What to Set Your Thermostat To This Winter (68 Is Not for Everyone)

🔧 Everything I learned fixing HVAC for 25 years, in one plain-English book. 📘 THE HVAC SURVIVAL GUIDE - get it here: https://raydutton.com On a winter service call, the first thing I'd check was the thermostat. Most of the time it said 68, and the family was on the couch in sweaters. Sixty-eight is the number everybody's been told for fifty years, but it was picked during a fuel shortage to save oil, not to keep anybody comfortable. In this video I answer the three thermostat questions every house fights about in winter: what number to set, whether to turn it down at night or leave it alone, and whether the fan switch goes on ON or AUTO. That last little switch caused more cold-air calls than any broken part I replaced. I'll show you the one-degree test that finds your number, why a cooler house really does save money overnight (and the one setup where you should only drop it two or three degrees), and the one home where the number should never go below 68. CHAPTERS 0:00 Why everybody's told 68 0:37 Question 1: the right number for your house 1:23 The one-degree test 2:08 The one home that should never go below 68 3:10 Question 2: turn it down at night, or leave it? 3:32 The 'works twice as hard' myth 3:53 Why a cooler house loses less heat 5:09 What really happens in the morning 5:38 The setting: how far and when 6:19 If you have a heat pump 7:24 Question 3: the fan switch, ON or AUTO 8:12 Why ON makes the house feel colder 9:12 What ON costs on the electric bill 10:08 When ON (or CIRCULATE) makes sense 10:59 Check this switch before you call anybody 11:58 Your three settings for tonight Tell me in the comments what your thermostat is set to right now, and whether your fan switch is on ON or AUTO. I read every one. I'm Ray Dutton. Keep your cool, and I'll see you in the next one. #thermostat #furnace #hvac #heating #heatingbill #homemaintenance #hvactips #winter