Thermostat Wars: The Battle Intensifies

  1. Sam McCutcheon says:

    We generally keep the thermostat on the cooler side because you can always add more clothing or blankets, but you can only take so many off before you’re parading around the house naked.

  2. Courtenayr says:

    we live in Houston, very similar in temp to Nashville, and mine is set on – brace yourself – 79. and even then our bill was $535.

  3. Beckah Fisher says:

    I always keep my home on the cooler end of things. I’m going through a cold winter in Washington State. Yet I still refuse to have the heat on, in the winter it stays between 65-67. If you get cold, a sweater…another pair of socks. Easier to get warmer than cooler, after all…can only loose so many layers of clothing! 🙂

  4. Laura Cooper says:

    Sounds like the compromises lean towards his wants! I’m with you – keep it on the cool side year round, and those who complain it’s too cool can throw on a sweater, bathrobe, SNUGGIE, etc. As far as the cars – whoever is driving gets that call, IMHO, unless it’s a long trip, in which case the 2 front seat passengers decide. Just my 2 cents worth.

  5. OHHH Lindsay!! My husband and I are the opposite of you and your husband.. He is the hot one.. But, I suck it up and keep a blanket on the couch and use the seat heater when needed in my truck! I joke about our house being an igloo all the time!

  6. Kathy from NJ says:

    Do you also use fans? I was able to increase the temp to 76° when I added fans in the living room and kitchen. At night it’s set on 75° (bedrooms on 2nd floor are much warmer than downstairs) and I have a large fan in the bedroom. For your winter comfort I suggest you close the vent in the bedroom.

    • Anonymous says:

      We have fans, but they tend to stir up my allergies, so I much prefer the A/C. Whose side are you on, anyway?! 😉

  7. brooke says:

    My husband and I are the opposite of you, but only in the winter. He gets hot and I’m freezing. We’ve had some really bad arguments over it. LOL In the summer though I don’t want to be hot either. I have the AC in the car full blast!

    • Anonymous says:

      So you totally feel my pain. Who knew this could create so much marital havoc?

      • brooke says:

        I know!  It stopped though when for once my husband was cold and wanted to turn up the heat and I was actually hot.  I told him he could take his own advice and throw some covers on.  😉

  8. Anonymous says:

    Programmable thermostat. For the evening hours hubs is home, and for the time between rising and his leaving, have it set for HIS comfort. But for daytime, and from half an hour after hubs usually falls asleep until half an hour before he rises, set it for YOUR comfort. You don’t have to touch the thing once it is programmed. Sneaky? Maybe, but it’s all in the cause of marital harmony.

    Sam is so right, you can only take so much off; I’ve taken to spending the evenings in my (unairconditioned) flat in a t-shirt and panties (sorry for the visual) with all the blinds down.

    • Anonymous says:

      Ha! We can program our thermostat, but we are too lazy. It’s much easier just to keep turning it up and down when the other person isn’t looking! LOL

  9. Jessica Jackson says:

    OMG! I would melt in your house. We have programmable thermostats and they go up to a whopping 74 during the day and down to, wait for it, 67 in the summer at night. Sleeping with my husband is like sleeping with a fur blanket. I really don’t like being hot when I sleep. Thankfully, neither does he!

    We keep ours on 60 in the winter. We wear a lot of sweaters in the house! We do pay on the “even payment” plan with the electric company so its not such a shocker in the summer for the electric bill. I’m fine with that. The benefit I get from being cool in the summer is worth it.

    Come to think of it, I have no idea how I survived in a house without air while I was growing up!

  10. Salote says:

    I soooo miss my tradewinds in Hawaii! 🙁 never hits 90!! let alone anything higher!!

    Living in an old 2 story house here in Franklin with an oooohld central air/heat unit, it has been a challenge. Winter we keep it at 60 and wear sweaters. Summer gahhh…. must … have …. a/c. We keep the thermostat at about 80 in the day and I sneak it down to 78 at night. We have bought some big fans and I chase the sun and use curtains to block the sun/heat. Blocking vents in the rooms not used summer and winter helps as do cold showers!! But I’m with you, I need it cool to sleep!

    • Anonymous says:

      WOW, you keep it much higher/lower than I could! However, in my early 20s, I lived in a sun-filled apartment that literally NEVER got below 78 in the summer time. That was really fun, let me tell you…

  11. I bet it’s a lot more common that you think.

    Fortunately, my DH & I are on the same page heat wise. But when we go visit the parents. . . .O.M.G. Those old people like it HOT.

    • Anonymous says:

      Ohhhh, yeah. In laws can be a problem with that. My parents keep it REALLY cold- so cold that when my kids visit in the summer time (in Atlanta, where it’s HOT), I have to pack sweaters and winter pajamas! My in-laws actually got A/C in their home in CA for the first time when we married, so I got lucky there! We’ve visited a few times when it’s been in the 90s and I would have DIED.

  12. W Peck says:

    I’m pretty sure the ‘MAX’ setting on the car AC doesn’t affect your gas mileage. My mechanic told me that it just means that the AC is recycling air from inside your car rather than treating fresh air from outside. Max is so much cooler because it is treating air that is already cooler.

    • Anonymous says:

      So it’s actually BETTER for your car, right? I KNEW IT. I’m totally gonna booya Hubs with this one!

      • Katrina says:

        W Peck is right. My father-in-law is an automechanics instructor, and he told us the same thing. Max air actually uses less energy; the compressor has to work harder and uses more coolant when the fan speed is low.

  13. Anonymous says:

    The real battle begins in 15-20 years. You’re having menopausal hot flashes, and your husband is a senior citizen with a poor circulatory system who’s cold all the time. Well, at least the kids should be raised by then.

    You need to lay down the law right now. You are the woman, the mother, therefore the house belongs to you. If he behaves himself, he’s allowed to live there. Sounds like Hubs has gotten waaay too uppity.

    • Anonymous says:

      Hubs usually gets his way because he’s the temperamental one and I like to keep the peace. But yeah. Something’s gotta give.

  14. AngstyJen says:

    I am SO on Team Lindsay! Fortunately, my husband is too – we both like it cooler. Our only problem is that we can’t afford to keep the house as cool as we’d like. As we’re on the 18th day of 100+ temps in Dallas, I really wish I could keep from sweating in my own home!

    • Anonymous says:

      I know what you mean. I’m dreading August. It’s the only truly miserable month here in Tennessee. 🙁

  15. The answer to this conundrum is very simple: you should win.

    Signed, It’s HOT out there and it should be COOL in here

  16. Jenny says:

    My husband and I are the opposite. He likes the air at 70 or 71. Personally, I don’t think you should have to wear a sweatshirt indoors in the summer.

  17. Gjhpb says:

    Re: car air conditioners – MAX uses less energy because it recirculates the air and doesn’t have to cool hot air from the outside. You win! 🙂

  18. Kimberly says:

    The most cost effective and environmentally friendly solution would be for you to get your way in the winter and Hubs to get his way in the summer 😉 As for the car: as a fellow Nashvillian I must say Hubs is NUTS!!! When you first get into the car it may as well be an oven! I am pretty sure you could bake bread or a nice pizza in there.

    • Anonymous says:

      Hmm. I think I’d prefer to get my way in the summer. Of course in the winter, I’m liable to change my mind…

    • Katie says:

      This my husband and I’s compromise–whoever’s stance is better for our utility bill wins. That means he gets 68 degrees in the winter, and I get 74 degrees in the summer.

  19. Liz Miller says:

    How come the “compromise” is only a degree or two away from his perfect temp and 6 degrees away from yours? Hell, NO.

  20. Oldmdgirl says:

    When you’re in the car together, can’t he just turn the vent on his side towards you and the other one into the wall? My husband likes it a lot cooler than I do (only in the summer — he likes it hotter in the winter — ARGH!), and that’s been our compromise. Also, he tends to relent when I show him my goosebumps.

    Maybe if you tell hubs you need a new wardrobe because you’ve pitted out all your shirts because you’re too hot?

    • Anonymous says:

      That used to be what we did- I’m not sure why he’s chosen this summer to escalate things… BUT I WILL NOT HAVE IT.

  21. Dave Smith says:

    Can’t you two work this out, in private, like adults, away from the internet? Grow the hell up.

  22. Amestrube says:

    Add another point for Team Linz!
    I HATE being hot.  If one is hot, all one can do is be miserable and b*&#h about it, and believe me, I DO.
    Cold? How about putting on some PANTS, lil Miss 11 year old? Pants!  Cold?  We have 3 electric throws, 3 electric blankets, and if I had to throw a guess out there, probleez 37 blankets.
    I control the thermostats around these parts.
    Ame in W. TN

  23. cking706 says:

    We live in GA, 35/40 miles southeast of Atl, and our system stays off in the winter (cold? get a sweater/blanket or start a fire. Better yet go outside and run around till your warm…this is GA kiddos…not the Acrtic Tundra…) Now when the Summer weather hits…65…don’t even try to adjust it. The one time Hubby touched it I flat out told him it was grounds for divorce. And I was NOT kidding. I HATE BEING HOT!! Not really that fond of warm come to think of it. I so live in the WRONG section of the good ole USA….

    • Anonymous says:

       Ha! You’re not my mother, are you? My parents keep it that cold and I’ll be honest- Sometimes I sneak and turn it up to 70.  😉

  24. Adina Milligan says:

    If there is such a therapist, I need a referral.  We fight over the thermostat all the time.  I cannot stand being hot.  And I just try to set it on 76 during the summer.  He says he is compromising by putting it at 77 instead of 78.  I also change it the minute he leaves and then change it back when I hear him pulling up.

  25. Melissa says:

    I feel ya, girl! I am not a heat person. Heat makes me sick, actually. When we were house-hunting my #1 dealbreaker was the house had to have air conditioning. Period. I cannot function if the house is more than 74 degrees. 75 is dicey. And we only get away with that because we live in Colorado. Husband begs me to turn the thermostat lower during the day, but then I remind him that if it gets too warm in here, his laundry doesn’t get done because ain’t no way I’m going between the basement and the 2nd floor lugging loads of laundry when I’m on the edge of heatstroke!!!!

    Whew. Okay, I feel better. 🙂

    • Anonymous says:

      I can’t even IMAGINE living in a house without air conditioning. I get migraines when it’s really hot, so 100 years ago, I think I would have been one of those women who “took to her bed” (or her bathtub, actually) all the time in the summer!

  26. ColleenerBeaner says:

    Our thermostat right now is set at 72.  It cools the majority of the house but for some reason manages to stray from anywhere upstairs.  We’re on our 5th heat wave this summer here in Philly.  When I walked out of my house this morning the humidity hit me like a ton of bricks.  It’s supposed to go up to 97 today and I believe up to 100 tomorrow, feeling like 111. 

    Even though we have central a/c, I put a window a/c in my bedroom.  That’s been my only saving grace this summer.  In the winter we don’t often use the system.  A few years ago we put a gas fireplace in the living room and it actually heats the whole house quite nicely.  Obviously it goes off at bedtime but even then the thermostat stays at about 76.  I’m not sure how Nashville winters are but winter in Philly the past few years has been like living in the arctic.  I’m pretty sure I saw polar bears camping out downtown. 

    Good luck with the thermostat war!  Stay cool! And when it’s too hot you could always use it as an excuse to eat lots of ice cream.

  27. Jenna says:

    Sometimes going a little crazy over something small does the trick 😉 Hey, maybe it might be uncomfortable for a day, but I bet you’ll be in cool air after that. Besides, you can just blame it on heat exhaustion!

    Jenna
    momofmanyhats.blogspot.com

  28. Betty P says:

    My husband sets our AC at 79 or so.  It is ridiculous.  I feel your pain.  I have to change it (to 75+/-) whenever I walk by the thermostat.  Then in the winter, he likes to keep it set low (66ish).  No logic at all to this.  Basically it comes down to him wanting me to be uncomfortable (hot or cold) all year round.  He says I have a two degree range of comfort.  Maybe so, but I do not like to sweat in my air conditioned house in the summer!

    And don’t even get me started on him shutting off lights after I turn them on . . .

  29. Oh!  I just love this!  Someone once asked my husband why we keep our house so cool … (I love his reply!)  He said, “Because my wife gets grouchy when she’s hot!) lol  LOVE HIM!

  30. […] Thermostat Wars: The Battle Intensifies ‹ Suburban TurmoilJul 20, 2011 … The thermostat. I’ve written about our our ongoing thermostat problems before, but in a nutshell, it goes something like this: Hubs likes it … […]

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  32. caitnell says:

    I am like you and love a cooler house. 68 sounds like heaven. The heat makes me go nuts. It gives me a headache and I start to feel like I have a fever. I told my roomie this and she still keeps it on 74 and HEAT (its the spring in NC!!). I’ve resulted in being cooped up in my bedroom with my window open and a floor fan. Like me, you seem very needy when it comes to the right temperature. He should understand that its not comfortable for you. I’d think leaving the thermostat at 70/71 and not messing with it would be reasonable between the two of you.

  33. Tom Massey says:

    My wife wants the thermostat at 65 in the summer, so she can sleep under blankets while the heat swelters outside. Then, in the winter, she want the thermostat at 75. If she weren’t so cute, I would’ve left long ago.

  34. InternationalRelationsXPERT says:

    I constantly fight with my parents over the thermostat. They like it atb76 in the summer I like it at 72 but im willing to chip in the electric bill and make it 73. They refuse so I’m moving out. I dont care about my other student loans just need out.

  35. Tony Pesola says:

    after 9 ys its time for you to get some real heat again….

  36. JCinDenver says:

    We had this argument yet again today. I actually said “if this relationship some day ends… it’ll be because of the a/c!” It’s roaring this evening… but, I know tomorrow is just another day…

  37. JCinDenver says:

    PS Summer 76 at night 80 all day… winter 68… crazy…

  38. Marcus Klopfer says:

    I altered the thermostat in my house to show the temp as a full 4 degrees higher than the actual temp. My wife has no clue and is happy when she sets it to 75. Really its only 71 and we are both content!

  39. James says:

    My girlfriend have nice to have the heat up for me before bed when its cold, then somehow in the middle of the night she has it on 65,° then I be cold in the morning. I wear sweaters but still be cold, she can be controlling but hard sometimes to compromised.

  40. Muhammad Abdusamad says:

    My wife and I just moved to Dallas Texas from North Carolina. I set the thermostat during the day to be around 75 but she sets it to 69. Our last months bill was $530. I wish there was some way to make her understand that $530 is too much for electricity. But since she doesn’t work she just doesn’t get it. I need a thermostat that has a password protected lock feature. lol

    • Nina Harris says:

      I was totally with you until you said she didn’t work. That means she’s at home, so she’s the one uncomfortable at 75 while you’re off at work enjoying somebody else paying the utilities! I’m not even going to acknowledge how condescending your comment about her not understanding MONEY just because she doesn’t have a job. I’m sure people’s brain still works when they don’t have a job. However, if you MEANT to say, because she doesn’t balance the actual checkbook, I let you off the hook in advance.

  41. Guest says:

    I’m the opposite, I’m cold pretty much year round because in the winter at work, all the hot blooded land mammals turn down the heat and / or turn on the AC to counter the heat. And in the summer everywhere I go, the AC is blasting is sheer wondrous gluttony. I think too many people these days are unhealthy and either have high bp, are overweight or a combination of both.

  42. VfishV says:

    I mean, if you set the thermostat to 74 and the room reaches that tempurature, wouldn’t that make room tempurature 74 and not 72?

  43. JD says:

    I don’t understand how anyone could want it set at 70 or higher. Running heat all day dries your pores, your skin and your cells. If your bodies cell don’t have enough moisture…they don’t fight off things as simple as a common cold, much less much more serious ailments. I think the medical profession should really start to educate people as they get older. I have never to this day understood why if people are cold don’t wear layers of clothes. If I run outside and its 50 degrees? I wear a cold gear under garment. You could run heat “outside of you all day”but if your body doesn’t keep it close to your skin, then what’s the point?

  44. elegantlyeco says:

    Hubby & I have this same problem too! In fact I found your blog by googling husbands it cold I want to be warm. LOL. But we live in Toronto where it’s not quite so hot. It was 76 (no humidity) when we went to bed & I didn’t feel hot at all but he was sweltering. So we turned on the AC & I got under the blanket. He even wanted to turn a fan on as well.

  45. Jessica Fonseca says:

    THIS. So much. Last night, I’m dying at how warm it is, and usually our room is the coldest in our home (score one for me). I get up this morning — the heat is on Seventy-freaking-FIVE. I asked him to put it at 72 – he said he likes it warm. I told him that I’m already compromising by letting him turn on the heat as it is, and 3 degrees will not kill him. We live in a less than 750 sq ft condo — it will be warm. Can someone please tell him to put on a sweater if he’s cold? I should not be sweating, and it’s not even winter yet! ARGH

    Edit: I forgot to mention: he doesn’t turn the AC on in the car. AT ALL. It “bogs down the engine”. WTF. If it’s not 90 he won’t even consider it.

  46. Ashh Chohan says:

    Damn true man…my father in law does the same thing..i cant sleep at nite itx too hot and he still wont budge on letting the thermostate go down from 75…75 did u hea tht 75…i dint say anything cx ov respect…tell me what to do ;( ??

  47. Ashh Chohan says:

    Damn true man…my father in law does the same thing..i cant sleep at nite itx too hot and he still wont budge on letting the thermostate go down from 75…75 did u hea tht 75…i dint say anything cx ov respect…tell me what to do ;( ??

  48. Melody says:

    My boyfriend is doing this it’s sad women get no respect I can’t sleep and he’s making excuses when smoking in the car can’t use max a/c so he chain smokes and I boil then he says not my problem U have hormone issues. Honestly I can’t stand him after 12 years of him getting his way 100% of the time he deserves to die alone. Stupid me waiting for him to change but it’s costing my happiness. 😪

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