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Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

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Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#61

Post by seanmcdirmid »

wodenokoto wrote: post #37

At least in Japan and most parts of China, houses are poorly insulated and heating is often from aircon, which means if you want to stay warm, you wear thick clothes inside, sit under a heated blanket and what not. This sucks. Your nose and hands are still cold. If you want to move from the blanket its cold. I don't see anything that really addresses this. Yeah, the insulated chair is nice when you sit on it, but wha…

Ya, my wife's mom lives in south china and we just visited her over Xmas, coldest 7C I've ever had to deal with.

Japan deals with poor insulation using kotatsu, and things like heated toilet and train seats. Ugh, it still sucks though.

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#62

Post by seanmcdirmid »

maccard wrote: post #45
wodenokoto wrote: post #37

At least in Japan and most parts of China, houses are poorly insulated and heating is often from aircon, which means if you want to stay warm, you wear thick clothes inside, sit under a heated blanket and what not. This sucks. Your nose and hands are still cold. If you want to move from the blanket its cold. I don't see anything that really addresses this. Yeah, the insulated chair is nice when you sit on it, but wha…

Well, you could always just size up one of those heated blankets, and attach it to the wall. Maybe even combine it with a more efficient fuel source like Natural Gas, and heat water that flows through the system instead of a coil. Sounds much more efficient, especially if you have multiple people in your household. Imagine a system like that...

We were thinking about heated floors; still not that great, but the best you can do in a south Chinese apartment without central heating.

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#65

Post by m_mueller »

wodenokoto wrote: post #37

At least in Japan and most parts of China, houses are poorly insulated and heating is often from aircon, which means if you want to stay warm, you wear thick clothes inside, sit under a heated blanket and what not. This sucks. Your nose and hands are still cold. If you want to move from the blanket its cold. I don't see anything that really addresses this. Yeah, the insulated chair is nice when you sit on it, but wha…

I'm currently living like that in Japan. In fact I'm writing this sitting in a Kotatsu. Last week it once got 6C in the apartment. We use a DeLonghi oven, a small heater and a Kotatsu whenever we need a place to get warm. With the Kotatsu we were able to get the bill from 120$/m down to 80$/m. I have to say, one can get used to it - the constant change in temperature keeps up the blood flow and I feel a lot stronger against the cold compared to when I stayed in Switzerland, which gets a bit colder in winter outside - but always has cozy 21C inside. Only one thing: A Kotatsu is such a trap to get lazy. It's also dubbed 'bad people maker' in Japan - I can totally see why.

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#66

Post by draven »

mistermann wrote: post #39
Mandatum wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Rarotonga in the winter months you can buy puffer jackets with copper wiring sewn to the inside with a 9V battery.

Very cool....how long does it last?

Some heated motorcycle jackets can be plugged to the bike's battery (you just have to install the plug somewhere accessible and connect it to the battery.) Then when you get on your bike you just have to connect your jacket and off you go. The alternator provides the power during your ride.

For ex. stuff like that: http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/gerbing-12v-ex-heated-jac...

Together with heated grips, cold is not an issue.

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#67

Post by empressplay »

Down here in Australia central heating is (also) not very common, and at least around Melbourne it can dip to freezing or below throughout July and August. Generally only one room of the house is heated (often the room with the air conditioner on heat setting). Beds have electric blankets or hot water bottles, and otherwise you wear several layers if you want to be warm elsewhere. The curious thing is that gas is prevalent but gas furnaces are not, and electricity is too expensive to use to heat an entire house.

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#68

Post by marcusgarvey »

I remember seeing something about an idea to use individual wristbands that would give off electric impulses which would make you feel cooler or warmer. I believe some prototypes were being worked on. Wish I could recall the people / startup involved. Does it ring a bell for anyone?

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#69

Post by [deleted] »

marcusgarvey wrote: post #68

I remember seeing something about an idea to use individual wristbands that would give off electric impulses which would make you feel cooler or warmer. I believe some prototypes were being worked on. Wish I could recall the people / startup involved. Does it ring a bell for anyone?

[deleted]

Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places

#70

Post by ay »

marcusgarvey wrote: post #68

I remember seeing something about an idea to use individual wristbands that would give off electric impulses which would make you feel cooler or warmer. I believe some prototypes were being worked on. Wish I could recall the people / startup involved. Does it ring a bell for anyone?

http://slice.mit.edu/2013/11/05/wristify-thermal-comfort-via...

and

http://www.embrlabs.com/ ?

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