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Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

lowtechmagazine.com

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Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#61

Post by leetcrew »

hordeallergy wrote: post #23
xcambar wrote: post #3

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.

there's certainly a tradeoff to be made here. putting on three extra layers just to go to the store is a pain. I do find that layers are much more versatile if you're going to be spending a lot of time outside or going in and out of spaces at a wide range of temperatures. with only a winter jacket and a t-shirt, I am likely choosing between being way too hot or way too cold. my winter coat is pretty bulky, so if I'm not wearing it, I'm carrying it.

when I'm going out for a while in the winter, I like to wear a cotton shirt, a wool sweater, insulated vest, a medium-weight windproof jacket, and a mostly empty backpack. if I get too warm, the vest and possibly the sweater can just go in the backpack. with this setup, I can be comfortable at any temperature from 30F to 60F without having to hold onto anything I'm not wearing. on really cold days, I swap in my heavy winter coat.

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#63

Post by bobbiechen »

> It may sound strange to promote the use of synthetic clothing on a blog like Low-tech Magazine. However, both natural and synthetic materials have their advantages and drawbacks, and both can be a sustainable choice - even though synthetic clothes are made from fossil fuels. This is especially true when the clothing is used as a substitute for a heating system; the energy saved by lowering the thermostat is much larger than the energy required to manufacture the garments. Indeed, these high-insulating garments demonstrate how valuable fossil fuels are as a material, and how foolish we are to simply burn them.

I love it when a writer anticipates my questions and immediately addresses it in the text.

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#64

Post by xxpor »

ashtonkem wrote: post #57
mcot2 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Had to laugh at your comment about Scotland because people in Maine do the same thing. Heat is either blasting or turned off. Very poor insulation.

We had a problem with this in older Chicago apartments, usually 2 flats and quads. These buildings usually had radiator heat fired by a common boiler in the basement and city mandated turn-on dates and minimum daily/nightly temperatures. In theory each radiator has a regulator valve that allows you to moderate the amount of steam flowing through it. In reality these valves are all painted over/corroded/never worked i…

There was an article the other day that basically said these steam boilers became popular during the 1918 flu pandemic, and they thought increased air circulation would help people not catch the flu (turns out they were right). So the boilers were tuned to run extra hot, as they were intended to be run with the windows open!

Found it: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-05/the-curio...

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#65

Post by masklinn »

peteretep wrote: post #11

From the comments: > Sorry, I am not buying it. Not because you haven't done good work on the article: you have. Also not because N.American homes are overheated, and the residents under-dressed: they are. I do not buy it because the Japanese live the way you suggest in the winter, and it is miserable I have a mother in Scotland and I have a mother-in-law in Canada. Worst it ever gets near my mother seems to be -5C,…

Interestingly the same can be seen in Japan despite it being a common example: Honshu (the main island) generally has poor insulation and heating. Hokkaido, however, generally has good insulation and central heating.

Unsurprisingly, while nowhere near as bad as Winnipeg winter in Hokkaido is much longer and deeper than in most of Honshu. Although it likely helps that Hokkaido is much drier, especially in summer, meaning house rot is less of an issue.

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#66

Post by dugmartin »

turtlebits wrote: post #56
gwd wrote: post #53

> Because vasoconstriction only occurs when the core body temperature falls, it won't happen if you're dressed warmly enough. While insulating your neck and feet will greatly improve your thermal comfort, there is no need to wear gloves or caps indoors. In fact, it doesn't matter very much which parts of your body you choose to insulate - the important thing is to limit total heat loss so that the body core temperatu…

It's because you're sitting all day. Get a small foot heater.

Or a blanket over the legs (I'm at home at my desk in New England and I have a blanket over them right now).

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#67

Post by grecy »

fnbr wrote: post #54
peteretep wrote: post #11

From the comments: > Sorry, I am not buying it. Not because you haven't done good work on the article: you have. Also not because N.American homes are overheated, and the residents under-dressed: they are. I do not buy it because the Japanese live the way you suggest in the winter, and it is miserable I have a mother in Scotland and I have a mother-in-law in Canada. Worst it ever gets near my mother seems to be -5C,…

Yeah, I find that people spend the least amount of money on insulation/heat that they can. I’m from Edmonton, and the coldest I’ve ever been was the winter when I lived in London, UK, as their insulation sucks and their heating sucks. In Edmonton, that’s not possible, because you have a few days of -40C weather annually, so your pipes will freeze without proper insulation (and you’ll die). Now, it’s not comfortable l…

The difference there is the humidity making you feel cold.

I live in the Yukon where -40C is the standard daytime temp for months, and I'm perfectly happy/used to it.

I felt cold to my bones in the UK.

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#68

Post by hordeallergy »

throw0101a wrote: post #42
hordeallergy wrote: post #21

Overdo this and you will get mouldy walls.

Most people just install A/C and call it a day. If you live in a humid area, then a separate whole-house dehumidifier is useful: * https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product-category/dehumidif... You can have a comfortable temperature 21C/72F, but a too-high RH, and since the temperature is correct, the AC won't kick in. Having an hygrometer helps with this.

A/c in the context of the article?

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#69

Post by masklinn »

turtlebits wrote: post #56
gwd wrote: post #53

> Because vasoconstriction only occurs when the core body temperature falls, it won't happen if you're dressed warmly enough. While insulating your neck and feet will greatly improve your thermal comfort, there is no need to wear gloves or caps indoors. In fact, it doesn't matter very much which parts of your body you choose to insulate - the important thing is to limit total heat loss so that the body core temperatu…

It's because you're sitting all day. Get a small foot heater.

Yes, especially an infrared heater, that allows much more efficient "spot heating" than a more traditional convection heater.

Re: Insulation: First the body, then the home (2011)

#70

Post by StavrosK »

xcambar wrote: post #29
ratww wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The suggestions by the sibling comments are great. I'm also in Berlin and I use Uniqlo's HeatTech undershirt and long johns under jeans/shirt. They're pretty cheap (€10 each) and it makes a lot of difference. I never feel cold. A good jacket is also essential. Downfeather Jackets are my favourite. Other than that it's just a hoodie between shirt and jacket, scarfs and "hand-shoes". The Coronavirus mask also helps dur…

"Hand-shoes" Read "gloves". I smiled reading that literal translation of "handschuhe" <3

Hah, is that what you call footgloves? "Shoes"? Interesting.
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