Quote:
Originally Posted by cholcombe
I'd say anywhere between 57-60. After I changed over to the heat pump it can't keep up after January hits so I just set it to 74 and let the dissipate out to the ends of the house. We just wear a base layer of smart wool and its completely fine  |
You might try closing off the parts of the house that don't absolutely need to be heated. Then your struggling heat pump might be able to pull the grade.
I only heat the kitchen when I'm preparing a meal or eating, otherwise, I close it off, and let it go cold. Less work for the refrigerator.
I don't heat the bathroom either (See AC Hacker's Mini-Loo). When I take a shower, the hot water heats the bathroom. I do think that a winter-time electrically-warmed toilet seat is in my future, however.
I have stopped heating my bedroom in the winter. I found that an electric blanket (actually electric mattress pad) makes the situation much more palatable. I turn on the bed warmer a few hours before I retire, and then when I get into a nice warm bed, I turn the bed warmer off. I have lots of warm covers and I have found that I sleep much better that way. The cost of electricity for the bed warmer for a few hours a day is really cheap... way cheaper than heating the whole room 24/7.
BTW, I keep the rooms that I choose to heat, around 67F. It has been interesting to see how the heat gradually flows into the other non-heated rooms, on its way to the great heat sink in the sky... kind of like recycling heat.
Best,
-AC