"Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
>
> I remember way back it was common for people to heat their homes to 72F or
> more, but then the 1970's oil shortage changed that idea to 70 or less.
>
>
I remember that too, the days of waiting in line for gas, people heating
with coal and kerosene, upsetting their entire family's life style by
forming car pools, etc. It was all about decisions based solely on panic,
it changed nothing about how people altered their energy usage in a
meaningful manner.

There's no need to alter ones comfort level with a well insulated efficient
home. Most US homes are poorly insulated. Adding proper insulation is very
inexpensive. Last fall I spent $600 to add insulation to my house. Last
winter's heating bill was $500 less than the average of the past five
years... it's too soon yet to tell about central a/c but I suspect a similar
savings. The average US home will recoupe the cost of adding insulation the
first year, so in effect it's free. Much one can do themselves with
caulking and weather stripping, and even the larger jobs of walls and
attics... but if one shops around, especially in this economic environment,
one can find very qualified insulation mechanics who will do the job at very
fair and affordable prices. I had my entire 2,000 sq ft attic insulated to
R40 (including all my A/C ducts) and all my windows and doors recaulked,
including labor and materials for $600. Insulating materials are very
inexpensive and the entire job took one man and a helper like 6 hours labor.
I could have purchased the material myself at Lowes for about $300, but it
wasn't worth it for me to do all that messy dusty work all by myself, and
not having the experience this guy had I'm sure after observing all it
entailed with two people it would have taken me at least three days, and Im
sure I'd not have done as good a job. Adding insulation is the single most
important thing one can do to save energy dollars

I've always prefered keeping my house temperature to the cool side, winter
and summer, I keep my thermostat set at 69ºF 24/7 year round. Altering home
temperature by 2-3 degrees does not really save much, certainly not nearly
as much as adding insulation and eliminating draughts. Also altering
temperature doesn't save nearly as much as keeping heating/cooling systems
in tip top shape. Most homes more than 20 years old really need new more
efficient systems, but at least have the existing systems properly tuned up
regularly. I have set back thermostats but don't use that feature, that not
only saves nothing, but by constantly changing temperature they cost more to
use and cause the heating and cooling systems to cycle more often which
shortens their life. Set back thermostats save energy in commercial
buildings that are emptied of people during non business hours, weekends,
and holidays, but for the average house where people reside for like 2/3 of
every day and in many cases 24/7 they are an energy wasting gimmick promoted
by the energy supplying businesses. Refrigeraters/freezers don't have set
back thermostats for the same reason people don't need them where they
reside... far more energy is saved by better insulation and not opening the
doors unnessarily so draughts steal energy. Refrigerator/freezers do have
winter/summer energy saving settings, well the same can be accomplished in
homes with humidifiers/dehumidifiers. Where I live the ambient humidity is
on the high side, so winter humidity can be supplimented easily without a
humidifier. But most A/C systems are over engineered (in order to cool
during the warmest weather) to the point where they cool rapidly but at too
high a rate to remove sufficient humidity before shutting down, so all they
accomplish is to create a cold clammy environment. Since summers here are
hot and humid I have dehumidifiers running all summer, one larger one in my
basement (60 pints) and two smaller units one at each end of my house (30
pints)... they make a tremendous improvement in the comfort level without
adding much energy cost... I keep them at their lowest quietest setting and
the one in the basement is set to cycle on and off every 4 hours. Keeping
the humidity level in a house stable and in a comfort zone (40-45%) is very
important to maintaining the ingegrity of the structure and all it's
contents, including the health of its occupants... in this electronics age
folks have many dollars invested in delicate computers, TVs, etc.. all sorts
of solid state controled applainces big and small throughout today's homes,
from kitchen appliances, to cameras, to clocks, even thermostats, operating
at an excessive humidy level can damage them. So just lowering heating
temperatures in of itself not only saves no energy dollars it may well do
more harm than good.