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A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

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Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#51

Post by medstrom »

aqme28 wrote: post #41

Why is a mostly-incorrect* analysis of candles on the frontpage? Just because Carmack is saying it? *: Wattage might be the same, but the effect on air quality is different. Humans don't exhale carbon monoxide and smoke.

It's not incorrect, just misuse of "air quality". In principle it looks like candles and humans could have a very similar effect, because both work by the process of combustion. Humans even supply fat as fuel which is similar to the candle wax. But the details differ so of course different gases could come out as a side effect.

Both consume oxygen, which is certainly part of "air quality". But the lesson could've been narrowed down to just oxygen, "air quality" involves other things. Seems main takeaway is that one candle = one human, wrt. oxygen in the room. If the numbers are right.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#53

Post by oliveshell »

LinuxBender wrote: post #5
dekhn wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

except that candles don't just produce CO2, they produce soot and many other molecules which have been clearly associated with negative health outcomes.

they produce soot As my bathroom walls can attest to. It took a long time to clean that up. I don't use candles for scent any more. Now I just keep them as one of many sources of emergency light and heat.

If you do decide to burn a candle on occasion, in case the following wasn’t obvious:

Keeping the wicked properly trimmed to ~1/4 inch makes a huge difference in keeping soot emissions down. There’s a reason store-bought candles always tell you to trim before burning!

If the flame starts to jump and flicker (in calm air), the wick is too long. You can see big sooty plumes be thrown off when this happens if you look.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#54

Post by Traubenfuchs »

Related discussion, humans have an oxidation field that oxidizes their surroundings. The immediate consequence and conclusion of that research is that any research on air that does not include humans and their oxidations fields is inaccurate in regards to impact on humans.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32722409

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#55

Post by maxbond »

Cyberdog wrote: post #52
maxbond wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very poor taste to compare a mild critique of candles to systematic murder.

Very odd take to compare gas stoves to systematic murder, if that’s what you’re doing.

That's not what I'm doing. They're referencing this poem:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...

A lament about systematic murder and the complicity of the speaker.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#56

Post by doctorhandshake »

jvm___ wrote: post #48

How bad does our bedroom air quality get? or how much CO2 do two adult humans produce in a 10x10 closed room overnight? Is it enough to push the CO2 high enough to have an effect? I've noticed I sleep better when I sleep separately from my wife. I'm the more violent sleeper, so it's not movement related, so I'm wondering if it's air quality related.

Absolutely it does - lots of studies available to show CO2 in enclosed spaces exceeding 1k or even 2k ppm (beyond the level of impairment). Eg a bedroom with two people in ~7 hours or a conference room with 8 people in 1-2 hours.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#57

Post by trashtester »

fastball wrote: post #30
Gordonjcp wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meanwhile it's an absolute no-brainer (for me and many other people) to avoid gas stoves Surely you mean avoiding dangerous electric stoves, which emit hazardous electromagnetic radiation? Edit: Yup, everyone bit. Christ you're a bunch of dafties.

Is non-ionizing radiation hazardous?

it depends on the dose. Visible light from a nuke will kill you more quckly than the gamma rays if youre close enough.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#58

Post by Rewrap3643 »

jvm___ wrote: post #48

How bad does our bedroom air quality get? or how much CO2 do two adult humans produce in a 10x10 closed room overnight? Is it enough to push the CO2 high enough to have an effect? I've noticed I sleep better when I sleep separately from my wife. I'm the more violent sleeper, so it's not movement related, so I'm wondering if it's air quality related.

Body temperature can influence sleep significantly. You’re probably warmer when co-sleeping.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#60

Post by altairprime »

jvm___ wrote: post #48

How bad does our bedroom air quality get? or how much CO2 do two adult humans produce in a 10x10 closed room overnight? Is it enough to push the CO2 high enough to have an effect? I've noticed I sleep better when I sleep separately from my wife. I'm the more violent sleeper, so it's not movement related, so I'm wondering if it's air quality related.

What is your outdoor air intake solution: Is your home drafty? Do you leave a window open in your bedroom at night? Does it have a fan in it that either pulls air in or pushes air out? Do you have a window open elsewhere in your home that has a fan in it? Does your home HVAC pull air in from outside and pump it into your room? Do you use fan-only recirculate mode?

CO2 measurement gadgets are useful for measuring how stagnant your air is, but the above parcel of questions is a great predictor: if your answers are No for all questions, then you’re probably spiking CO2/humidity uncomfortably high at night.

Changing any of those answers from “No” to “Yes”, in any way that increases the amount of indoor air exhausted outdoors from your bedroom, and/or outdoor air drawn into your bedroom, may help a lot.

Measuring relative CO2 levels using daily graphs from a gadget is an excellent indicator of whether any change had an effect.

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