thermostat settings in the winter regarding fuel use

[High Lord Tolkien]

Here's a question I can't figure out the answer to.
In my area during the winter the average outside temp is 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Do I use more oil keeping the thermostat at 72 degrees rather than 68?
I understand i'll burn more oil initially getting to 72 but to maintain it don't i use the same amount of oil no matter what temp I pick?
If so I'm cranking the heat this winter.

[Fist and Faith]

Doesn't physics agree with that idea? I seem to remember my hs physics teacher saying that keeping something hovering motionless in the air takes as much as making it rise at a steady rate.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I'd say it depends on how well your home is insulated, how well it is sealed against air leakage, and how little you end up going in/out.
You are correct that of course there is an initial energy expenditure to heat to the higher temperature. And of course anything that causes enough heat loss to lower the temperature will cause your heater to kick back on.
Heat travels from high concentration to low concentration. The more heat you have in an area, the more it will dissipate when allowed to.
The difference is small in a well-sealed and insulated home, but each time you open/close the door, you let heat out, which your heater will attempt to replace. The more heat is needed to replace, the harder your heater operates...

dw

[Vraith]

Neither of those things is true.
All other things being equal in the house, maintaining a temperature differential of 32 degrees [between 40 and 72] requires more energy than a differential of 28 [between 40 and 68].

Hovering in the air requires an acceleration exactly equal to gravity [32ft/sec squared], climbing requires that acceleration plus some amount.

[Zarathustra]

Vraith, you beat me to it. Correct on both counts.

[High Lord Tolkien]

So......I'm going to burn more oil?

[Vraith]

So......I'm going to burn more oil?

Yes. Average home, 4 degrees is going to be very roughly 10%.