Your home is one of the only refuges from the bitter cold, but even it has difficulty keeping up with the wind chill. On the coldest days, the furnace can continue to run without reaching the temperature on the thermostat.
David Stuart is an environmental systems technician instructor, part of the sheet metal apprenticeship program with Sheet Metal Workers Local 18 and Milwaukee Area Technical College. He explains that if your thermostat is set to 70 degrees in these arctic temperatures, the house may only get to 68 or 66 degrees.
"Don't be alarmed, it's doing everything it can. It's just not quite big enough for these extreme, low temperatures like this," he says.
While you may preset your thermostat to go down while out of the house at work or school, Stuart says it's best to keep the temperature higher. That way the furnace is able to continue heating your home to the best of its ability.
"If the furnace is going to be borderline able to even keep up — if you allow it to turn off and slip those few degrees, you might not get them back. So set it to 70 — set it and forget it the next few days," he says.
