It has been almost three months since we moved into our new house and the winter months are now upon us. That means, huge gas bills for heating the house. I have been worried about keeping my heating costs down since moving into the house. Looking at the results, the numbers are all over the place in terms of what temperature people leave their heat on. 21% said 72º F or more, 19% said 65º F or less, 18% said 68º F, 10% said 67º F, 10% said 69º F, 10% said 70º F, 7% said 66º F, 4% said 71º F. I have been aiming at 69º F.
To be more efficient and cost efficient, I just bought programmable thermostats. They let me set schedules for each day of the week. So I can set them to turn at 69 or down to 63 each day, four times a day. I make sure to turn the heat up an hour or so before my wife and I get home and then I make sure to lower it when we are not there. This way, if we forget to lower them manually, it is done automatically. Shabbos, a day I can't adjust the heat, I set on different schedules to automatically lower the heat and increase the heat during the times were are in the various heat zones.
I hope this investment of a hundred or so dollars on thermostats returns a positive ROI in just this winter. I opted for the Ritetemp brand simply because I had to buy five and Honeywell is way more expensive. My A/C units and alarm system are on Honeywell, but I went cheaper with the heat. The Ritetemps are guaranteed and come with a 5 year warranty. I actually feel like I am saving money right now...
Installation was fairly easy. Just two wires and four screws and two AAA batteries and it was working. Then I just programmed it and we are now set.
Wanted to wish all of you a happy, healthy and successful new year! 
This is the December 31st issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the 
