A Question of Warmth

There are more substantive topics I should doubtless start a new year out with, but a quick practical question for those with more experience living in the frozen north than I (Californian turned Texan turned Ohioan that I am.) What do you consider a frugal thermostat setting during the winter? What is a normal one? What is a self indulgent one?

I'm much more used to managing cooling on a budget -- in relation to which I always thought of frugality being setting the thermostat to 80 or a little above. Normal as 78. And self indulgence as starting somewhere below 76. (The which could, in 100+ degree weather, result in electric bills somewhere between "wow" and "boig!")

When we moved into out glorious, rambling old pile the friendly lady as Columbia Gas helpfully informed me that our house had previously been set up as a commercial account because the owners used so much gas during the winter. (Said old pile is heated via a natural gas boiler powering hot water radiators.) This has, of course, had me watching the thermostat with the fascination which only a dedicated numbers guy can muster. Indeed, I'm thinking of installing one of those nifty digital thermostats simply for to satisfy my desire for more precise temperature metrics than those provided by the old mercury dial termostat.