lower it as needed?

[jurick]

I just setup a 5 ton gas furnace in my 50x50x14 steel building with spray foam insulation. I have a wifi thermostat I can adjust from my phone. When I first turned it on the temps in the shop went from 42 to 60 in about three hours with an outside temp of about 30.

Working in the winter I think I would like to have it around 60-65. This time of year it is pretty normal to have lows from 20-30 and highs 40-60.

I doubt it will ever get much below 40 inside the shop with no heat unless we have an extended cold snap. The shop has been there with no heat for ten years and the plumbing for the sink and toilet has never froze.

Some weeks I might spend 8 hours a day five days a week out there and other weeks I might spend ten hours all week.

Since I know I can get to desired temp in roughly three hours should I just leave the heater completely off and turn it on three hours before I plan to go out there or would it be better to set it at 50, 55 or even 60 and just leave it?

I have no idea what my gas bill will run we have never had gas before but I just wonder from an efficiency or cost standpoint what I would be looking at just turning it on and letting it run hard as needed vs keeping it at a set temp all the time.

Summer is a way off but what about then? It gets in the 90s almost every day and often hits 100. Would it be better to turn it off and then on as needed or keep it at 80 or something all the time and lower it as needed?

 

[greenskeeper]

If I knew when I was going to be working out there I would leave it off and turn it on so that it recovers to the desired temperature before I get there.

If I didn't know when I would be working out there I would leave it on at a temperature so that it can recover to my desired temperature fairly quickly.

 

[dfiler2]

I have a schedule set for mine, I usually go to the shop for a couple of hours in the evening so I set it to warm up to 60 from 4 to 7 pm during the week and from 8 am to 7 pm on the weekends. If I end up up not going out there I can just pull out my phone and drop the temp. I've been doing it this way for about 5 years and it works out great. I have the schedule turn down to 40 when not there, but I've never seen it lower than 53, I'm sure that's because I do warm it up some every day.

 

[Jim greengo]

I dont like to set thermostats in any building or house below 50 myself,but I've repaired enough broken water lines here in Nebraska over the years.
It only takes 1 broken pipe and a flood to make a believer out of a person.
Is the furnace natural gas or propane?

 

[Boilerhouse]

Natural gas is pretty cheap. I would turn it down, but not off. I have an outdoor boiler, and set my shop around 36F when I am not using it, then crank it up to 60F when in use.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

First, welcome to the forum.

Second, your location is "london". As in Merry 'ole England, London?

Finally to answer your question....with GAS it will always be cheaper to turn down your t-stat for any hours you aren't working out there and only turn it up when you need the heat. You should be able to save a significant percentage of your bill by using that strategy.

PHil