An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm • Hacker News Board

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#101

Post by WalterGR » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:24 PM UTC

harperlee wrote: post #76

mikestew wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, if you actually want to heat the house with fire you’ll want an insert or a wood stove. Otherwise most fireplaces in most houses are decorative, and one pays for that decoration with heat loss.

And even those will require draft from outside the insert / stove, so either you build them with an inlet from outside, you pull cold air from badly sealed doors / windows, or the chimney draft will be insufficient.

> insert / stove

As a kid I lived in homes with both - and a home with a barrel stove - and as an adult with a pellet stove and I don’t remember that being a problem. Net, it was fine?

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#102

Post by teiferer » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:27 PM UTC

basilgohar wrote: post #98

loeg wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern insulation is really, really good, and modern heatpumps are very energy efficient and don't pollute your house with CO, CO2, and particulate matter like woodsmoke. Also, modern double- or triple-pane windows insulate much better than drafty Elizabethan windows. We live in a time of marvels.

You're talking about the best of what's available but that is rarely what builders use and retrofitting your already constructed house to use these could end up costing you 1/3 or more of your home's original value. All that is to say that builders cheap out on new home construction so most people don't get to enjoy the benefits if these innovations.

Um, nobody builds a house without modern insulation (rock wool etc) and 3-pane windows. It wouldn't be legal either.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#103

Post by teiferer » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:28 PM UTC

>to keep temperatures cosier through the winter without turning up the thermostat.

Point of a thermostat is to not have to do this.

Requires a well calibrated heating system though, depending on outside temperature.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#104

Post by SturgeonsLaw » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:40 PM UTC

teiferer wrote: post #102

basilgohar wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're talking about the best of what's available but that is rarely what builders use and retrofitting your already constructed house to use these could end up costing you 1/3 or more of your home's original value. All that is to say that builders cheap out on new home construction so most people don't get to enjoy the benefits if these innovations.

Um, nobody builds a house without modern insulation (rock wool etc) and 3-pane windows. It wouldn't be legal either.

That depends where you are. Here in Australia the default is single glazed windows, and double glazed is hideously expensive, especially to retrofit.

Sounds you're somewhere with some actual building standards though.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#105

Post by UltraSane » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:41 PM UTC

m463 wrote: post #94

JohnCClarke wrote: post #56

Well that's full of really useful tips. I'll get the builders in to construct a 1.37m (4.5ft) thick spine through the middle of my house. Obviously.

the modern way of doing that is ICF - insulated concrete forms. I remember talking to a builder once who was building a house this way. He said the mass wasn't allowed to be advertised with an R-value since it wasn't actually insulation, but he said it was comparable to an R-50 house.

ICF homes are also VERY air tight. They often need special variable output heating and cooling.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#106

Post by WalterBright » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:46 PM UTC

coryrc wrote: post #96

WalterBright wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everyone I know who has built a house has thought very much about sun, season and temperature. I've lived in houses that certainly did not take into account sun, season and temperature. I learned a lot from that experience. My current house is optimized for it. I've learned a few more things about it, and could do better. > the idea that it has something to teach modern architects and builders is pure fantasy Not m…

Forced ventilation of the attic creates negative pressure in the attic, which pulls conditioned air from the house. The additional air movement (which you should minimize with air sealing) costs more than the additional loses by the mildly increased temperature differential through the insulation. If you aren't using A/C and have the windows open, then it only helps, of course.

The idea includes gaps where the roof meets the ceiling, so air is drawn from outside.

> If you aren't using A/C and have the windows open, then it only helps, of course.

I make use of the "stack effect" to cool the house down in the evening. Not even a fan is necessary.

One mistake I made was to not have the A/C pull from the basement, which is always 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#107

Post by WalterBright » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC

amluto wrote: post #99

WalterBright wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been in an attic many times on a sunny day. The heat in the attic is well above what it is outside. I'm highly skeptical that an unvented attic is going to keep a house cool in summer.

Me too. But have you been in a competently built insulated and unvented attic? The insulation on top makes an enormous difference, to the point that the attic can usually maintain a very pleasant temperature. While it’s true that the top side of above-attic insulation will be rather warmer than a vented attic on a hot sunny day, insulation on top of your attic also tends to work rather better than ceiling insulation.…

Interesting! But having a sealed attic makes me concerned about mildew. Ventilation is needed to keep the moisture out.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#108

Post by testing22321 » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:49 PM UTC

harperlee wrote: post #76

mikestew wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, if you actually want to heat the house with fire you’ll want an insert or a wood stove. Otherwise most fireplaces in most houses are decorative, and one pays for that decoration with heat loss.

And even those will require draft from outside the insert / stove, so either you build them with an inlet from outside, you pull cold air from badly sealed doors / windows, or the chimney draft will be insufficient.

By law new wood stoves in many places MUST have an outside air intake

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#109

Post by WalterBright » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 10:52 PM UTC

pilingual wrote: post #80

WalterBright wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everyone I know who has built a house has thought very much about sun, season and temperature. I've lived in houses that certainly did not take into account sun, season and temperature. I learned a lot from that experience. My current house is optimized for it. I've learned a few more things about it, and could do better. > the idea that it has something to teach modern architects and builders is pure fantasy Not m…

Ridge vent is the modern approach, with vents and wind baffles in the eaves so air is evenly distributed. 1.5' overhang is good, 2' is ideal. Cheap builders will go 1' or even less. Good architects still pay attention to the sun. It's often builders who are the culprits because they want to save money.

Around Seattle, modern houses are square boxes with a flat roof, and zero eaves. I watch these homes get built all the time. A few years later, I see all the water damage to the siding.

You're right about ridge vents, they behave much like a cupola, but the holes in them are too small for much airflow, and are easily blocked by debris, insects and moss.

Re: An Elizabethan mansion's secrets for staying warm

#110

Post by loeg » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 11:04 PM UTC

basilgohar wrote: post #98

loeg wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern insulation is really, really good, and modern heatpumps are very energy efficient and don't pollute your house with CO, CO2, and particulate matter like woodsmoke. Also, modern double- or triple-pane windows insulate much better than drafty Elizabethan windows. We live in a time of marvels.

You're talking about the best of what's available but that is rarely what builders use and retrofitting your already constructed house to use these could end up costing you 1/3 or more of your home's original value. All that is to say that builders cheap out on new home construction so most people don't get to enjoy the benefits if these innovations.

Not sure where you live, but all of that stuff is minimum code in new construction where I live. And it is inspected.