Updated October 27, 2026
Set your thermostat to 68 to 70 when you’re home and awake this winter, turn it down at night if you heat with a gas furnace, keep the changes small if you have a heat pump, and never leave it below 55 when you’re away. That’s the short answer for most Northern Virginia homes. If the house won’t hold that number, or you want the heat looked at before the first hard freeze, the $67 Heating Check runs through December 31.
The right setting depends on what makes your heat. A furnace and a heat pump want to be run differently, and the night setback that’s smart on one can cost you on the other. Here’s the why behind each number. This is the winter half of our guide to setting the AC in summer.
What Temperature to Set Your Thermostat in Winter, by Situation
Comfort is personal, so treat these as starting points. Most homes we work in feel right somewhere between 68 and 70 during the day. Below that, people start reaching for sweaters. Above 72, the system runs a lot longer for a degree or two you barely feel.
Swipe to see all columns →
Swipe to see all columns →
| When | Gas furnace | Heat pump |
|---|---|---|
| Home and awake | 68 to 70 | 68 to 70 |
| Asleep | 7 to 10 degrees lower, if you sleep well cool | 2 or 3 degrees lower at most, or leave it |
| At work all day | 7 to 10 degrees lower | Leave it, or a small drop on a thermostat with adaptive recovery |
| Away for days | Never below 55; 58 to 60 in a hard freeze | Never below 55; 58 to 60 in a hard freeze |
| Bringing it back up | Set it once and let it run | A degree or two at a time; never jump it 5 |
The furnace column is the Department of Energy’s long standing setback advice. The heat pump column comes from how heat pumps are built. And 55 isn’t about comfort at all: it’s the floor that keeps the pipes from freezing.
What Temperature to Set Your Thermostat at Night in Winter
On a gas furnace, turning it down at night is the easy one. The U.S. Department of Energy’s guidance, as its Building America Solution Center puts it, is that you can save “as much as 10% per year on heating and cooling” by turning the thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for eight hours a day (DOE, Thermostat Controls). The eight hours you’re asleep are the obvious eight.
From 69, that puts you at 59 to 62 overnight. If that’s too cold to sleep, drop it less; any setback beats none on a furnace. A furnace makes heat quickly, so it brings the house back up in the morning without much fuss. Set the schedule to start heating a little before you get up and you’ll walk into a warm kitchen instead of waiting for one.
The $67 Heating Check
We check your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Through December 31. See the offer
Heat Pump vs. Furnace: Why Big Setbacks Backfire on a Heat Pump
A heat pump heats by moving heat in from outside, and it’s built to hold a temperature, not to make up a big one in a hurry. Drop it 8 degrees overnight and ask for it all back at 6 a.m., and most thermostats call the backup heat in to help: the electric heat strips in the air handler, the AUX on your screen. Those strips cost a lot more to run than the heat pump does. DOE’s Building America guide says it plainly: in homes with a heat pump, the thermostat “should be equipped with adaptive recovery technology,” which lets the heat pump alone bring the temperature up and keeps the “costly auxiliary heating” to a minimum.
What that means at your thermostat:
- Keep setbacks small, 2 or 3 degrees, or skip them. A heat pump that holds steady never needs the strips to catch up.
- When you raise it, go up a degree or two at a time instead of jumping 5.
- If you want a real setback, use a thermostat set up for a heat pump with adaptive or smart recovery. It starts early and climbs slowly on the heat pump alone.
- Watch the screen. AUX for a few minutes during a defrost or on a bitter morning is normal. AUX every morning when it’s in the 40s outside means something’s wrong, and our aux heat vs. emergency heat guide walks through it.
A dual fuel system, a heat pump with a gas furnace as the backup, sits in between: the furnace takes over in deep cold, so a moderate setback is fine. Not sure which you have? Look at the outdoor unit in January. If it’s running with the heat on and blowing cool air out the top, that’s a heat pump.
What Temperature to Set Your Thermostat When You’re Away or on Vacation
Never turn the heat off for a winter trip. The American Red Cross says to leave the heat on, “set to a temperature no lower than 55° F,” and to hold it there day and night (Red Cross on frozen pipes). Treat 55 as the floor, not the target.
The thermostat reads the air in the middle of the house. Pipes run through outside walls, crawl spaces, garages and the cabinet under the kitchen sink, and those spots sit colder than the hallway the thermostat hangs in. So for a trip in a hard freeze, or in a house with pipes on outside walls, set 58 to 60, open the sink cabinet doors, and leave it there.
Before you go:
- Use hold or vacation mode so the schedule doesn’t drop it lower at night.
- If your smart thermostat has a low temperature alert, turn it on so your phone tells you when the house starts to fall.
- Ask a neighbor to look in if the forecast turns bitter. A furnace that quits on day two of a week away is how pipes burst.
- Know where the main water shutoff is, and make sure whoever checks the house knows too.
Our guide to keeping pipes from freezing covers the rest, and if a storm takes the power out, here’s what to do for the heat and the pipes.
Smart Thermostats in Winter: Worth It, If They’re Set Up Right
A smart thermostat runs the schedule for you. ENERGY STAR certifies them on field data from real homes, and the certified ones turn the heat down on their own when you’re asleep or away, some using your phone’s location to know when you’ve left (ENERGY STAR on smart thermostats).
On a heat pump, two settings make or break it. First, the thermostat has to know it’s running a heat pump, and which wire is the backup heat, so it can keep the strips out of the picture. Second, its recovery setting: the good ones start early and climb slowly so the heat pump does the work. ENERGY STAR adds one more thing worth knowing: with top end heating and cooling equipment, “you may want a controller from the same company.” Some variable speed heat pumps only run at their best on their own brand’s thermostat.
If a new thermostat went in and the heat has acted strange since, or AUX comes on more than it used to, the wiring or the setup is the first place to look. Our thermostat troubleshooting guide covers what you can check yourself.
Winter Thermostat Myths That Make the House Feel Worse
- Cranking it to 80 heats the house faster. It doesn’t. A furnace puts out heat at its own rate whatever number you pick. It just runs longer and overshoots. On a heat pump, a big jump is exactly what calls the strips.
- Off is cheaper than down. Off isn’t a setback, it’s a gamble. The house can fall far enough for the pipes in an outside wall to freeze, and a heat pump then leans on the strips for the whole climb back.
- Fan ON keeps the heat even. In winter, ON keeps the blower moving air between heating cycles, and that air feels cool at the vents. AUTO is the better winter setting for most homes.
- Closing vents in empty rooms sends the heat elsewhere. Mostly it raises the pressure in the ducts and makes the blower work harder. Close a couple if you like, never half the house.
- The number on the thermostat is the temperature everywhere. It’s the temperature at the thermostat. The top floor of a townhouse can run a few degrees warmer than the main floor, and a room over the garage often runs colder.
One that does help: ceiling fans on low, turning clockwise, push the warm air that collects at the ceiling back down without a draft. Here’s the ceiling fan direction rundown.
Set to 70 and Still Cold? It’s Usually Not the Thermostat
If the thermostat says 70 and the house never gets there, or one room stays cold whatever you do, the setting isn’t the problem. The usual suspects are a dirty filter, a blocked return, ductwork leaking into the attic, or equipment that’s struggling. Our cold room guide goes through the causes in order.
A gap of 2 or 3 degrees on the coldest morning of the year can be normal, especially on a heat pump. A gap that never closes, a furnace that runs and runs, or a heat pump on AUX most of the day is worth a visit. That’s what the $67 Heating Check is for. On one furnace or heat pump, the technician checks the thermostat, tests the electrical parts, and measures airflow and temperature rise, with photos of anything we flag. It runs through December 31. If the heat pump is already acting up, go straight to heat pump repair.
Winter Thermostat Questions We Hear Every Year
What temperature should I set my thermostat in winter?
68 to 70 when you’re home and awake suits most homes. Lower it at night if you heat with a gas furnace, keep changes to 2 or 3 degrees on a heat pump, and never go under 55 when you’re away.
What temperature should I set my thermostat at night in winter?
On a gas furnace, 7 to 10 degrees below your daytime setting for the eight hours you’re asleep, the range the Department of Energy gives. From 69, that’s 59 to 62. On a heat pump, 2 or 3 degrees at most, unless your thermostat has adaptive recovery set up for a heat pump.
What temperature should I set my thermostat when I’m on vacation in winter?
No lower than 55, the American Red Cross says, held there day and night. In a hard freeze, or with pipes in outside walls, 58 to 60 is the safer pick. Leave the heat on, open the sink cabinets, and have someone check the house if the forecast turns bitter.
Should I turn my heat pump down when I leave for work?
Only a little, or not at all. A big setback makes the heat pump call its electric backup strips in to catch up, and they cost a lot more to run. If you want a daytime setback on a heat pump, use a thermostat with adaptive recovery set up for a heat pump. More in our aux heat vs. emergency heat guide.
Is 68 a good temperature for the thermostat in winter?
Yes. 68 is a comfortable, sensible daytime setting for most people, and it’s where we’d start. If someone at home is always cold, 70 or 71 is fine. Keep the night and away rules the same either way.
Does turning the thermostat way up heat the house faster?
No. The furnace or heat pump makes heat at the same rate whatever number you pick. A higher setting only makes it run longer and overshoot, and on a heat pump a big jump brings on the electric strips.
Should the thermostat fan be on AUTO or ON in winter?
AUTO, for most homes. On ON, the blower keeps moving air between heating cycles, and that air feels cool at the vents.
Do smart thermostats work with heat pumps?
Yes, when they’re set up for one. The thermostat needs to know it’s running a heat pump and which wire is the backup heat, and it should use adaptive or smart recovery so the heat pump, not the strips, does the warming. Some high end variable speed systems run best on their own brand’s control.
What is the lowest temperature to keep pipes from freezing?
55 is the floor the Red Cross gives for a house with the heat on. That covers the room, but pipes in outside walls, garages and crawl spaces sit colder, so in a deep freeze set it higher and open the cabinet doors on outside walls. Our frozen pipe guide has the rest.
Get the Heat Checked Before the First Hard Freeze
The right number only works if the heat behind it is in shape. Book the $67 Heating Check online, use the form at the top of this page, or call (703) 997-9757. It runs through December 31. Rather never think about it again? Comfort+ is $199 a year, or $20 a month, month to month, with four visits every year: a heating maintenance visit in the fall, a cooling maintenance visit in the spring, a dryer vent cleaning, and a water heater flush with a sewer camera inspection. Members take 15% off any service. Every current deal is on the offers page.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing services, repairs and installs furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, ductless mini splits and hot water boilers across Northern Virginia from three locations in Chantilly and Ashburn, with a dedicated HVAC team and a separate plumbing team. Family owned, BBB Accredited with an A rating, 24/7 emergency service, Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276, and rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook. Read the reviews.
