Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

derpbeluga t1_iy4tack wrote

HVAC also dries out the house, which prevents mold. When we were looking for a home to buy last year we found so many houses with mold issues. Some of those houses were pretty much a lost cause. Others would have cost tens of thousands of dollars to get rid of the mold.

I'd rather pay a few hundred a year extra, be comfortable, and not have my house go to shit. The heat has been on since the end of September.

43

wsj OP t1_iy5g5r0 wrote

That's smart on the mold point. I tend to keep my house comfortable too because, well, I like to be comfortable.

-mc

6

Full-Supermarket t1_iy50w7m wrote

Same here. What temp do you keep when you are not home?

5

derpbeluga t1_iy555ov wrote

60

7

Full-Supermarket t1_iy57bg4 wrote

Oh I just keep 57

3

theanti_girl t1_iy5e021 wrote

That is incredibly cold. Not sure if you’re in a house or apartment, but you might want to just be cognizant of making sure pipes don’t freeze at any point. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t have to be below 32 for them to freeze.

Edit: why on earth would I get downvoted for that?

15

Full-Supermarket t1_iy5gziy wrote

Lol not sure about downvote but pipes are fine above 50°F I think.

17

theanti_girl t1_iy5hihk wrote

I think the concern is… if it’s 50 inside the house, it’s probably NOT 50 outside the house and a lot of pipes are in exterior walls. So if the temp is low inside the house, the actual pipes can drop way below that temp (50 in this case) and get to freezing.

I’m saying this because years ago, I woke up to no heat during a blizzard and frozen pipes and it was a reeeeally shit-tastic few days.

12

celaritas t1_iy5zm6s wrote

This happened to me. It was - 15 with wind chills and a tiny air draft must have got through the wall and froze a pipe in the same room as my furnace! WTF! It happens.

6

theanti_girl t1_iy624o3 wrote

It’s the WORST! Waking up when you can see your breath… no thanks.

1

Full-Supermarket t1_iy5huht wrote

I’m heating upstairs around 73 but keeps downstairs 57 because I just work and stay upstairs. Wasn’t aware people keep it higher.

2

theanti_girl t1_iy5j08l wrote

Aha! 73 sounds super toasty and very comfy. If you have zone heating, you could always turn the heat on downstairs only and just let it travel up naturally. But, your house, your business. Either way, 73 sounds delightful.

2

Full-Supermarket t1_iy5jff6 wrote

I worked downstairs last winter. The heat didn’t travel upstairs at all. I’m loving upstairs working 😆 It says warm longer.

2

degggendorf t1_iy62wmb wrote

>So if the temp is low inside the house, the actual pipes can drop way below that temp (50 in this case) and get to freezing.

On top of that, the cabinets installed along those outside walls will further insulate the pipes from the warm inside air, allowing them to get cooler than you might think.

If you need/want to have your house get below 60ish, you might want to consider leaving cabinet doors open to help prevent freezing.

2

derpbeluga t1_iy5h7a2 wrote

How would water in pipes freeze above the temperature that water freezes?

3

theanti_girl t1_iy5jauq wrote

I said it below but I’m saying — if it’s below 32 OUTSIDE, it doesn’t have to get to 32 inside for them to freeze; if they’re in an exterior wall, they can still freeze even if inside the house is above freezing. Sorry if I worded it poorly.

3

sumthinserious t1_iy6g91a wrote

You’re being downvoted because … Reddit. That’s what it do

2