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?
Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
71–80 of 99 posts
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's pretty common around here (Copenhagen) for people to set their radiators to around 5-8 C (40-45 F) in rooms that they aren't using, or the whole house/apartment to that temperature if they're gone for more than a day or so, to save money on heating. Most radiators have a specific "frost protection" setting, indicated by a little snowflake icon, which is set by the manufacturer or building to whatever temperature…
I think as much as anything natural gas is cheap in the US. Does a house usually cool all the way down to 5 if you are gone for the day? A wood house definitely would (newer houses with better insulation might not, but many standing houses would).
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Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#73I spent a couple of months on a mountain at temps down to -20C and high winds with no heating without getting cold by wearing a down suit like this http://www.rockrun.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9... but I can't see it catching on. People like their comforts.
They look like they start at around $1000+, which means you are looking at about 1 year before it pays itself off. Based on my estimated heating bill anyway.
Additionally the biggest problem I find when turning off the heating in winter is hands and feet. You can wear gloves but then you can't type.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Invest ten bucks in a hygrometer and open the windows when the humidity gets too high. Mold is not caused by cold temperatures.
Mold is caused by humidity. One way to increase humidity in building's shell is to have humid air and large thermal gradients in poorly ventilated areas. Opening windows does not help in the humidity that gets into structures when air with vapour enters colder structural parts of the building and releases it's moisture. Warmer houses-> the point where moisture is released moves closer to outer wall. That's at least m…
true, proper term is "dew point" I believe, that's where all the wet magic happens (however weird that sentence looks like, it's perfectly normal)
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think as much as anything natural gas is cheap in the US. Does a house usually cool all the way down to 5 if you are gone for the day? A wood house definitely would (newer houses with better insulation might not, but many standing houses would).
No fuel source--apart from a wood- or coal-fired stove--is cheap enough in the US for folks in coldish climates to be indifferent to heating costs. Natural gas is probably the best deal right now, but lots of homes have oil or electric and it doesn't make economic sense to cut over the equipment. Also bear in mind a lot of the (populated, chilly) northeastern US's average housing stock is older than many other places…
I think there are quite a lot of people who aren't terribly concerned about their heating costing $2,000 vs $1500, and even more at $750 vs $500.
That doesn't mean there aren't lots of people on the other side of it making sure to mind every dollar, just that you might expect the full range of anecdotes in a typical discussion.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the UK we have plenty of old houses where there is no central heating, double glazing, loft insulation or fitted carpet. Typically the windows are wood framed 'sash' windows with the walls made from quite thick stone (1 - 4+ ft thick). Heating might be just the one fireplace with the kitchen cooker also there to warm the house up. I grew up in such a house and not once did I see mould. Typically such houses were b…
Indoor fires are a massive, massive health risk. They are a major cause of death in many countries where open fires are still the main heat source for cooking. Even closed fireplaces are an environmental hazard, but more for the surroundings. (I have a closed fireplace myself, got it installed about a year ago, I'm not some tree hugger - but the facts are clear on this one). The smothering of the fire is even worse.…
To be fair those indoor cooking fires often have no or poor chimneys.
But then again, a good chimney draws a lot of heat straight up and out of the property. If you're lucky there's a hot-water tank that gets some of the heat.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depending on the exact climate/heating system, the energy saved might be enough to run a dehumidifier and still come out ahead. The dehumidifier will also raise the air temperature.
Recently, I've been wondering why we use exhaust fans in bathrooms and not dehumidifiers. I might be way off base here, but it seems like taking conditioned air that's a little moist and dumping it outside and replacing it with drier unconditioned air would be less efficient than just removing the moisture from the already-conditioned air. I imagine it isn't one of those things where it's "always cheaper to do X", bu…
too dry air ain't very good for your "mucous" membranes (nose, throat, eyes etc). You want to be sicker just to save few bucks for heating? If poor, I guess it's the only option, but otherwise having heated place is same "luxury" as say buying a cheap & good coffee in the morning instead of doing it yourself...
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#78I spent a couple of months on a mountain at temps down to -20C and high winds with no heating without getting cold by wearing a down suit like this http://www.rockrun.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9... but I can't see it catching on. People like their comforts.
They look like they start at around $1000+, which means you are looking at about 1 year before it pays itself off. Based on my estimated heating bill anyway. Additionally the biggest problem I find when turning off the heating in winter is hands and feet. You can wear gloves but then you can't type.
I like fingerless gloves (or get cheap ones and cut the tips off), but I also know people who feel hindered by them.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#79A complementing approach is to teach yourself and others to tolerate lower temperatures, especially in offices and other environments, where people have to agree on a "comfy" heater setting. I wonder how much energy that could save.
Except: fat people and thin people
Adjust with woolen clothing. I can vary between 25°C and 15°C just by taking off stuff or putting it back on. (Also needs adjustments for movement since I warm up fast when I move.)
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#80I just recently got a heating pad just for this purpose. Its freezing here up in the NE. To save money (apartment has terrible insulation) I got a heating pad with a 'stay on' feature. Actually I had to get another one because my cat got the idea first and now its hers. http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-2013-912-XpressHeat-Heating-Ex... Turned the apartment heat down to about 55 (it stays around 60 for some reason), and…
"(it stays around 60 for some reason)" You're leeching heat from your neighbors.
And some larger buildings will actually attempt to charge you if they believe you are doing this. It happened to a friend of mine some years ago.