"Lewis Hartswick" wrote in message
...
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Please forgive me while I troll for a moment.....

Is it energy saving to turn the thermostat down, when leaving the house?
I mean, the furnace has to run to catch up when I get home. I have a way
of looking at the matter. I'll explain my point of view after the
argument is underway.

That is another one of those, " It Depends".
In this case on how long you will be gone.
...lew...

You start saving energy as soon at the house temperature stabilizes at the
lower temperature. Except for very short times, when you let the temperature
drop and then immediately ramp it up again, you always save energy by
lowering your house temperature.

Here's what the DOE says about it:

"A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works
harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after
the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. This
misconception has been dispelled by years of research and numerous studies.
The fuel required to reheat a building to a comfortable temperature is
roughly equal to the fuel saved as the building drops to the lower
temperature. You save fuel between the time that the temperature stabilizes
at the lower level and the next time heat is needed. So, the longer your
house remains at the lower temperature, the more energy you save."

--
Ed Huntress