Help! What house temperature do you set your thermostat to when entertaining?

[Astur]

I never know what to put mine at. I keep ours very cool for normal every day life and bundle up but know that I need to raise it when guests are coming. Once you start adding in bodies, stove top and oven use I've had guests outside on the front porch and don't want to run into that again this holiday season.

So what temp do you all set your house to? Same temp any time of year or does it differ in warmer weather?

Thanks!

[sandylc]

Winter (it gets brutally cold here): 66 while sleeping, 68 during the day, 70 evenings

Summer: A/C at about 70. We use it a little as we can get away with, but when the bedrooms hit 76, we turn it on.

[sandylc]

Oh, oops....entertaining? Usually at about 68. Between cooking and bodies, you just can't let things get too warm. The more people, the more I will turn it down. In the winter, if the outside temp gets above 32, we open all of the windows for 15 minutes to get rid of the indoor pollution. Doesn't happen very often.

[beevod]

If you keep it cold, your guests will leave faster.

[LeoLioness]

Is that your goal when entertaining friends?

[Astur]

In this case they are friends and I would like them to stay! Luckily family just doesn't come over to our place so I don't have to worry on that end.

[Bill Hunt]

We seldom differ much. Our normal is 68 F Winter and 72 F Summer, and it pretty much stays there.

Now, if we are going outdoors, say for cigars and Port, we turn on the misting system in the Summer, and the heaters in the Winter. Inside, it stays pretty constant.

Hunt

[UTgal]

If it's just me I keep it around 68. For guests I bump it up to 70 and light the pellet stove.

[Karl S]

I normally keep my place between 55 at night and 60ish during the day and wear sweaters when its cloudy or windy. For company that does not care for it that cool (some of my guests actually do like it that cool), I add 5 degrees. If it's more than mid-60s and I am cooking in the kitchen, it's too warm in the kitchen to not become a sweaty mess. Also, the cooler temperature means I have get sick less. Low 70s is very warm for me; I can't sleep if it's that warm.

[Fowler]

I have found that when people are very uncomfortable they tend to eat less not to mention leave earlier. Therefore, when I entertain in the summer I keep it brutally hot in the house and when I entertain during the winter months I keep it frigidly cold in the house.

[gardencook]

I'm curious, why then, that you entertain, if you are really not wanting to have people in your house? Unless you were being tongue-in-cheek, that is. This doesn't really make sense to me, but maybe I'm missing something.

To answer the OP, we keep our thermostat at 19*C most of the time and "crank" it up to 20 when guests come. Our kitchen is quite separate from our entertaining area, so it doesn't affect the house temp much. Just about everybody that comes to our place knows to wear a sweater that can be removed.

[Bill Hunt]

LOL!!!!!

Hunt

[Isolda]

LOL! To tell the truth, I did that when my MIL visited.

[freia]

This really depends, but for winter and for a usual gathering of 12, I'll set my thermostat at 65F. It starts off a bit chilly but after a couple of glasses of wine and the gas fireplace on, things get comfy fairy quickly. If it gets too warm, I just open a window or two. Especially since we have a gas fireplace in the dining room, so that's where the windows are normally opened a crack. Our gas fireplace is on in the family room so people stay warm. Our oven heats up the kitchen quite well so no worries there, and I'd rather cook in a cooler room.
As for the summer, well, we normally have dinner outside and rarely use our A/C so it really is a moot point.

[sedimental]

Remember that it takes more time to heat it up- than to cool it down. Especially if your house it large. I keep mine at 67 degrees, then open a front door if a quick cool down is needed.

[joe777cool]

so you are ok with over heating the house and seeing your $$$ go out the front door?

[sedimental]

No. I was saying that it is easier to have the house at a "normal" temperature for a party and cool it down if needed- rather than to make your guests cold and not be able to relax while waiting for you to heat the house up to a comfortable temperature.

[LeoLioness]

I usually keep mine at about 64 degrees. When having people over, I nudge it up to 67 or so, then turn it back down if the house fills up and if the oven is on. If it's just a few people over, I turn it up, to 68-70. I don't mind having to put on an extra sweater to conserve hear when I'm at home, but it seems inhospitable to do that to company.

[linguafood]

Brrrrrr.

[rockandroller1]

That's nothing. My Mom keeps hers at FIFTY EIGHT overnight, and turns it "up" to 62 during the day. She keeps it a lot warmer when I visit.

[linguafood]

So much for 'older' folks all having their heat cranked up to the max (my mom's one of them).

I have a really messed up internal thermostat, so I get cold when others don't & hot when others don't. I'm so special '-)

[Astur]

I go with the middle and keep it at 60 - which is why I know that I need to turn it up when entertaining! I am cold sure but to sit on the sofa and watch tv under a blanket or be in bed with a heated mattress pad and then be at work most of the time... Hubby is usually out of town for work so I would rather save the money when possible.

[hilltowner]

Seriously. I keep mine at 55 at night and 59 during the day. I'd rather bundle up in sweaters and long underwear than throw money out the window. Plus, the chill is good incentive to keep moving. Also, I grew up in a cold house, spent time living in a shack, etc. You get used to it.

[rockandroller1]

I just can't see wearing a ski mask and gloves while inside. It's my face and hands that are so, so cold when over at my mom's. You can't just put a sweater on and be warmer, it doesn't work for the face and hands. Maybe you all have more efficient circulatory systems than I do. I went to a girl's house for dinner who was one of those "just put a sweater" on people and my teeth were chattering the whole time I was there! I cannot fathom living like that.

[freia]

Were there any lights on in the house? When I'm away, DH keeps the thermostat at 58F in the winter and limits himself to one light on in the house at a time. Seriously. LMAO, but seriously, he'd rather stagger around freezing the dark than live in the freaking 21st Century....

[rockandroller1]

There were a few lights on, but it was winter so it was pretty dark out, and dark in the house. I don't mind dark. I'd rather it be pitch black and not be freezing cold.

[pine time]

Oh, this is the one continual battle at our house. Mr. Pine thinks 55 is ideal, while I'm turning blue. We even turn off the furnace overnight entirely, so the house could hold sides of beef come morning. I finally bought a small portable heater so I can thaw out and bake my skin if I choose. For parties, we also turn on the fireplace (gas), and that helps; when guests shiver, he'll agree to crank it up to maybe 68. We have the same problem in reverse in the summer: he thinks 85 is just fine. I crank it down when he's not looking.

[sandylc]

Sounds like Mr. PIne is just a big ol' meanie!

[pine time]

Naw, he certainly has his redeeming qualities, but vastly different body temp from me. I said I married him for his sense of humor, and I've really laughed tons in over 35 years with him!

[Janet from Richmond]

You all are slaying me here.....we keep ours at 70 when we're home both heating and air conditioning (when we're home....we have programmable thermostats so temps adjust accordingly when we're not home).

If we're entertaining a few people, we'll leave it at 70. If we are entertaining a lot of people, we'll set the thermostats for 66-68 depending on how much cooking is being done.

[Isolda]

My parents, who are in their mid-70s, do the same thing. We always bring extra fleece jackets to wear when we visit, and socks to wear to bed because they don't own any flannel sheets and their beds are freezing.

We keep our thermostats at 64 during the day and turn them down to 60 at night (we have flannel and down on the beds), but 58 is really pushing it.

[LeoLioness]

My heating bill is already about $250 per month in the winter....I'm not trying to freeze, but I can't afford to crank the heat, either.

[linguafood]

Oh. Ours is folded into the electricity bill, so it's hard to say. And we're pretty good with lights and stuff.

But yeah, I don't want to have to wear *serious* street clothes if I'm just hanging on the couch.

[LeoLioness]

Do you live in a pretty mild climate, then? Trust me, if your electric bill went up by $400 per month, you'd probably notice.

I live in Boston. It's cold here in the winter. I expect to wear a sweater if I'm at home.

[linguafood]

Well, mild is relative. Central PA -- we get lots of snow & it can get cold. That's when I like to crank up the heat above 70.

[Isolda]

Ditto for us. Most New England families we know have a similar if-it's-cold-add-a-layer policy. A cool house also cuts down on dust mites, according to our allergist.

But when we have guests, I usually up the thermostat unless I'm serving spicy food or hot soup. That usually buys you a few degrees.

[linguafood]

Umm.... definitely different temps for warmer or colder weather, but I think that's self-explanatory.

As for entertaining -- depends on the size of the party. When we're alone, the thermostat is usually between 71/73 in the winter. For our massive NYE party, we'll likely take it down to 64. It gets hot in here with all the dancing, drinking & eating (40+ folks). Hell, we've even opened the windows in the living room where the dance floor is so people don't overheat.

For a poker game, maybe take it down a couple notches, but not by much.