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Heat people, not spaces (2015)

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Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#291

Post by hollerith »

gkop wrote: post #290
twblalock wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How idiosyncratic are my preferences and environmental circumstances? Are any architects working on house designs for me? You must have quiet neighbors if you can stand leaving the windows open all the time.

I live in a mid density city with a nice ambient hum. Indeed the neighbors in my building are respectful, as are the neighbors on either side. But I think the ambient hum is key to the peaceful atmosphere, when living in a city. The biggest threat we’ve experienced in terms of noise is blue jays that I finally staved off after months, by occasionally assaulting them with a super soaker. Other birdsong is pleasant, I…

Respectful neighbors in the Bay Area?

Which city?

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#292

Post by gkop »

hollerith wrote: post #291
gkop wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a mid density city with a nice ambient hum. Indeed the neighbors in my building are respectful, as are the neighbors on either side. But I think the ambient hum is key to the peaceful atmosphere, when living in a city. The biggest threat we’ve experienced in terms of noise is blue jays that I finally staved off after months, by occasionally assaulting them with a super soaker. Other birdsong is pleasant, I…

Respectful neighbors in the Bay Area? Which city?

The best neighborhood in Oakland (which I will not name).

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#293

Post by mns »

occz wrote: post #225
mypalmike wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not personally advocating for this, but some argue for water conservation by taking a https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower which involves only about 2 minutes of time in the water.

>A Navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower", "staggered shower", or "G.I. bath") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off the flow of water in the middle portion of the shower while lathering. Hold up - do you mean to tell me that people do not turn off the water while lathering? I've showered this way all my life, is thi…

I think it’s a cultural and technical thing. But still, it’s weird hearing that people leave the water on and this “navy” shower isn’t the norm. Perks of growing up in a communist country, with constant outages.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#294

Post by fulafel »

alfor wrote: post #128

Our body NEED infrared light. (real doctor research with scientific evidence) An interesting recent discovery is that our body need infrared radiation to function properly, not just UV light/vitamin D. I think that people living in the northern climate discovered/felt that it was better to be exposed to the radian heat of the fire in the winter. We recently (50-100) years have been getting rid of fireplaces and repla…

IR light aka IR radiation is radiated heat. Our bodies generate it.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#295

Post by fulafel »

988747 wrote: post #278
jillesvangurp wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I have heating in every room in my apartment in Berlin. But I only use the one in my living room. I never heat my two bed rooms or the bathroom. The rest of the apartment is a bit cooler but stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. I actually prefer sleeping in a cold bed room so I never use the heating in there. I just toss on an extra blanket when it gets really cold outside. I gene…

>> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?

If everyone is content with a lower temperature, they still end up heating less, and energy is haved. (Also, they are probably transferring much more heat from their own single heated room than from neighbors through walls).

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#296

Post by bluGill »

GeekyBear wrote: post #280
bluGill wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I.have one in my house, it is going to be removed in the near future. It works good some days, but modern ac is still better. When we use the ac it lets hot air from the attic in, and worse all winter it is letting cold air from the attic in. The thing can really be insulated. There is a lot about this house that needs to be updated to modern energy standards and getting rid of that fan is on the list. Overall it cos…

>When we use the ac it lets hot air from the attic in, and worse all winter it is letting cold air from the attic in. The one in my relative's house had louvers that would open when you turned the fan on and then close when you turned it off, so it sealed itself off when not in use. They saved a fortune by not having to run the ac all summer.

Those louvers don't seal very well at best, and even sealed they have no r value so they are not very useful. They can save ac in summer, but IMO not enough

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#297

Post by rootusrootus »

myth2018 wrote: post #242
rootusrootus wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No noticeable changes along the whole year, I'm sorry. It does sound kind of unpleasant, but I imagine you get used to it.

Yes, we get used to it, not unpleasant for me, at all. But it changes the way you live. Compared with lives of friends from Europe, I notice that theirs has a bit more of a "structure" and predictability. E.g., hang out more in the summer, doing more reading and writing more in the winter. I think I would enjoy that. Of course I could plan my life based in months instead of seasons, but it's not the same, especially…

Consistent year-round temperatures is something I thought I'd want right up until I experienced it for a while. Turns out I like having the variety of seasons. I love snow, but not all year. I love the leaves falling, but not all year. I love Spring thunderstorms, but not all year. I even love 110F heat waves, but I'm glad when Fall arrives :).

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#298

Post by travisporter »

Yeroc wrote: post #139
mc32 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One place you still need heat is the shower. Maybe some people are okay with taking a shower in 45F ambient temps, but I would resist it.

One thing that's kind of silly about most of our shower stall designs is their open-top design. While a few are sold with caps most are not. Having a cap on top of the shower allows for lower ambient temperatures in the bathroom while showering in (relative) comfort. This also has the benefit of reducing condensation on the ceiling and walls of the bathroom.

Yeah I never got why this is the standard. Glad I’m not the only one

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#299

Post by Eric_WVGG »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #108
novok wrote: post #60

An issue with keeping yourself warm with clothing is some hotspots get too warm, and others too cold. Like the armpits usually get too warm, but your exposed hands too cold. If your slippers have sheep's wool in them, like ugg slippers, then they often sweat a lot or feel a little wet while simultaneously feeling cold at times, or warm enough. Most sweaters are also not designed to keep your armpits a little bit cool…

Are there any good fingerless gloves for typing? I'd like to give them a shot, cold hands are usually what causes me to turn the heat on and I try to use as little heat as I can.

You could try some fingerless “glove liners” (might find some at REI), but I’d suggest “arm socks”. They come in two basic styles; somewhat feminine knits, and synthetics made for sporting activities or hunting.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#300

Post by wheels »

988747 wrote: post #278
jillesvangurp wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I have heating in every room in my apartment in Berlin. But I only use the one in my living room. I never heat my two bed rooms or the bathroom. The rest of the apartment is a bit cooler but stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. I actually prefer sleeping in a cold bed room so I never use the heating in there. I just toss on an extra blanket when it gets really cold outside. I gene…

>> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?

With a sufficiently insulated apartment, you actually stay at reasonable temperatures from other sources of heat: bodies, bathing, appliances, cooking, computers, etc. A normal apartment uses a couple kilowatts of power, which generates as much heat as a couple space heaters running all the time.
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