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Post by peasapie on Sept 18, 2017 11:05:17 GMT
I ding think it's a chore as much as spending money. You probably have your AC on most of the time, but in other zones you can sometimes get away with a month or more without needing heat or AC (or at least, minimal heat/AC). It's simply a switch of the button here too but I find it annoying to switch between the two in the same week. Today I sweated my ass off, last week it was chilly enough for a sweater (almost cold enough that I contemplated turning the heat on). Because of my ragweed allergies I keep the AC on until the first frost. I wish I didn't have to keep my house closed up. This is me exactly. I hate using A/C when I could have the windows open -- if not for the allergies. OP - while it's not difficult to switch between the two, it's an odd time of year when one has to use both in the same day.
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 18, 2017 11:13:17 GMT
Mine also is not a "big deal" physically....as you said, it's just flipping the switch from "off" to either "heat" or "cool" and then adjusting the temperature control if it's not where I want it to be. The "big deal" for me comes when I have to turn on the heat because it means admitting that winter is arriving. And I hate winter! Fall is my favorite season -- crunchy leaves, and sweaters, and windows opened while I'm wrapped in a blanket, etc. -- and I hate for it to come to an end.
I feel a bit like that in the spring/summer transition also although it's mostly because of the windows rather than losing my favorite season. I LOVE having windows opened.
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YooHoot
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,417
Jun 26, 2014 3:11:50 GMT
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Post by YooHoot on Sept 18, 2017 11:21:30 GMT
In the morning I need the heater, in the afternoon the AC. I feel like the lottery when I can have neither on and the windows open. My AC bill in the summer is double what my heating bill is in the winter and we live in a cold climate. Gas though so that might be why it's cheaper.
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Post by christine58 on Sept 18, 2017 11:22:54 GMT
So enlighten me - why do some people act like it's such a big deal? Do you have to do more than touch a button? It's just a phrase people use. For the majority of us it's a simple flick of a button..
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,427
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Sept 18, 2017 11:25:05 GMT
Lots of people have some arbitrary rule about NOT turning on the heat before a certain date. Not me, if it's cold in the house I'm turning it on. Why freeze just because of your it's not whatever date yet rule? The only month we don't turn our furnace on at least once is July. It's not going to make it warmer outside and you're just going to sit there freezing.
Our gas bills are $100-150 in the summer for not using anything and $300ish in the winter from October to April. It's the fees that kill us not the cost of gas.
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,604
Jun 25, 2014 19:55:12 GMT
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Sept 18, 2017 11:36:27 GMT
Not a big deal. I flip a switch and set the thermostat. My heat is propane and it's $125/month (budget plan). My A/C is electric and my bill in August was $314 and I expect September to be roughly the same. I've had the A/C on because of the humidity. I need Fall to start and bring in the cooler weather. I love having/sleeping with the windows open. If I'm lucky the heat won't come on until December 1st.
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YooHoot
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,417
Jun 26, 2014 3:11:50 GMT
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Post by YooHoot on Sept 18, 2017 11:40:07 GMT
Lots of people have some arbitrary rule about NOT turning on the heat before a certain date. Not me, if it's cold in the house I'm turning it on. Why freeze just because of your it's not whatever date yet rule? The only month we don't turn our furnace on at least once is July. It's not going to make it warmer outside and you're just going to sit there freezing. Our gas bills are $100-150 in the summer for not using anything and $300ish in the winter from October to April. It's the fees that kill us not the cost of gas. I've been in lots of places with snow on the ground in October. I don't set a date. If it's cold, heat goes on.
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schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
Jun 28, 2014 0:26:58 GMT
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Post by schizo319 on Sept 18, 2017 11:56:50 GMT
Here it actually is a thing - the boiler in the basement needs to be switched on to supply heat to the apartments. The good thing is that I don't have to do it - the building manager does. We can then control the heat in our apartment by the dials on the heaters, but until the boiler is switched, that does nothing. Officially 'turn on the boilers' day is Oct 1, though it can be earlier if there is a really cold snap. It is cooling down here, but not enough to need heat, so I think it will be Oct 1 this year. Cost is irrelevant - it is a part of our rental agreement. I was going to mention this. My grandmother lives in a building like sueg (she's in Northern Bavaria).
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Post by melanell on Sept 18, 2017 13:14:38 GMT
I absolutely refuse to "turn on the heat" before November 1st!! Lol I try my very best to stick to that rule, too. I want October to just be nice, cool Fall. The year of Sandy, we lost power the last week of October, and it dipped down just about to freezing the night before Halloween, and I remember thinking "Ha! Now I have a completely valid reason not to cave on my "no heat before November rule!" We bundled up that night and were fine, and the next day brought both November and the return of our electricity, and at that point we were well and truly ready to go ahead and turn on the heat (and every other electricity using item we owned as well!). Save
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Post by Tammiem2pnc1 on Sept 18, 2017 13:32:38 GMT
It's very common for people here to have averaged billing where the electricity bill is the same every month, so I wasn't thinking about higher energy costs. We have averaged billing here as well. While we still watch our electricity usage in general, I don't generally think twice about turning on the heat or AC. When it starts getting chilly here I will turn the heat on.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Sept 18, 2017 13:37:47 GMT
It's very common for people here to have averaged billing where the electricity bill is the same every month, so I wasn't thinking about higher energy costs. mine is averaged. So I spend the same but it can vary hugely from year to year depending on how soon I turn the a/c or heat on. We had a mild summer so I didn't use the a/c much.. so I expect the next time they average it.. my cost will go down! YaY! One year I used neither the heat or a/c from April to October. I felt like I won the lottery
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,893
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 18, 2017 13:47:27 GMT
I find it annoying to have the a/c trying to turn on upstairs and the heater trying to turn on downstairs (you can't have both going at once with a heat pump), or heating up the house in the morning, only to have to turn on the a/c in the afternoon. I would like to turn off the entire system (like we could in our old house with forced air) for a month or two (usually around September-October and April-May) but DH insists on leaving the system on and also set higher than we really need (78). I grew up in a freezing cold house with only a woodstove downstairs and a space heater in the bathroom... I know how to put on a sweater
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 18, 2017 13:56:46 GMT
It isn't a big deal physically, it literally is just flipping a switch like you say. The thing that makes it a bigger deal in certain areas is that it costs significantly more to pay the gas / electric bill once that switch is flipped. Ours goes from roughly $165 a month in the summer to over $350 a month in the winter, so obviously the longer you can go before "flipping the switch" the better. ETA: In the summer where I live, more often than not the A/C isn't needed if you can just open the windows and turn on the whole house fan. But when the cold weather arrives, there is no other option than turning on the heat or your water pipes freeze and burst, you and your kids freeze to death, etc. This. Along with the psychological distress it causes when you have to turn the heat on, knowing that winter is coming. Lol
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Post by mrsscrapdiva on Sept 18, 2017 14:01:50 GMT
The bills! My gas bill goes from about $40 in warm months to up to maybe $175.
My electric bill will go down though.
Also clearing any areas where the heat vents are and making sure the windows are closed properly etc.
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suzastampin
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,587
Jun 28, 2014 14:32:59 GMT
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Post by suzastampin on Sept 18, 2017 14:12:11 GMT
It's just the fact that we have to give in and turn the heat on. Just a reminder of things to come. For us, getting ready for winter is more than flipping a switch. We burn wood, so it's the thought of dragging it all down to the basement and change valves to switch from oil to wood. Then we have to resign ourselves to the fact that we will be doing this for the better part of six months.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Sept 18, 2017 14:22:09 GMT
It's generally a bit more then just flip a switch up here. But nothing we aren't used to. It's just the general idea that it's winter again. Most homes have 2 sources of heat here, be it electric, gas, oil, or wood. Both sources need to be cleaned, filters changed, and general maintence.
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georgiapea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,846
Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
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Post by georgiapea on Sept 18, 2017 14:26:30 GMT
Like Elannah said, it's metaphorical. It announces the seasonal change, much like celebrating the solstice and equinox dates.
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IAmUnoriginal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,894
Jun 25, 2014 23:27:45 GMT
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Sept 18, 2017 14:27:18 GMT
It's a mental thing more than a physical thing. When you flip that switch to turn on the furnace, you're surrendering to the fact that winter is about to start. For those of us in a snowy climate, that's where it becomes a "thing". We turn on our furnaces, get out the shovels, snowblower, big coats, hats, mittens, window scrapers and all the winter gear while we put away all the summer things like lawn equipment and outdoor toys. That furnace coming on symbolizes quite a lot in the great white north.
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Post by Dreamsofnyssa on Sept 18, 2017 14:45:59 GMT
No easy flip of the switch here. At least not for my husband. ;-) We cannot have both cooler and heat running at the same time.
First, the cooler needs to be drained of water and dried and the damper closed to the outside. Then inside the house we have to remove the damper from the furnace and turn on the gas. Usually, these steps may require some maintenance to be done (aka lots of banging).
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
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Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Sept 18, 2017 14:52:03 GMT
It's a mental thing-- turning on the heat signals the true end of warmer weather and is the beginning of months on end of cold weather, which I hate. We haven't had ours on yet-- we currently have the A/C on, as it's been in the 80s here, and that's going to be the pattern for at least the next week. Fine with me!
We turn on the heat when we feel we need it. No arbitrary date set here. Usually how it happens is that we decide it's been too cold to sleep comfortably at night without the heat cycling. I have a friend who won't turn on the heat until Nov 1 no matter how cold it gets outside during October-- and that can be quite cold, with snowfall--, no matter how her kids or husband feel about it. That doesn't work for us. Again, if we're cold, we turn on the heat.
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Post by Jamie on Sept 18, 2017 14:55:32 GMT
It's no big deal - tight on the thermostat it has the off/cooling/heating and you just choose which one you want. it's more of a $$ thing. Our house was built in 1924 and still had most of the original windows when we bought it 3 years ago. I dreaded the winters because it was so cold in there and would spend the winter under blankets versus turn the heat way up and spend more $. We just put all new windows/siding on this spring so we're really excited to see what it's like this year. Overall our electric/gas bill aren't that bad. Gas is higher in the winter because of the heat and then it flip flops in the summer when the AC is on.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Sept 18, 2017 15:13:15 GMT
No easy flip of the switch here. At least not for my husband. ;-) We cannot have both cooler and heat running at the same time. First, the cooler needs to be drained of water and dried and the damper closed to the outside. Then inside the house we have to remove the damper from the furnace and turn on the gas. Usually, these steps may require some maintenance to be done (aka lots of banging). We don't have central air so dh takes out the two small window units at the end of the season. He also cleans the filters in the heater before we turn it on the first time And winter means nice cozy fires in the fireplace!
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IAmUnoriginal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,894
Jun 25, 2014 23:27:45 GMT
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Sept 18, 2017 15:26:50 GMT
This is what it means when you turn on your furnace Up North. That's why we make a big deal of it. Attachments:
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Sept 18, 2017 15:29:46 GMT
It's simply a switch of the button here too but I find it annoying to switch between the two in the same week. Today I sweated my ass off, last week it was chilly enough for a sweater (almost cold enough that I contemplated turning the heat on). You'd be really annoyed here in the winter then! There are many days in the winter where I will switch between a/c and heat in the same day! You wake up to a cold house so turn on the heat to get the chill out. Then by noon it is hot as hades so the a/c goes back on. Rinse, lather, repeat until the weather finally decides on a season - which may last only a week or two before you start the cycle over again. I never understood those arbitrary dates that people have. DH's uncle refused to turn on the a/c before July 4....in New Orleans! I hated visiting them in the early summer.
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Post by jemali on Sept 18, 2017 15:34:06 GMT
No, it's not hard to do.
Here in Minnesota whether or not you have turned on your heat yet is kind of like bragging rights. Those who turn their heat on early are "wimps" and there are others who wait as long as they can until they have to turn it on. In the beginning of the season you can turn it on for just a few hours to get the chill out of the house, but eventually you will have to turn it on and it will stay on for 5-6 months.
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Post by Zee on Sept 18, 2017 15:34:37 GMT
It's simply a switch of the button here too but I find it annoying to switch between the two in the same week. Today I sweated my ass off, last week it was chilly enough for a sweater (almost cold enough that I contemplated turning the heat on). You'd be really annoyed here in the winter then! There are many days in the winter where I will switch between a/c and heat in the same day! You wake up to a cold house so turn on the heat to get the chill out. Then by noon it is hot as hades so the a/c goes back on. Rinse, lather, repeat until the weather finally decides on a season - which may last only a week or two before you start the cycle over again. I'd be too cheap to turn on the heat knowing I was just going to be hot later LOL
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IAmUnoriginal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,894
Jun 25, 2014 23:27:45 GMT
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Sept 18, 2017 15:43:29 GMT
I'd be too cheap to turn on the heat knowing I was just going to be hot later LOL My long lost sister.
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Post by alexa11 on Sept 18, 2017 18:20:55 GMT
Mine is already set. Air comes on if it gets warmer than 73 and heat comes on if it gets colder than 65. I'll bump up to 67 when winter really gets here. It's still in the 80's here and it could stay this way year round if I had my way.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 5, 2024 17:14:51 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2017 0:04:47 GMT
Granted, I've not read all the replies, but my "issue" with turning on the heat (or a/c) hasn't really been addressed.
I'm cheap. I don't want to pay to heat my home one day, only to then have to pay to cool it the next.
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carhoch
Pearl Clutcher
Be yourself everybody else is already taken
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Location: We’re RV’s so It change all the time .
Jun 28, 2014 21:46:39 GMT
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Post by carhoch on Sept 19, 2017 0:15:40 GMT
I don't care how much it cost if it under 70° In the house during the day I will start the heater.
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