31–40 of 314 posts
We do adapt to these things. My grandmother never had central heating, she lit a coal fire in the grate every day well into her 80s. Then spend the next decade with electric heaters and the decade after that in a nursing home.
This is all cool ideas but sadly keeping home cool is not that easy due to problems with humidity and consequently mold. Old houses were much less airtight than modern ones. So sadly I think it’s a trade off: either modern energy efficient house with mechanical ventilation or older, rather windy and cold house. Modernising older Homes to be energy effective appears to be a lost cause. If you make them airtight there…
My understanding is the problem with making old buildings airtight is the lack of proper vapor barriers under the house, especially if it was built on a slab. For homes built on crawlspaces, you can "encapsulate" them, which reduces energy losses and improves air quality. Typically encapsulated crawlspaces are ventilated and/or dehumidified, which is supposed to stop moisture ingress into the living space.
This is all cool ideas but sadly keeping home cool is not that easy due to problems with humidity and consequently mold. Old houses were much less airtight than modern ones. So sadly I think it’s a trade off: either modern energy efficient house with mechanical ventilation or older, rather windy and cold house. Modernising older Homes to be energy effective appears to be a lost cause. If you make them airtight there…
There are whole-house dehumidiers that operate separately than your heating/cooling system. Set a relative humidity (RH) range and let it work; e.g.: * https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product-category/dehumidif... The air movement problem in a tightly sealed house is dealt with an HRV (or ERV) which brings in filtered fresh air, but tempers it with the exhausted stale air: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recov…
After 5 winters of Berlin, I have decided to treat myself proper heat tech clothing. The difference in comfort is such that I barely feel any kind of fatigue or depression that the cold temperatures used to put on me. It has changed my perception of winter and I couldn't have spent my money any better. This is a costly investment though, be warned. For the curious, the keyword that started it all: "layered clothing"…
Totally disagree with the layers philosophy. Way too much fuss. In mid-winter London I wear a t-shirt and a jacket. Perfectly warm. Just get a good jacket. Easy on, off, no ceremony.
Doing precision work with your hands (such as writing or typing) is decidedly harder in colder homes. You can wear certain kinds of gloves, but it just isn't as pleasant.
First, insulation works both way, so if you have hot summers and use A/C insulation will help you here.
Second, I spent some time in mostly unheated house, indoors tempeature around 5C. And yes, with proper clothing, that's fine, but getting to the shower is not particularly comfortable...
For sleeping, I had a heated blanket which I put between the sheets and a regular blanket. Probably not recommended for safety but it worked amazingly well for the ~50W it used... until it is time to wake up.
So yes, good clothing is great at keeping you warm, that should be obvious. But a well heated home is an important element of comfort.
After 5 winters of Berlin, I have decided to treat myself proper heat tech clothing. The difference in comfort is such that I barely feel any kind of fatigue or depression that the cold temperatures used to put on me. It has changed my perception of winter and I couldn't have spent my money any better. This is a costly investment though, be warned. For the curious, the keyword that started it all: "layered clothing"…
What did you go for?,- I live in Northern Europe too.
tl;dr; long sleeve undershirts and under jeans all day, every day. A sweater. Down jacket. Wind-proof jacket.
My wife and I just moved from LA (my birthplace) to Detroit (my wifes birthplace, I have lived here previously) and it sure has been a struggle to keep my office environment 'good'. I have a hyperhidrosis issue (excessively sweaty hands) that compounds the situation. I feel like homes and offices do not breath. My anecdotal napkin math would say like 10% of buildings are designed with proper ventilation, blending of…
First off, you do not want buildings to "breathe" through air leakage. It is desirable for a 'seal tight and vent right':
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIcrXut_EFA
There are standards for the amount buildings should exchange the air, e.g., ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_changes_per_hour
Also, air temperature is only one component of feeling comfortable in a room. How warm/cool the walls are, and having good double- (or triple-) pane windows also contributes:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_radiant_temperature
While you no doubt have insulation in your external wall cavities, the wooden stud has a very low value (R-1/inch) and so introduces thermal bridging:
* https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/what-is-thermal...
Modern building codes in colder climate zones mandate a layer of exterior insulation to deal with this bridging.
> I try to keep my CO2 ppm below 800 foor good measure. For a while I was feeling like dogshit in here and I assume it is due to being literally directly above a gas furnace in an older single family home - in hindsight I wish I had a monitor that detected more gases.
You may wish to look into an HRV (or ERV) and get some filtered fresh air:
* https://www.venmar.ca/22-detail-advice-hrv-and-erv-why-choos...
After 5 winters of Berlin, I have decided to treat myself proper heat tech clothing. The difference in comfort is such that I barely feel any kind of fatigue or depression that the cold temperatures used to put on me. It has changed my perception of winter and I couldn't have spent my money any better. This is a costly investment though, be warned. For the curious, the keyword that started it all: "layered clothing"…
Interesting. Could you share a list of products you have bought?
That being said your flat/home insulation plays a huge role. I'm living in Germany for a few years now, when it's 0c outside it's still 18c+ indoor even without any heating in my flat. When I was in California if it was 13 outside it would be 14 indoor, you could feel the air going through the doors'/windows' joints.
edit: to all the people saying I can thanks my neighbours, I pay my share of the heating since it's averaged. I only have one shared wall so I doubt it changes much