Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 3]
Discussion
allegerita said:
There is a difference between temperature and comfort. If you let the house cool down at night and warm up again the morning after the walls and floor will still be cold giving you a feeling of “cold” and discomfort even after the thermostat has modulated to the desired temperature.
Houses are generally well insulated nowadays so the losses MartG is talking off will be relatively small.
This doesn't make much sense. Houses are generally well insulated nowadays so the losses MartG is talking off will be relatively small.
You're surrounded by air. If that air is at 21 degrees, then you'll feel warm. It doesn't matter what temperature your walls are unless you're hugging them. Granted, you'll feel the cold floor on your bare feet.
You won't get a 'feeling of cold and discomfort' from a cold wall if there's a nice layer of warm air between you and the wall. Just as you won't get a 'feeling of cold' from the compost heap at the bottom of the garden - your surrounding layer of air is what governs what you feel.
allegerita said:
There is a difference between temperature and comfort. If you let the house cool down at night and warm up again the morning after the walls and floor will still be cold giving you a feeling of “cold” and discomfort even after the thermostat has modulated to the desired temperature.
Houses are generally well insulated nowadays so the losses MartG is talking off will be relatively small.
It really depends on your insulation level and some walls may be warmer than others. If your walls were insulated but there was a draught then your walls might be warmer than the air. If it was a significant difference then your insulation isn't that great.Houses are generally well insulated nowadays so the losses MartG is talking off will be relatively small.
I am currently in a country where central heating and insulation is somewhat unheard of. Luckily it is still summer (well it has technically been autumn for 6 minutes) so not a worry now, but come winter I will be freezing and have one electric heater in my room. My bills would be sky high if I left it on constantly so I just have it on the morning and the evening.
Thanks for the answers.
There is a difference between heat and temperature, too. When the house is warm, and the chimney stack and walls are warm, even by a degree or two, that must represent an awful lot of heat. If we are away for a while, and turn off the heating, the place certainly has a cold feel for a few days until the fabric warms up.
Although not cavity or insulated, the walls of the house are really thick solid brick, and I remember the surveyor saying how this would keep us warm in winter, and feel cool during the summer. That's why I have the feeling that keeping up a constant temperature indoors is a better option than shutting down overnight and letting the place cool.
But by some of your answers it looks like it's a good job we both saved for some decent pensions for our old age!
There is a difference between heat and temperature, too. When the house is warm, and the chimney stack and walls are warm, even by a degree or two, that must represent an awful lot of heat. If we are away for a while, and turn off the heating, the place certainly has a cold feel for a few days until the fabric warms up.
Although not cavity or insulated, the walls of the house are really thick solid brick, and I remember the surveyor saying how this would keep us warm in winter, and feel cool during the summer. That's why I have the feeling that keeping up a constant temperature indoors is a better option than shutting down overnight and letting the place cool.
But by some of your answers it looks like it's a good job we both saved for some decent pensions for our old age!
SpeckledJim said:
You're surrounded by air. If that air is at 21 degrees, then you'll feel warm. It doesn't matter what temperature your walls are unless you're hugging them.
If you have a cold outside wall and the others are warm. you'll get convection currents and feel a cool draught at foot/leg level. Air doesn't stay still across a temperature gradient.hondafanatic said:
Where does all the rubber go.
Millions of miles driven every year on the road and everyone's tyres are being eroded...so where does all that rubber end up?
Some years back I was at some food and wine expo and was explaining to a wine seller that I was unable to determine an expensive wine from cheap - just recognising what I liked.Millions of miles driven every year on the road and everyone's tyres are being eroded...so where does all that rubber end up?
He gave me two whites to try from a vineyard in France. Exactly the same wine from grapes from the same vineyard. One was £25 a bottle, the other £7.
Whilst I couldn't determine which was the expensive one (both were nice), one did have a slightly rubbery taste to it - not unpleasant but noticeable.
He explained that the vineyard was on a hill and split in two by an Autoroute. So when it rains, the rubber gets washed off and into the lower half of the vineyard. Hence the rubbery twang!
StevieBee said:
hondafanatic said:
Where does all the rubber go.
Millions of miles driven every year on the road and everyone's tyres are being eroded...so where does all that rubber end up?
Some years back I was at some food and wine expo and was explaining to a wine seller that I was unable to determine an expensive wine from cheap - just recognising what I liked.Millions of miles driven every year on the road and everyone's tyres are being eroded...so where does all that rubber end up?
He gave me two whites to try from a vineyard in France. Exactly the same wine from grapes from the same vineyard. One was £25 a bottle, the other £7.
Whilst I couldn't determine which was the expensive one (both were nice), one did have a slightly rubbery taste to it - not unpleasant but noticeable.
He explained that the vineyard was on a hill and split in two by an Autoroute. So when it rains, the rubber gets washed off and into the lower half of the vineyard. Hence the rubbery twang!
Rostfritt said:
... if your home was really poorly insulated you would just be heating the street all night.
If you live in our victorian house this is why we have heating go off at 9.30pm, and like with the present weather, if it's too cold downstairs we just go to bed. No way would I waste the heating cycling overnight when it just goes out through the walls/windows or ceiling. We don't have it on in the day either. It just comes on when we're home.The last week has been interesting. Our house struggles to get warm (over 15C) if the outside temp is below freezing. So for most of the house, we have kept curtains drawn, internal doors closed and had a coal fire raging in the living room which brings that room above 25C.
Night time is full warm winter woolies as described above.
prand said:
Rostfritt said:
... if your home was really poorly insulated you would just be heating the street all night.
If you live in our victorian house this is why we have heating go off at 9.30pm, and like with the present weather, if it's too cold downstairs we just go to bed. No way would I waste the heating cycling overnight when it just goes out through the walls/windows or ceiling. We don't have it on in the day either. It just comes on when we're home.The last week has been interesting. Our house struggles to get warm (over 15C) if the outside temp is below freezing. So for most of the house, we have kept curtains drawn, internal doors closed and had a coal fire raging in the living room which brings that room above 25C.
Night time is full warm winter woolies as described above.
TTmonkey said:
prand said:
Rostfritt said:
... if your home was really poorly insulated you would just be heating the street all night.
If you live in our victorian house this is why we have heating go off at 9.30pm, and like with the present weather, if it's too cold downstairs we just go to bed. No way would I waste the heating cycling overnight when it just goes out through the walls/windows or ceiling. We don't have it on in the day either. It just comes on when we're home.The last week has been interesting. Our house struggles to get warm (over 15C) if the outside temp is below freezing. So for most of the house, we have kept curtains drawn, internal doors closed and had a coal fire raging in the living room which brings that room above 25C.
Night time is full warm winter woolies as described above.
How are those ground-source or air-to-ground heat pumps working at this time of year? I caught a brief snippet of an old Grand Designs last night, chap was showing an air-to-ground heat pump which would heat his house because 2m down, the ground is at a decent temperature. Is that still the case even in the current weather?
droopsnoot said:
How are those ground-source or air-to-ground heat pumps working at this time of year? I caught a brief snippet of an old Grand Designs last night, chap was showing an air-to-ground heat pump which would heat his house because 2m down, the ground is at a decent temperature. Is that still the case even in the current weather?
You don't have to go far underground before the surface temperatures are basically irrelevant.droopsnoot said:
How are those ground-source or air-to-ground heat pumps working at this time of year? I caught a brief snippet of an old Grand Designs last night, chap was showing an air-to-ground heat pump which would heat his house because 2m down, the ground is at a decent temperature. Is that still the case even in the current weather?
Ground source would be great, the temperature a few metres down would be the same now as the middle of summer. I do wonder if over time you end up cooling the ground too much and reduce the efficiency. This could be mitigated by using the system to cool in the summer, effectively storing summer heat in the ground for winter.Air source however would struggle as it can only increase the temperature by a certain amount. Unless there are systems which have some sort of heater integrated.
Rostfritt said:
droopsnoot said:
How are those ground-source or air-to-ground heat pumps working at this time of year? I caught a brief snippet of an old Grand Designs last night, chap was showing an air-to-ground heat pump which would heat his house because 2m down, the ground is at a decent temperature. Is that still the case even in the current weather?
Ground source would be great, the temperature a few metres down would be the same now as the middle of summer. I do wonder if over time you end up cooling the ground too much and reduce the efficiency. This could be mitigated by using the system to cool in the summer, effectively storing summer heat in the ground for winter.Air source however would struggle as it can only increase the temperature by a certain amount. Unless there are systems which have some sort of heater integrated.
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