold room and she sleeps great again.
I think your thermostat is set at a good temp (70 degrees).

***Side note, we tried taking our L.O. to a pumpkin patch last weekend to take pics and he didn't want anything to do with those pumpkins! LOL! Maybe next year he will like them!

iverske9 · October 2011

We have it at 70, we used to keep it at 67-68 and wear some pjs and hoodies but not anymore since we have a newborn :-)

mjune3881 · October 2011

Last year we dropped the house to 57 at night while sleeping and during the day when no one was home. When we were home and awake it went to 63 or so. With the LO we are now keeping the house at 65-67 all day and night.

mandyhall2882 · October 2011

Chuck1906:
mandyhall2882:
My thermostat is about 70. It keeps LO's room a nice temperature at night. She was sleeping in the coldest room in the house (vents didn't put out much heat), but a couple weeks ago we swapped bedrooms with her. Now we got the cold room and she sleeps great again.
I think your thermostat is set at a good temp (70 degrees).

***Side note, we tried taking our L.O. to a pumpkin patch last weekend to take pics and he didn't want anything to do with those pumpkins! LOL! Maybe next year he will like them!

LOL. Well, at least you took your LO for the experience. Next year will be more fun

BabyBLove · October 2011

Ours has been set to 70 both day and night. It seems most comfortable for both DS and us!

TeaForMe · October 2011

Okay, my husband and I are quite, um... frugal and so we keep our heat at 65 day and night... and that's warmer than we kept it before we had a baby! I asked the doctor how warm we need to keep the house for the baby and she said "That depends on how many layers of clothes you want to put on the baby." She said babies have grown up in cold climates (we're in MN) forever and it's just a matter of dressing them appropriately.There's no minimum requirement for temp. We have a humidifier (the extra moisture in the air makes it feel warmer), use a lot of blankets and wear a couple layers of clothes and everyone seems happy.

Now, would I love to keep my house at 70? You bet! I'm the freeze-baby of the family!

ETA: I want to point out we don't pile on blankets on him in his crib or anything - just when we're awake or holding him or whatever. We also put a thin fleece blanket on him and tuck it into the sides of the mattress at nighttime (in addition to his sleep sack). I read on the SIDS info sheet from the hospital that this was an acceptable use of a blanket for sleeping.

goodykt · October 2011

So far I'm sticking with 72 for the winter, we have the programmable thermostat also, it's on 75 during the summer to try and save on some bills. We have gas heat as well so it warms up quickly. Somedays I'm wondering if I should bump it to 74 but we'll see!! I usually dress LO how I am or if I'm cold I figure he could be.

mommybrynn · October 2011

68 day and night in winter, we don't mess with it. In the summer, we don't have it lower than 74. Saves a ton on our utilities!

rachelvara · October 2011

70 is perfect. 65 is way too cold in my opinion. You should be comfortable and the baby should be comfortable. feel their hands and feet at time to see how they are reacting to the temp. sometimes 70 is a little too chilly, sometimes to warm. depends on the day and how active you get. you gotta keep playing with it when you have a new baby around. keeep warm

i feel its going to be a cold one this year!

katie4253 · October 2011

67 pretty much all the time in the winter.

katie4253 · October 2011

rachelvara:
70 is perfect. 65 is way too cold in my opinion. You should be comfortable and the baby should be comfortable. feel their hands and feet at time to see how they are reacting to the temp. sometimes 70 is a little too chilly, sometimes to warm. depends on the day and how active you get. you gotta keep playing with it when you have a new baby around. keeep warm i feel its going to be a cold one this year!

65 is FINE. Recommended sleeping temps for babies is 65-70 degrees. Feeling a babies hands and feet (and ears to whomever posted that) is a bad idea. Babies have immature circulatory systems. Hands/feet/ears are not going to be representative of their core body temp.

If you read up on it, it will tell you to feel a babies neck.

You dress a baby in the same way you would dress yourself. If you sleep in pjs and blankets you dress your baby in pjs and a sleep sack or swaddle. (you can add one extra layer).

I *hate* it when people give advice that is totally wrong.

Amymichelle925 · October 2011

We keep the house at 68 in the winter, sometimes up to 70 on the weekends when we are home all day. Previous winters we would lower the heat down to 65 at bedtime, but we didn't notice much difference in our heat bill (electric) so we just keep it at 68.

My Dad keeps his house at 60 on the first floor and 55 on the second floor in the winter, needless to say we don't visit him during the winter, brrrrr. I have memories as a kid of trying to do my homework with gloves on because I was so cold.

sassy1 · October 2011

katie4253:
rachelvara:
70 is perfect. 65 is way too cold in my opinion. You should be comfortable and the baby should be comfortable. feel their hands and feet at time to see how they are reacting to the temp. sometimes 70 is a little too chilly, sometimes to warm. depends on the day and how active you get. you gotta keep playing with it when you have a new baby around. keeep warm i feel its going to be a cold one this year!
65 is FINE. Recommended sleeping temps for babies is 65-70 degrees. Feeling a babies hands and feet (and ears to whomever posted that) is a bad idea. Babies have immature circulatory systems. Hands/feet/ears are not going to be representative of their core body temp.
If you read up on it, it will tell you to feel a babies neck.
You dress a baby in the same way you would dress yourself. If you sleep in pjs and blankets you dress your baby in pjs and a sleep sack or swaddle. (you can add one extra layer).
I *hate* it when people give advice that is totally wrong.

According to the booklet given to us by our hospital, as well as one of my other books--you are the one giving advice that is wrong. The correct temp for a babyto sleep in is 68--70. 65 degrees is too cold.

sassy1 · October 2011

Correction: I meant to type 68--72.

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