or you could just move to the tropics ;-)
Miami is nice this time of year. actually all year round.
Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
91–99 of 99 posts
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#92Down 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 pre…
New Zealand is much the same with cheap uninsulated houses plus some bonus mold from a humid winter. Living in poorer korea now but the standard of living is higher just because they bother to insulate their houses.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
We had a chimney to take care of the smoke and the air draughted in was clean, 'country' air. There is also the matter of efficient burning, wet coal means a chimney lined with soot. The fire was also a 'dustbin' of sorts, you could incinerate anything if you wanted. But plastics would give off dioxins etc. but there would be no smell from chucking a plastic bag on the fire unless the fire was dying out. Thinking of…
Even with a chimney, an open fireplace is very dangerous because open fireplaces do not burn hot enough to burn cleanly. True, wet coal (and wet wood) make things even worse, but an open open fireplace with bone dry coal (or wood) still doesn't burn cleanly. Burning anything plastic, rubber etc. is still dangerous, even if you don't smell anything. Closed fireplaces are a bit better but still dangerous, although (as…
You are correct, however, there is just one thing. Despite our low-tech primitive home, we also had a PAH monitor as in an industrial bit of kit that measures polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This could detect cigarette smoke that had been acquired on one's breath down the pub an hour ago after a four mile walk home. As a teenager I found this out 'the hard way'!!! Oddly enough it did not bleep because the fire was 'on' and burning coal.
Anyway, I am willing to think differently about open fires, but again, there is an art to having a fire. Building the thing and having it reliably start with just the one match was a skill. I think that the size of the fireplace was also important, to create a draught we could use a broadsheet newspaper opened out and held over the fireplace surround. This would get it going burning with ridiculously huge flames and a rocket-style roar.
Some people just don't get physics and plenty of friend's houses had those horrible wood burning stoves that were a complete waste of time. Alternatively there would be those huge fireplaces with no potential to do the 'newspaper trick' for getting it going. These fires just lacked the airflow that a proper fireplace/grate/fire combo should provide.
It is a pity that I don't have the PAH monitor, the fire and the other variables needed to checkout what you are saying for myself. That said, the PAH monitor only worked on things like benzene, I imagine that there is everything up to and including uranium, asbestos and sulphur to check too.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#943 Points: 1. Cars are moving into this with heated seats, and even heated steering wheels. Electric cars in cooler climates that don't have the excess heat production of an IC engine will depend on it to keep occupants warm. 2. There was an article a while back on HN about a fellow that had a computer desk with a heated keyboard, heated mouse, heated floor mat (designed for animal cages) and a warm incandescent light…
> 1. Cars are moving into this with heated seats Moving into? I thought this has been commonplace for a while now? My parents 1991 model Volvo had heated seats. Maybe it's only common in colder climates.
It's not as common-place in base models as, say, air conditioning is.
There are examples where the base model of a car in Canada comes with heated seats, but it's an extra in the USA.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#95I find it interesting that they continually use the past tense in the article. While it is true that the west has largely abandoned these ideas, they are still very strong in the more temperate climates of Asia. I live in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan. It does not get very cold here compared to my home town of Winnipeg, Canada. On the very coldest days it might just dip below freezing at night. While some people heat…
Man! How long does it take to get used to temperatures like that? As someone who grew up in California, I simply can't stand cold houses. If a house is anything but warm in the winter — let alone 5°C — I get depressed and miserable and completely lose my concentration. My home gets stripped of its homeyness and I feel completely hostage to the environment.
Ummm... This is my 6th winter. It is probably the first winter that I have consistently enjoyed ;-) Every year it gets better as I learn what to do and what not to do. My mother in law has several forms of heat in her house but absolutely refuses to turn it on. For a few years I was quite worried about her, but I've since realized that she just likes winter. It is massive culture shock at the beginning, though.
Being uncomfortable seems like something you should avoid. I think this is the general culture of the west. However, as I have adapted to this way of living I've come to realize that there are 2 kinds of discomfort -- discomfort that injures you and discomfort that doesn't injure you. You can ignore the latter.
Perhaps the easiest way I can explain it is through food. Many people love spicy food. The spicier the better. But it hurts! Why would you do that to yourself? Similarly, in the US (and spreading fairly rapidly), incredibly bitter beers are getting quite popular. Some of the highest rated beers are actually hitting the threshold of bitterness that we can taste. The reason people like these spicy and bitter foods is because along with the pain comes an amazing flavour. If you could have the flavour without the pain, it wouldn't be nearly as nice because it would be cloying.
This is also true of cold winters and hot summers. I admit that my capacity to enjoy 30+ degree weather with 80-90 percent humidity far exceeds my capacity to enjoy 5 degree weather with wind, but both are increasing each year.
If you would like to try this, I don't think there is any particular need to turn off your heat every day through the winter. On a day that you feel strong, accept that you will be miserable and turn off the heat. Then spend the day trying to find good things (you have to try a hot water bottle!!!). You will probably hate it, but you may surprise yourself that you discover some very nice things. Just like getting used to hot food, you can try it occasionally and perhaps even start to enjoy it.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#96At 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...
Coming from Denmark that basically sounds like "normal" heating to me (except we usually only heat through the floor or dedicated radiators)
But I really like your idea about carpeting the walls. Might do that if I end up living here long term!
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
Man! How long does it take to get used to temperatures like that? As someone who grew up in California, I simply can't stand cold houses. If a house is anything but warm in the winter — let alone 5°C — I get depressed and miserable and completely lose my concentration. My home gets stripped of its homeyness and I feel completely hostage to the environment.
Ummm... This is my 6th winter. It is probably the first winter that I have consistently enjoyed ;-) Every year it gets better as I learn what to do and what not to do. My mother in law has several forms of heat in her house but absolutely refuses to turn it on. For a few years I was quite worried about her, but I've since realized that she just likes winter. It is massive culture shock at the beginning, though. Being…
Hmm, that's a very interesting way to look at it. So you would say you've grown to enjoy the cold? I can definitely relate in that I used to hate bitter beers and spicy foods, but now I've conditioned myself to love them by forcing myself to eat them over the years. Eventually, hate turned to tolerance turned to love. But there, I could see the benefit: both opened up an entirely new world of food for me. What does the cold get you, aside from a lower heating bill?
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
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...
Coming from Denmark that basically sounds like "normal" heating to me (except we usually only heat through the floor or dedicated radiators) But I really like your idea about carpeting the walls. Might do that if I end up living here long term!
I was attempting to be srcastic and explain that mounting a radiator on a wall connected to a gas boiler would be an improvement on what we have here. Also, many places in the UK and Ireland have insulation on exterior walls already.
Re: Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ummm... This is my 6th winter. It is probably the first winter that I have consistently enjoyed ;-) Every year it gets better as I learn what to do and what not to do. My mother in law has several forms of heat in her house but absolutely refuses to turn it on. For a few years I was quite worried about her, but I've since realized that she just likes winter. It is massive culture shock at the beginning, though. Being…
Hmm, that's a very interesting way to look at it. So you would say you've grown to enjoy the cold? I can definitely relate in that I used to hate bitter beers and spicy foods, but now I've conditioned myself to love them by forcing myself to eat them over the years. Eventually, hate turned to tolerance turned to love. But there, I could see the benefit: both opened up an entirely new world of food for me. What does t…
I would have to say that I don't actually like the cold :-) What I like is the contrast. The sun is nice. The sun shining down on you in a protected area (or through a window!) on a cold day is indescribably wonderful. I never used to like soup particularly much, but on a cold day I practically die for it. That kind of thing.