What Temperature Should I Set My Thermostat in Winter to Save Money?

Your thermostat is one of the single highest-leverage devices in your home. A two-degree nudge in the wrong direction can quietly add dozens of dollars to your heating bill every month — and most people never notice. The good news: getting the setting right costs nothing and the payoff shows up on your next utility statement.

This guide pulls together the published guidance from the U.S. Department of Energy, real-world savings data, and practical scheduling advice so you can stop guessing and start saving.

The Short Answer: 68°F When Home, 60–65°F When Away or Asleep

The U.S. Department of Energy has a clear, evidence-based recommendation for winter thermostat settings: set it to 68°F (20°C) while you are home and awake, then drop it to 60–65°F (15–18°C) when you go to sleep or leave the house for eight or more hours.

That setback range — 7 to 10 degrees for roughly 8 hours a day — is where the DOE estimates the up-to-10% annual savings figure comes from. The math is straightforward: for every 1°F you lower the thermostat over an 8-hour window, you save approximately 1% on your heating bill. A 7-degree drop for 8 hours equals about 7% savings. A 10-degree drop gets you close to 10%.

"You can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7–10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting."

Why Lowering the Temperature Actually Works (The Physics)

There is a persistent myth that keeping your home at a constant temperature all day is more efficient — that your furnace "works harder" to reheat a cold house and cancels out any savings. This is not supported by thermodynamics.

Heat transfer between your home and the outdoors is governed by the difference in temperature between inside and outside. The bigger that gap, the faster your home loses heat. When you lower your thermostat at night, you reduce that gap. Your home loses heat more slowly, which means your furnace runs less overall — even accounting for the brief warm-up period in the morning.

Think of it like a hot cup of coffee: a slightly warm cup cools down slower than a piping hot cup. The reheating "penalty" is real but small, and it is always smaller than the energy saved during the cooler setback period. Building science studies consistently confirm this.

Degree-by-Degree Savings Breakdown

The table below uses the DOE's 1%-per-degree-per-8-hours rule and applies it to the U.S. average residential heating spend of approximately $1,000–$1,200 per winter heating season. Your actual savings will depend on your fuel type, home size, insulation quality, and local climate, but this gives you a practical reference point.

That bottom row is worth paying attention to. If you work outside the home and also sleep at a cooler temperature, you can stack two setback periods — one overnight and one during the workday — for total savings in the 15–20% range. That can translate to $165–$220 per year on an average heating bill, which is close to the $180 figure cited in the hero section.

A Practical Winter Thermostat Schedule

Here is a sample 24-hour schedule that puts the DOE guidance to work without making your home uncomfortable. Adjust the times to match your household's actual routine.

• 6:00 AM – 8:00 AM (Wake-up ramp): Program your thermostat to begin warming to 68°F about 30 minutes before you wake up. Smart and programmable thermostats handle this automatically.
• 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Daytime away): Drop to 60–62°F if the house is empty. If someone is home during the day, keep it at 68°F.
• 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM (Evening home): Return to 68°F for active evening hours.
• 10:00 PM – 6:00 AM (Sleep setback): Lower to 62–65°F. Most people sleep better in a slightly cooler room, and the blankets do the rest.

The key is consistency. A programmable or smart thermostat takes the manual effort out of this entirely — you set the schedule once and forget about it.

What About Households with Babies, Elderly, or Pets?

The 60°F floor is a guideline, not a mandate. If you have infants, elderly family members, or pets that stay home during the day, you may want to keep the daytime setback to 65–66°F rather than dropping all the way to 60°F. You will still save money — just a bit less. The evening and sleep setbacks can still be applied normally in most cases.

For households with infants specifically, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping the sleep environment between 68–72°F. If your baby's room is the limiting factor, consider using a space heater in that one room while letting the rest of the house cool — just make sure the space heater is a modern, safety-certified unit with tip-over protection.

The Tool That Makes This Effortless: A Programmable or Smart Thermostat

If you are still using a manual thermostat, you are leaving savings on the table simply because setback schedules require you to remember to act. A basic programmable thermostat costs $25–$35 and pays for itself in the first month of a heating season. A smart thermostat adds remote control, learning features, and integration with weather forecasts — all of which squeeze out additional efficiency.

Other Factors That Multiply Your Thermostat Savings

The thermostat setting is the single most impactful thing you control, but the following factors determine how efficiently your home holds that temperature — and therefore how much you actually save:

• Air sealing: Gaps around doors, windows, and electrical outlets let cold air in and warm air out. A tube of weatherstripping or caulk costs under $10 and can reduce drafts significantly.
• Attic insulation: Heat rises. If your attic is under-insulated (below R-38 in most climates), you are essentially heating the outdoors. This is a bigger investment but one of the highest-ROI home improvements available.
• Furnace filter: A clogged filter forces your furnace to work harder for the same output. Replace it every 90 days during heating season. It costs $5–$15 and protects your equipment.
• Ceiling fans: Running ceiling fans on low in reverse (clockwise) pushes warm air that has risen to the ceiling back down into the room. This can make 68°F feel warmer and let you be comfortable at a slightly lower setpoint.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to keep the thermostat at a constant temperature all winter?

No — this is one of the most common and costly thermostat myths. Your home loses heat proportionally to the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. A cooler home loses heat more slowly, meaning your furnace runs less during the setback period. The small energy cost of reheating in the morning does not come close to erasing those savings. Building science and DOE data both confirm this clearly.

What temperature is too cold for a house in winter?

For occupied homes, you generally do not want to go below 60°F for extended periods — both for human comfort and to reduce the (very small) risk of pipe freezing in extremely cold climates. For vacant homes or vacation properties, 55°F is typically the safe floor to protect plumbing.

Does the type of heating system change the ideal temperature?

The recommended setpoints are roughly the same regardless of whether you have a gas furnace, electric heat pump, or oil boiler. However, heat pumps may benefit from slightly smaller setbacks (5°F rather than 10°F) because they are less efficient at rapidly heating a cold space compared to gas furnaces. Your heat pump's manual or the manufacturer's app often includes scheduling guidance optimized for heat pump behavior.

How quickly will I see savings on my bill?

If you implement a consistent setback schedule at the start of a heating season, you should see a measurable difference on your very next monthly utility bill. The DOE's 10% figure is an annual average, but the savings are front-loaded into the coldest months when heating demand — and your bill — is highest.

Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase a product through one of these links, EcoThrift Home earns a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we believe provide genuine value. For full details, see our affiliate disclosure policy.