Home Improvement → Re: Furnace runs a lot

Furnace is 2 stage if that matters.

Waited around for exact timing. Seems like clockwork, it will be off for 20 minutes, then run for 6 minutes and then shut off for 20 minutes then run for 6 and so on. Not sure if that could explain something.

Everyone I talk to says they set their thermostat to 62 when they leave and 68 when they're home (give or take a degree). This seems like a waste to be turning on all the time if I leave it on 62 when I am not home. The digital thermostat shows the inside temp never really changes. It will stay on 62. I have just left it on 62 whether I am here or not.

My thermostat was calling for a lot of short cycles, which I found annoying and figured was bad for the furnace. So I set it to the 'hot water' setting to get longer cycles.

I don't know if this would be good for your furnace or not (2 stage and all that).

Of course... Other people use a setback of few degrees, but they also keep the house warmer. So it takes a while for the house to cool down.
Keep in mind that energy use is proportional to IN-OUT temperature difference and the temperature inside is just a number that has no value in a discussion unless you specify the outside temperature.
For reference I set my thermostat at 69F while home, 45F (basically off) while away (never gets that cold anyway so the units never start). The system calculates the start time to reach 69F by the time I get home.