Turning your thermostat off completely is generally a bad idea. Instead of saving energy, it forces your heating or cooling system to work overtime to stabilize the temperature when turned back on. This habit causes excess wear on equipment and leaves your home vulnerable to burst pipes, mold, and humidity damage.
Turning your thermostat off for short or longer trips doesn't save money. This is because of the energy it takes to regain a comfortable temperature when you get back. And leaving it off for extended trips could result in stagnant, unhealthy air and frozen pipes.
Duke Energy can only control your thermostat if you voluntarily enroll in one of their energy-saving programs (such as Power Manager or EnergyWise Home) and have a qualifying smart thermostat. They cannot automatically control your device without your explicit permission.
While it may be tempting to save a few bucks on your heating bill at times, a cold snap is not the time to set back the thermostat if you have pipes that are at risk of freezing. Leave the heat on if you plan to be away during cold weather. Set the thermostat to a temperature no lower than 55° F.
It takes time for your home to warm up and cool down. If you're not sure how long it takes, try turning the heating on about 30 minutes before you need it. You should turn it off 30 minutes before you'll stop needing it.
In most homes, Heating and Cooling (HVAC) systems drive the highest energy costs, accounting for nearly 40% to 50% of your total electricity bill. Following these, the appliances that run up your bill the most include water heaters, refrigerators, and laundry machines.
For most customers, we recommend turning on your furnace when the weather is consistently below 18° Celsius, which usually happens to be around the end of September, or early October. Some homeowners try to put off turning on their furnace as long as they can to save money, which is okay if you're healthy adults.
When a cold snap hovers around or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit for a couple days in a row it's time to let at least one faucet drip. Pay close attention to water pipes that are in attics, garages, basements or crawl spaces because temperatures in these unheated interior spaces usually mimic outdoor temperatures.
While we know that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, keep in mind that indoor pipes are somewhat protected from the extreme outdoor weather. Without a heat source, pipes may take as little as 3 hours to freeze at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
It is OK to set your thermostat to 74°F if you're happy with that temperature. However, many people find temperatures between 68°F–72°F more comfortable for everyday living. If efficiency is a concern, you might want to consider lowering the temperature by a few degrees to save energy.
Yes, 72°F is a very comfortable temperature for your daytime heat setting. However, it is slightly higher than the recommended energy-saving guidelines, which could increase your heating bill.
Professional electricians and HVAC technicians have the necessary skills and expertise to safely install a new thermostat and ensure it is functioning correctly. They can also help troubleshoot any issues with your HVAC system that may be causing the thermostat to malfunction.
The ideal thermostat settings to minimize your electric bill are 68°F in the winter and 78°F in the summer. You can save up to 10% on heating and cooling costs by lowering or raising your thermostat by 7°F to 10°F for eight hours a day.
Typically, a furnace should cycle 3 to 8 times per hour, running for about 10 to 15 minutes each time. If it's cycling more frequently (short cycling) or running for 20+ minutes straight regularly, something's not right.
The ideal winter thermostat setting for a house at night is between 𝟔𝟎∘𝐅 and 𝟔𝟕∘𝐅. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recommends dropping your thermostat by 10∘F to 15∘F for 8 hours while sleeping, which can significantly lower heating costs.
Low indoor temperatures can freeze your indoor pipes
Frozen pipes can burst and flood your home, potentially causing severe water damage according to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. That's why you don't want to set your temperature setting too low or turn off your heat completely.
The Freezing Point of Pipes
Freezing starts at just 32 degrees Fahrenheit. As such, it doesn't have to be excessively cold outdoors for plumbing problems to arise. However, in most cases, water at the interior of plumbing systems won't start icing over until temperatures reach as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
A slow, steady drip can help prevent frozen (and burst) pipes during cold weather.
Also, depending on the initial water temperatures, the freezing time could take 2 to 4 hours to freeze. Also, based on various experiments, the freezing time could take place between 30 minutes to about 1 hour and 40 minutes, depending on multiple factors.
Pipes can freeze in as little as six to eight hours, meaning they can freeze overnight. If the outside temperature is below 32F degrees and your pipes are unprotected, your chances for a frozen pipe increase.
Which faucet/s should I drip? If you know the farthest faucet from your water meter, you can run only that faucet and it will draw water all the way through the house. Can't I just open the cabinet doors? Opening the cabinets to allow warm air into those enclosed spaces can help and is recommended.
Dripping water from a faucet is a well-known example of chaotic dynamical systems easily seen in daily life. O.E. Rössler introduced the dynamics of a leaky faucet as a model of a nonlinear chaotic system in 1977. He suggested that the formation of water drops at the nipple of a faucet could exhibit chaotic behavior.
Extreme heat is the leading weather-related killer, causing more fatalities each year globally and in the United States than all other extreme weather events—such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods—combined.
We asked our social media community when they usually start to turn on their heating. More than half (58%) people said they leave it as late as they can before they turn the heating on. And a third (33%) said they already had the heating on by mid-September.
The global temperature forecast from ECCC indicates that 2026 will likely be among the four hottest years on record, comparable to 2023 and 2025, and approaching 2024, the hottest year ever recorded.