Lately, the outside temperature has been “way below the doughnut,” as that local television weatherman from away used to remark on-air frequently in the Bangor market.

With energy costs now in the upper stratosphere, what else can a shivering homeowner do to save on heating costs? This column has talked frequently about alternative heat sources, insulation and weatherization and danced around the concept of a programmable thermostat for the home.

While we are spending lots of our time trying to read that outside very cold number, perhaps we should adjust our thinking about how to adjust the warm number inside. The call for “more heat” sent to that noisy beast in the cellar, which consumes oil or gas in very expensive quantities, is no laughing matter. Many Mainers are struggling mightily to keep the family and the family budget together during these very cold and expensive winter months.

In an earlier time, with heating oil below a dollar a gallon, life was much easier. Cold? Just turn up the wheeled thermostat on the wall and get warmer. Too hot? Just reverse the process and turn the heat down. If Grammie is living with you, just keep the temperature up and don’t worry about it.

Today is a different world. Family members come and go to part-time jobs, friends and family visit, college students come home for semester break. It seems the old domicile has a wider range of uses than in earlier times. Installing and using a programmable thermostat can save heating money, perhaps as much as 20 percent.

There is a widely accepted myth that just keeping the home warm at a constant temperature is cost-effective. This is simply untrue. Lowering the home temperature automatically by 5 to 10 degrees at night, when most people are sleeping, should save some serious foreign oil.

Some of these cost-effective devices can be programmed for different family needs up to a week or more. If Sunday morning everyone tends to sleep in, perhaps the command to turn the heat up can be delayed for an hour or two. If the work schedule gives the employee Wednesdays off, perhaps the heat can be programmed to stay high that day as people are home. The programmable thermostat never forgets. Humans often do. Zip out the door in the morning to work or school and forget to crank the thermostat down, and you’ll be heating an empty house for no good purpose.

Consumer Reports magazine has evaluated a number of these programmable thermostat devices and is calling three Lux Temp Smart models, priced between $35 and $80, “Best Buys.” Remember that for a payback on your investment, this represents saving only 11 to 24 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil at $3.25 per gallon to pay for the gadget, something that’s easily done.

Other savings methods inside the home include shutting off rooms that are unused and having a secondary source of heat. LP gas or wood pellet stoves are great ways to find a hot place to warm a cold tush. Also watching a gas or wood pellet flame can warm the mind and body in a way that defies the thermodynamics of the situation.

Let’s not forget that these secondary heating appliances are good backups when the old furnace quits or runs out of oil, or the power company has its hands full trying to repair downed power lines due to ice, wind or snow. Wear layers of clothing and put on a sweater instead of attacking the thermostat. Lastly, a secondary heating source can ease the burden of the often overtaxed oil furnace in the basement, saving or delaying costly repairs as well as saving oil.

This author is reminded of the young back-to-the-land couple of nearly 40 years ago, living in a rambling, old and drafty farmhouse in the center of Unity village. They kept the thermostat at 55 degrees, wore multiple layers of clothing, and jumped rope when they got chilled. While this strategy may not appeal to most Mainers today, more indoor physical activity will permit lower heating temperatures.

The quality of home life here in our corner of the Northeast is being threatened by cold temperatures and high fuel costs. Mainers past, present and future have, and will, successfully meet these chilling challenges.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration, now in its 30th year, of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s membership funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. Interested and motivated prospective volunteers are always needed and welcomed to apply to help with our mission. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for more information, write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.