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Heat people, not spaces (2015)

solar.lowtechmagazine.com

221–230 of 335 posts

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#221
post #127

Heat properly insulated spaces. I don’t want to walk around with piles of movement limiting and suffocating clothing inside my own living room. The problem is not what you heat up, it’s how well you insulate it from losing its heat. In Australia where I live, insulation is non-existent in the average home/apartment. Even simple things like tinted windows (for hot days), double pane windows and floating floor is missi…

> I don’t want to walk around with piles of movement limiting and suffocating clothing inside my own living room. That is a strawperson - People wear a sweater all the time - they are pretty popular, believe it or not - without wearing "piles", having their movement limited, or even suffocating. If you find yourself suffocating when wearing sweaters, see a doctor! Holy cow, the burden of wearing a sweater is just inc…

> People wear a sweater all the time

I never do because I feel suffocated.

> see a doctor

Thanks for the unsolicited advice. I in fact have and have been told not to wear clothing that makes me feel suffocated.

> the burden of wearing a sweater is just incredible in some of these comments

Your lack of sympathy is equally incredible

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#222
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In contrast the older philosophy is that natural ventilation is good enough, so we design houses to improve that, such as strategic placement of windows to allow cross ventilation, use high ceilings to allow heat to rise, etc. 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…

People lived before 1902 and the invention of compressor-based air conditioning.

People also died a lot back then.

Even today heatwaves in Europe kill a lot of elderly as air conditioning in homes isn't common

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#224
post #60

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…

> 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. We can sit and imagine problems with every course of action, and never step forward. In my life, I've never had the quoted problem and I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem. On my list of things to worry about, this ranks near the bot…

> In my life, I've never had the quoted problem and I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem.

Anecdotally I've 100% had the slippers problem. Although it is more or less solved by using socks within then.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How cold is cold? When our gas went out in the summer, taking a 'cold' shower was bearable, some days even enjoyable. In the freezing winter? Tried it once, never again. I'm not even sure it would be safe to shower in water that cold for any long periods of time.

I'm not personally advocating for this, but some argue for water conservation by taking a https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower which involves only about 2 minutes of time in the water.

>A Navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower", "staggered shower", or "G.I. bath") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off the flow of water in the middle portion of the shower while lathering.

Hold up - do you mean to tell me that people do not turn off the water while lathering? I've showered this way all my life, is this not the norm?

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#226
> every object on earth radiates infared energy as long as it has mass and a temperature above absolute zero. This energy can be absorbed by other objects with a lower temperature.

What happens to infrared energy when it hits objects with higher temperature than radiating object?

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#227
post #60

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…

For the issue of "fingers are cold but gloves affect mobility", purchasing a pair of thumbhole arm warmers have made a world of difference for me They're almost like fingerless gloves, but more comfortable and easier to manage. You might be worried "but it's the fingers that are cold anyway, so fingerless gloves are not what I need." I thought that too, but trying them immediately proved me wrong and I never had an i…

It's a shame that these are stereotyped as female fashion accessory.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#228
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not personally advocating for this, but some argue for water conservation by taking a https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower which involves only about 2 minutes of time in the water.

>A Navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower", "staggered shower", or "G.I. bath") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off the flow of water in the middle portion of the shower while lathering. Hold up - do you mean to tell me that people do not turn off the water while lathering? I've showered this way all my life, is thi…

Often with combi boilers, if you turn off the water it takes a solid 30s to a minute for the water to come up to temperature again, sometimes longer if you account for the water in the pipes and the thermostat reaching equilibrium.

Obviously newer/better boilers come up to temperature quicker but you don't always have the luxury of choosing your boiler.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#229
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. We can sit and imagine problems with every course of action, and never step forward. In my life, I've never had the quoted problem and I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem. On my list of things to worry about, this ranks near the bot…

Do you wear gloves indoors? If not, aren't your hands colder? If yes, how do you cook or work with a computer?

There are gloves without fingertips.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#230
post #10

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.

For a fun anecdote, they even made a song about this: "I don' t wanna get out of futon"[0]. It's about how cold everything is in the house, except for the bedding you've already warmed up, or the place where you turned the space heater on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv6shy_9KVM

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