Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

lowtechmagazine.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

281–290 of 314 posts

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

#281

Post by 8bitsrule »

heelix wrote: post #272
nucleardog wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate the thought and agree in most situations the solution is to dress better, but when it’s -40 actual temperature and hitting -70F with the windchill I’d still call it “bad weather”. At that point you can get frostbite in under a minute. Dressing appropriately starts to feel more like putting on a hazmat suit than getting dressed to go out as any bit of exposed skin is at risk. Even many cold-weather access…

Fun fact -40C == -40F. The nice thing about those days it it is typically too cold to snow up here in Minnesota. A thin wool hat is really nice around the house if SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED keeps things on the colder side. Same deal for camping - if you trap the body heat that escapes your head, you will feel much warmer - be it the keyboard or a hammock. Same goes for a good pair of socks too.

More fun at -40 (the one time Canada agrees with the US): the snow on the ground squeaks when you step on it - and there's rarely any wind. And your car better have a tank-heater - plugged in at least 2 hours before you plan to leave.

I'm now in a milder climate, but still wear the thin hat all winter (e.g.right now). Alas, the thick wool lumberjack socks are missing from the stores.

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

#282

Post by presentation »

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"…

You can put together an array of warm layers on the cheap at Uniqlo - their ultralight down and heattech lines are very warm, well-made, and inexpensive.

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

#284

Post by presentation »

StavrosK wrote: post #70
xcambar wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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

In Japanese it’s hand bags (手袋), and the old school split Japanese socks are foot bags (tabi, 足袋) :)

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

#285

Post by WClayFerguson »

energ8 wrote: post #84
WClayFerguson wrote: post #19

One thing that has resulted from COVID is that people purchased lots of bandannas, and I did too. Recently I realized I could just wear one around my neck even inside my home to stay warmer, which is something I'd somehow never considered before. It's more comfortable than a turtle neck imo. I think a lot of people had this same idea, and you see bandannas being worn around a lot. In public people will just think it'…

Scarves are also a mainstream style choice for keeping necks warm, inside and out. Dropping the style, Neck Gaiters, Buffs, and Balaclavas are my go-tos for real cold.

Most neck warming gear is too uncomfortable (imo) to wear indoors all day, but I discovered I love bandannas specifically because 1) 100% cotton and 2) you can adjust the tightness to whatever you want, and for outdoors you can even go with 'double layer' of bandanna for even more warmth.

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

#286

Post by nickt »

leontrolski wrote: post #72
nickt wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a long-standing joke in the North East. https://newsthump.com/2009/02/22/geordie-man-buys-coat/

Reminded me of Geordie Jumpers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOJzPXzcF_g

Thanks for the laugh!

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

#287

Post by abraxas »

pea wrote: post #166
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,…

I think there's a specifically British thing about accepting being cold and not complaining about it - I've lived in Scotland or London for most of my life, and no one will turn on their heating before November and most houses are 150-400 years old and are not insulated. I can literally feel the breeze inside as I type this.

British housing often seems neglected. Especially the windows. I once had an apartment in Glasgow that had such terrible windows that wasps were getting in during summer while windows were closed. When I complained to the landlord he stuck some cotton balls in the bigger holes. That was the "repair" undertaken.

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

#288

Post by fulafel »

grecy wrote: post #123
fulafel wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humid -40C air becomes very dry +20C air when it gets inside a heated house. Saturated vapour density, the basis of relative humidity, about doubles every 10C.

Have you ever experienced Humid -40C air? It doesn't happen. I've had very humid -25C air in Alaska, and wearing literally everything I own (which is perfect at -48C), I was freezing cold for the entire day, even when running, snowboarding, jumping up and down and beating my chest.

For indoor humidity, it's the same for -25C weather as for -40C. Its going to be dry when heated up.

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

#289

Post by waste_monk »

boznz wrote: post #182
Symbiote wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found a week-long business trip to South Island in the winter terribly cold. Going from 30°C weather to 12°C isn't a great start, but then the otherwise-decent hotel had single glazed windows, which the maid would open every morning. The only heater in the room was an electric resistance one attached to the wall. In offices, most of the foreigners on the trip were wearing coats and other extra layers. Young people…

We're not that tough. Any house built in the past 15 years must meet the newer regulations of double-glazing and roof,wall,floor insulation. There are plenty of older properties without any of these standards and these are terrible and are also probably the most likely to be Holiday homes or AirBnBs, but any houses that are tenanted now need to be upgraded to meet minimum standards. Most private houses also have effi…

>Personally I would ban resistive heating, they are generally in lower cost rentals, student properties etc and cost a lot for the tenant to use especially as these tenants are generally at the poorer side of the fence.

You mean the radiant / bar heater type ones? I cannot agree with this, while I agree that they're expensive to run and inefficient for heating rooms / whole house, they do work well if you use them to directly heat only the part of the room you're in.

I've lived in old houses where the ceilings are too high to effectively heat via convection (e.g. a modern 5x5x2.4 room is 60m^3 volume, while an old house with the same width and length but 3.6 metre ceilings is 90m^3 of volume to heat - combine that with inferior ceiling insulation common in old houses and the fact that hot air rises, the space often cools faster than the convection heater can keep up) and there was no natural gas service, so we just had to sit in front of radiant heaters.

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

#290

Post by wolfretcrap »

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…

I read about poor insulation a lot but is insulation practical or worth it in areas like South Asia where the humidity is on average 40-80% RH.
Post reply on HN