71–80 of 335 posts
I much prefer having the whole house heated. I have read about Japanese using this concept and it always sounds horrible. I don't think it is even too horrible as long as there is proper insulation in place and technology used makes sense.
I'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 and air conditioning are two very different things. Unless it’s a central unit, the AC will be reusing the same air. In order to not die of lack of oxygen you need ventilation as well.
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> 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. These are two separate problems. In the ideal situation, you generally want the house to be fairly air tight and condition the air for (a) temperature and (b) humidity. Each of (a) and (b) are taken care of by different mechanical units: one is monitored by a thermometer…
This is exactly the problem with newer design and construction philosophy. Its premise is that we will use mechanical systems, and then try to make these mechanical systems more efficient such as improving insulation, using multi-stage condensers for the AC, etc. This is epitomized in the passive house concept. In contrast the older philosophy is that natural ventilation is good enough, so we design houses to improve…
Yeah, and all those open windows bring in pollen and dust. Yay! Hope you have a good bug screen as well.
Of course if there's high humidity then all than ventilation may not help because the air is already saturated so your sweat doesn't evaporate so you're not cooled.
Natural ventilation could be great if the conditions outside are exactly what you want them inside as well. But if the outside is too hot or too cold or too humid then what are you going to do then?
Build Tight, Ventilate Right:
* https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/articles/build-tight-ven...
A 5000 sq. ft. / 500 sq. m. house can be conditioned with as little as 2000W (a hair dryer):
An issue with keeping yourself warm with clothing is some hotspots get too warm, and others too cold. Like the armpits usually get too warm, but your exposed hands too cold. If your slippers have sheep's wool in them, like ugg slippers, then they often sweat a lot or feel a little wet while simultaneously feeling cold at times, or warm enough. Most sweaters are also not designed to keep your armpits a little bit cool…
Aside from what you mention, since basically you providing your own heat for yourself, you have to put or take off layers depending on physical activity. And so naturally this process involves too-hot and too-cold periods that are less than pleasant. Still, I survived to tell the tale.
I mean, we could all live like the hero of To Build A Fire, at least until we died.
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Care to elaborate? How does cold cause mold?
Cold spots in a heated house and a lack of airflow seem to cause mold. The temperature difference causing condensation, excess moisture with nowhere to go and then mold. Interesting whether this would happen in an entirely unheated building.
Not heating your house will make it uninhabitable within a year because of mold.
You can regulate humidity cheaper than temperature.
Not heating your house will make it uninhabitable within a year because of mold.
Depends on the construction. I bet Victorian brick and timber houses would be fine, since they're well ventilated throughout the structure, and were not intended to be intensively heated.
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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.
Homes should include a central dehumidifier. I believe they’re more efficient than running the AC since there’s no net temperature change?
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IMO the real solution is building materials with high heat mass (e.g. stone), and architectural designs which allow for passive cooling. This exists already, but can be expensive to build.
An alternative is heating panels that emit long IR. These allow you to maintain a lower air temperature and still be comfortable when they're shining on you.