It will always depend on what heat source I am using.
Belly heat - Outside the cage always
Overhead heat(RHP) - Inside the cage always(for obvious reasons)
With belly heat there isn't much fluctuation. In the Winter I set it to 99F and it will create a hotspot of 88-92F all Winter round. In the summer I set it to 93F and it will create the same basking spot. You just need to learn how to work with it and there isn't much more to it.
Yes I did forget to say the exception would be for an RHP. Thank you for pointing that out.