The first cold week is when the furnace settings get set, and then nobody looks at them again until spring.
One of those settings is a single switch, and on an older furnace it can cost more each month than a streaming bundle.
Below: what the furnace fan's On setting costs, the thermostat we'd use instead, what the holiday cooking really costs to run, the insurance deductible worth a second look, and what to do with the water heater before a trip.
Reply and tell us: is your furnace fan set to Auto or On right now? We read every one.
What Leaving the Furnace Fan On Costs You
Image: The Home Wire
If air keeps blowing from your vents after the furnace stops heating, look at the thermostat. The fan is probably set to On, and with an older blower that can add up to about $65 a month to your electric bill.
Your thermostat's fan switch has two or three settings:
Auto: the fan runs only while the furnace is heating.
On: the fan runs all day, every day.
Circ: on some thermostats, the fan runs about a third of the time, per Honeywell.
Here's the math. A field study of 31 furnaces found older single-speed blowers drew about 500 watts with the fan on and the burner off. Newer variable-speed blowers drew about 100.
Run a 500-watt blower around the clock for a month and that's 360 kWh. At the national average of 18.16 cents per kWh from the EIA, that's about $65. A variable-speed blower costs about $13.
TLDR: a kWh is 1,000 watts running for an hour. It's the unit your electric bill charges you for.
On isn't all downside. Trane says it evens out hot and cold spots and keeps the filter working. But Trane's own troubleshooting guide says the fan setting should be on Auto.
Here's the five-minute check:
Find the fan setting on your thermostat. On many Honeywell models, you press the FAN button to cycle through it.
Set it to Auto.
Want air moving between heat cycles? Pick Circ instead, if your thermostat has it.
Ask at your next tune-up whether your furnace has a variable-speed blower, so you know which number above is yours.
Renters, the thermostat is yours to set, even if the furnace isn't.
Worth a Look
A Basic Thermostat With a Circulate Setting
If you like the fan running for the filtering but not the bill, the Honeywell Home X2P Programmable Thermostat is the one we'd point you to, at $39.99 at time of writing.
Its fan menu has Auto, On and Circ, which runs the fan about a third of the time. With an older 500-watt blower, trading On for Circ cuts about 16 fan hours a day, or roughly $43 a month. On that math it pays for itself in under a month.
It also runs a weekday and weekend schedule, takes 2 AA batteries so it needs no C-wire, and reminds you when the filter's due.
We haven't installed this one ourselves. The features come from Honeywell's X2P manual, and the price is from Honeywell's licensed online store.
That said, it's for single-stage systems. It won't run electric baseboard heat, and heat pumps need a different model. And if Auto is all you need, the thermostat you have already does that for free.
Links in this post may be affiliate links. The Home Wire may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
What the Holiday Cooking Costs to Run
Image: The Home Wire
Here's some good news for Thanksgiving: the turkey is one of the cheapest things you'll pay for that day. The oven runs a couple of dollars at most.
Estimates for a full-size electric oven run from about 1 kWh an hour, in tests by the UK consumer group Which?, to 3.2 kWh on a utility chart from Springfield, Illinois. At 18.16 cents, a 4-hour turkey costs roughly 73 cents to $2.32.
The countertop gear is cheaper still:
Slow cooker: 100 to 450 watts, per Cooperative Living, or about 2 to 8 cents an hour.
Toaster oven: about half the power of a full oven, the same piece says, citing ENERGY STAR.
Air fryer: Which? roasted a chicken on 0.54 kWh, against 1.16 kWh in an oven. That's about 10 cents versus 21.
So the reason to use the slow cooker on Thanksgiving is the oven space, not the savings.
The one oven habit worth changing is peeking. Opening the door for a few seconds can drop the temperature as much as 25 F, per Upper Peninsula Power. Use the oven light, and the turkey stays on schedule too.
The Insurance Deductible Worth a Second Look
Most home insurance policies renew once a year, and few people read the renewal. The end of the year is a good time to check one number: your deductible.
That's what you pay out of pocket on a claim before insurance kicks in. Raising it to $1,000 can cut your premium by as much as 25%, per the Insurance Information Institute, if you can cover that amount yourself.
The same guide lists a few more ways to trim the bill:
Bundle policies. Some insurers take 5 to 15% off for buying two or more from them.
Ask about safety discounts. Many give at least 5% for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or deadbolts.
Review your limits at least once a year, especially after a big purchase.
Did a remodel this year? The Triple-I says to call your agent before or shortly after work begins, since a bigger, nicer house costs more to rebuild.
Renters, this applies to you too. The average renters policy cost $171 a year in 2022, the latest NAIC figure the Triple-I reports. A quick walk-through video of your stuff on your phone makes any claim easier.
What to Do With the Water Heater Before a Trip
Image: The Home Wire
Heading away for Thanksgiving? Your water heater will keep reheating a full tank for nobody. Water heating is about 20% of a home's energy use, per Tucson Electric Power.
On a gas tank, heat escaping up the flue while it sits idle is about one-sixth of the energy it burns, per Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The right move depends on the trip and the tank. Rheem breaks down the gas side:
3 to 10 days: turn the gas valve to its Vacation setting, if it has one. There's no pilot to relight when you get back.
1 to 2 weeks: the Pilot setting keeps the pilot lit with the burner off.
More than 2 weeks: turn it off, but only if you know how to relight it. Otherwise call a pro.
Electric tank? Many have a vacation mode. On A.O. Smith models it drops the tank to about 50 F, which also keeps it from freezing. If yours only has a dial, SMUD says to turn it down for trips of 3 days or more, then reset it to 120 F when you're home.
Renters, the dial is usually fair game. Ask before you touch a gas valve.
One quick tap
Which part was most useful today?
That's Tuesday: the furnace fan, a thermostat with Circ, the holiday cooking math, your deductible and the water heater before a trip.
If you only do one thing this week, walk to the thermostat and check the fan switch.
Forward this to whoever in your house pays the electric bill.
See you tomorrow.
The Home Wire
This post may contain affiliate links. The Home Wire may earn a commission if you purchase through our links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we believe earn their place in your home.
30 N. Gould St. Suite R Sheridan, WY 82801, United States