Sometimes I feel like I'm in one of those movies where the technology and machines have a mind of their own... My thermostat should have been named Hal.
In our new home, we have a "smart" thermostat. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate this new, high-tech thermostat. Especially when compared to our old apartment one, which was basically the first thermostat ever made with the invention of central heating. With that dinosaur, there were two settings: 60 degrees or 90 degrees, which made for enjoyable bills from BGE.
This new thermostat allows you to program four daily settings for different temperatures: wake, leave, return, sleep. Love it! No more forgetting to turn down the heat during the day!
An important thing to note is that Casey and I have VERY different ideas of comfortable temperatures. At night, she likes to be toasty warm and keep the same temperatures that we had during the day. I, on the other hand, like it to be cool (with the ceiling fan going!) so that I can snuggle deep into my cozy down comforter. My way has won out by my argument of "You can wear warmer clothes to bed, but I can't wear cooler clothes."
With that being said, Casey hates to wake up to a freezing cold house (re: 68 degrees). When I wake up, I am boiling hot and enjoy the cooler house. However, to be kind, I thought I would set the wake temp setting for 71 degrees at 5:30, when Casey has to get up. I didn't realize the thermostat was intelligent...It monitors how long it takes for your house to heat to the set temperature based on the outside temperature.
Therefore, on those freezing cold mornings (outside), I was being woken by scalding hot air that the ceiling fan was pummeling onto me from the ceiling vent directly above my side of the bed at 4:30 in the morning.
I tried to trick it by moving the wake setting to 6:00, 6:15, 6:30... but it's out to get me. It seems like however late I push it back, Hal keeps starting the heating process at 5:30, when I still have an hour to sleep. So, what's better, paying $250 per month to heat a tiny apartment or saving half of that to be roasted in the morning? I'll take the cheaper option, but I'm determined to be smarter than my thermostat!
May I suggest a heated mattress pad? The queen size and larger has separate settings for each side. My girlfriend likes her side as warm as it'll go, I don't even turn my side on most of the time. Sometimes I'll crank it up before I go to bed to pre-heat it, but it goes off or down to "L" when I hit the sack. $70 or so for a queen size at Costco, and I hear they can be had for $40 or so at Big Lots.
ReplyDeleteAlso, lucky you for having "hot" air heat. I'm on a heat pump, and I hate having 74 degree air blown at me when it's 68 degrees inside. I'd much rather have 90 degree air doing the job :)