My main concern is frozen pipes, other cold related damage to my home. Gets quite cold up here in Minneapolis. Lovely design ideas for a cabin though where the infrastructure is inherently more limited.
Heat people, not spaces (2015)
11–20 of 335 posts
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#12Some months ago I moved into an apartment with good ventilation and started to do some simple experiments directing the air flow and staying in places where it's more concentrated and the wind is slightly faster, improving the heat remotion. I use, at most, a fan, and didn't feel the need for an air conditioner so far.
I wonder how much energy we could be saving. I'd love to find an article as thorough as this one but about air cooling.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#13I've been thinking about the inverse problem. I live in a very warm city. Air conditioning (cooling spaces) is the norm, but tons of money are spent with installations, maintenance and the monthly electricity bill. The new houses are designed with zero consideration about ventilation, designers seem to take for granted that you are going to buy an AC system. Oftentimes, a very simple change in the project would be en…
I get by without AC in the northern Midwest, but I'd be inclined to get a window unit if there was more than a few uncomfortable nights a year.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#14We take the general concept of heating people, not the space, to heart for our outdoor swimming pool. While most other folks heat their pool, we go ahead and swim in the cold water... but we buy everyone in the family a wetsuit. A few hundred dollars on wetsuits each year is far better than many hundreds on propane every month.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#15I've been thinking about the inverse problem. I live in a very warm city. Air conditioning (cooling spaces) is the norm, but tons of money are spent with installations, maintenance and the monthly electricity bill. The new houses are designed with zero consideration about ventilation, designers seem to take for granted that you are going to buy an AC system. Oftentimes, a very simple change in the project would be en…
I've lived in cities where we experience anything between below zero to 120F throughout the year. I couldn't imagine not having AC/Heating in those areas even with more efficient ventilation/insulation.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#16I've been thinking about the inverse problem. I live in a very warm city. Air conditioning (cooling spaces) is the norm, but tons of money are spent with installations, maintenance and the monthly electricity bill. The new houses are designed with zero consideration about ventilation, designers seem to take for granted that you are going to buy an AC system. Oftentimes, a very simple change in the project would be en…
Ventilation doesn't help much with humidity, which frequently overlaps with the heat. I get by without AC in the northern Midwest, but I'd be inclined to get a window unit if there was more than a few uncomfortable nights a year.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#17We take the general concept of heating people, not the space, to heart for our outdoor swimming pool. While most other folks heat their pool, we go ahead and swim in the cold water... but we buy everyone in the family a wetsuit. A few hundred dollars on wetsuits each year is far better than many hundreds on propane every month.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#18I've been thinking about the inverse problem. I live in a very warm city. Air conditioning (cooling spaces) is the norm, but tons of money are spent with installations, maintenance and the monthly electricity bill. The new houses are designed with zero consideration about ventilation, designers seem to take for granted that you are going to buy an AC system. Oftentimes, a very simple change in the project would be en…
Just curious, what part of the world do you live in? I've lived in cities where we experience anything between below zero to 120F throughout the year. I couldn't imagine not having AC/Heating in those areas even with more efficient ventilation/insulation.
I live in Fortaleza, Brazil. Temperatures here are very stable along the whole year (78F - 90F, it rarely falls out of this interval).
I'm not advocating this no-AC model as a general solution though. I'm aware we're a bit lucky here. I used to live in Sao Paulo and temperatures vary more wildly there, sometimes within a single day.
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#19I've been thinking about the inverse problem. I live in a very warm city. Air conditioning (cooling spaces) is the norm, but tons of money are spent with installations, maintenance and the monthly electricity bill. The new houses are designed with zero consideration about ventilation, designers seem to take for granted that you are going to buy an AC system. Oftentimes, a very simple change in the project would be en…
Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)
#20Idea: Divert some CPU generated heat to the keyboard and wrist rest of a laptop. Code outside in any season.