What Temperature Should I Set My Thermostat in Winter?

The short answer: 68°F when you’re home and awake, and 7–10 degrees lower when you’re asleep or away. That’s the US Department of Energy’s recommendation, and it balances comfort against cost better than any other simple rule. But “just set it to 68” misses the interesting part — the why. Understanding how heat loss works, when setbacks save real money, and the one big exception (heat pumps) is what actually cuts your winter bill.

This guide covers the science of setbacks in plain language, the right nighttime and away settings, the heat-pump exception that erases your savings if you get it wrong, the 55°F floor you should never cross, smart thermostat tips, and — using the latest EIA winter cost figures — what an average American household actually pays to heat their home this season.

The DOE Answer: 68°F Home, Lower When Away

The Department of Energy recommends 68°F as the winter daytime setting while you’re home and awake. It’s not a magic number — it’s the point where most people stay comfortable in normal indoor clothing and sweaters, and where heating costs stay reasonable. Below about 65°F, most people start feeling genuinely cold; above 72°F, you’re paying a premium for warmth you could get from a sweater.

For sleep and away periods, the DOE recommends setting back 7 to 10 degrees — so roughly 60–61°F overnight or when the house is empty during work hours. That single change, held for at least 8 hours a day, is where the savings live.

To put this winter’s costs in perspective, the Energy Information Administration’s Winter Fuels Outlook for 2026–27 projects these national average household heating expenditures for November through March, compared with last winter:

• Natural gas: $640 (−9% vs. last winter)
• Electricity: $1,196 (+4%)
• Propane: $1,246 (−3%)
• Heating oil: $2,115 (+21%)

Heating-oil households are getting hammered this year — up more than a fifth — while natural gas users catch a break. Whatever fuel you burn, a consistent setback routine shaves a meaningful percentage off these numbers.

Why Setbacks Actually Save Money (The Heat-Loss Science)

The myth that “it costs more to reheat the house than to keep it warm” is persistent and completely wrong. Here’s the actual physics, in one paragraph:

Your house loses heat in direct proportion to the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature. When it’s 30°F outside and your house is at 68°F, the difference is 38 degrees and heat flows out fast. Drop the house to 60°F and the difference shrinks to 30 degrees — heat flows out about 20% slower. Over 8 hours of setback, your furnace burns roughly 20% less fuel during that window, and the energy spent reheating the house in the morning is a fraction of what you saved, because reheating only restores the heat the house didn’t lose overnight.

The DOE estimates that a 7–10°F setback for 8 hours a day saves up to 10% per year on heating costs. On the EIA’s $1,196 average electric-heating bill, that’s about $120 back in your pocket — from pressing a button on the thermostat.

Night vs. Away: Getting the Settings Right

Nighttime: 60–62°F works for most people under a decent blanket. Human bodies sleep better in cooler rooms anyway — sleep research consistently points to the low-to-mid 60s as ideal for rest. If 60 feels too cold, try 62 or 63; you’ll still capture most of the savings. The key is that the setback needs to last — a full night’s sleep gives you 7–8 hours of reduced heat loss.

Away (work hours): 60°F while nobody’s home is the standard recommendation. If you have pets, this is fine — dogs and cats handle 60°F easily with their fur coats and a bed. Fish tanks and some reptiles are the exceptions; check species-specific needs.

The Heat-Pump Exception: Don’t Set Back Hard

Here’s the one case where the standard advice flips. If you heat with a heat pump (air-source or ductless mini-split), aggressive setbacks can actually cost you money.

The reason: when a heat pump falls too far behind the set temperature — typically more than 2–3 degrees — it calls for auxiliary (emergency) heat, which is just electric resistance heating. Resistance heat costs 2–3 times more per unit of warmth than the heat pump itself. So your 8-degree setback “saves” all night, then the aux heat kicks in at full blast for the morning recovery and wipes out the savings — or worse.

The heat-pump rule: set back no more than 2–3°F overnight or while away. Some heat pumps have “smart recovery” that ramps up gradually without triggering aux heat — if yours does, use it. If your thermostat has an aux-heat lockout temperature setting, configure it so aux heat only runs below about 25–30°F outdoors, where the heat pump genuinely needs help.

If you’re not sure what kind of system you have: look at your outdoor unit in winter. If it runs in winter and there’s no gas line to the house, it’s a heat pump. Your thermostat may also have an “Em Heat” or “Aux” indicator that lights up during recovery — if you see it every morning, your setback is too aggressive.

NEVER Go Below 55°F

This is the floor, and it’s about protecting your house, not your comfort. Below 55°F, pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces, and unheated areas can freeze — especially on windy nights when wind chill drives wall-cavity temperatures well below the thermostat reading. A burst pipe floods a house with thousands of dollars of damage in hours; the few dollars you saved going from 55 to 50 will never be worth it.

The 55°F rule applies even when you’re on vacation for two weeks. Set the thermostat to 55–60°F, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air reaches the pipes, and have someone check the house periodically. Here’s the full prevention guide: how to keep your pipes from freezing in winter.

If you do come home to frozen pipes despite your precautions, don’t panic — but don’t wait either. Here’s how to thaw frozen pipes safely.

Smart and Programmable Thermostats: Worth It?

A programmable thermostat pays for itself in a single heating season for most households, and a smart thermostat in about a year. The math: a basic programmable unit costs $25–$50; a smart thermostat (Ecobee, Nest, etc.) runs $130–$250, often less after utility rebates — many utilities offer $50–$100 rebates or even free units, so check yours before buying.

What you’re buying:

• Set-it-and-forget-it setbacks. The savings only happen if the setback actually happens every day. Automation beats willpower.
• Adaptive recovery. Learns how long your house takes to warm up and starts recovery early, so you wake up warm without guessing.
• Geofencing. Sets back when everyone leaves, recovers when someone’s heading home. Perfect for irregular schedules.
• Energy reports. Most smart thermostats show your runtime and estimated savings, which is genuinely motivating — and useful for spotting problems like a furnace running constantly.

Installation note: Most smart thermostats need a C-wire (common wire) for continuous power. Many homes have one tucked unused behind the thermostat. If yours doesn’t, there are add-a-wire kits ($25–$35) or you can have an HVAC tech run one. If your thermostat is acting up in ways that seem electrical rather than programming-related — blank screen, not responding — start with why your thermostat isn’t working.

Why Your Bill Is Still High (Beyond the Thermostat Setting)

If you’re already at 68°F and the bill still stings, the thermostat isn’t the whole story:

• Poor insulation and air leaks. The EIA averages above assume a typical home. A drafty house can cost 30–50% more to heat at the same thermostat setting. Attic insulation, weatherstripping, and sealing ductwork are the highest-ROI winter investments.
• An aging furnace. Furnaces lose efficiency with age. A 20-year-old 80% AFUE furnace burns a quarter more fuel than a modern 95% unit for the same heat. If your furnace is short-cycling or struggling, the setting on the wall isn’t the problem.
• One cold room skewing everything. If one room never warms up, people crank the whole-house setting to compensate — heating five comfortable rooms to 74°F to get one cold room to 68°F. Fix the cold room instead: why one room is colder than the rest of the house.
• Heating oil and propane price exposure. At $2,115 average this winter, heating-oil households are paying triple what natural-gas households pay for the same warmth. If you’re on oil or propane, every degree of setback and every insulation upgrade is worth proportionally more — and it’s worth pricing a conversion to natural gas or a heat pump if the infrastructure is available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 68°F really comfortable, or is the DOE just being cheap?

It’s genuinely comfortable for most people in normal winter indoor clothing — jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, maybe a light sweater. If you’re sitting still in a t-shirt, it’ll feel cool. The recommendation assumes you’re dressed for the season indoors, which is a fair trade for the savings.

Should I turn the heat completely off when I go on vacation?

No — 55–60°F, never off, and never below 55°F. Turning it off risks frozen pipes, and in very cold weather the house can take a full day to recover. The savings from going below 55 are tiny compared to the burst-pipe risk.

Does closing vents in unused rooms save money?

Usually not, and it can damage your system. Modern furnaces are sized for the whole duct system; closing vents increases static pressure, which can overheat the heat exchanger, trip safety limits, and actually raise your bills. Keep vents open. If a room is chronically too hot or cold, that’s a ductwork or insulation issue, not a vent-closing opportunity.

What about a wood stove or fireplace — does that change the setting?

Supplemental heat lets you set the thermostat lower — set it to 62–64°F and let the stove carry the main living area. Just make sure bedrooms and pipe runs stay above the 55°F floor, and never leave a fireplace unattended. Also keep your smoke and CO detectors in working order.

My heat pump runs constantly in winter. Is that normal?

Yes — heat pumps are designed for long, steady run times, especially in cold weather. Constant running at low speed is more efficient than short blasts. What’s not normal is the aux/emergency heat running constantly — that means the heat pump can’t keep up and you’re paying resistance-heat rates. Get it checked.

Should the thermostat be in “auto” or “heat” mode?

“Heat” in winter. “Auto” switches between heating and cooling, which can cause the system to fight itself on mild days — heating in the morning chill, then cooling in the afternoon sun. Set it to Heat and pick your temperature.

When to Call a Pro

Thermostat settings are DIY, but call an HVAC technician when:

• The house won’t reach the set temperature no matter what you set. That points to furnace capacity, ductwork, or insulation problems — not the thermostat.
• Your heat pump’s aux heat runs constantly. Either the heat pump is undersized, low on refrigerant, or malfunctioning.
• You want to upgrade to a smart thermostat but there’s no C-wire and you’re not comfortable with low-voltage wiring. A pro installs one in under an hour (typically $100–$175 for the visit).
• Your heating bills are wildly out of line with the EIA averages for your fuel type. An energy audit (often $200–$400, sometimes subsidized by utilities) finds exactly where your heat — and money — is going.

Set 68 when you’re home, 60 when you’re not, never below 55, and go easy on the setbacks if you have a heat pump. It’s the simplest high-impact money move in home heating — and the science says the savings are real, not folklore.