Ok, hear me out.
Done some reading on this and it seems legit.
This place is uninsulated and letting in cold fresh air means a lot of moisture gets in too. I can't afford to heat it normally.
When it's drier outside, letting in cold fresh air is fine. Just put on more clothes.
When it's wet outside, letting in cold, moist, fresh air noticeably increases the feeling of cold. It's not good for living spaces to be cold and damp either.
A solution, in some circumstances apparently, is to run a dehumidifier instead of a heater. It'll give off some limited heat, and the reduction in moisture in the air will reduce the feeling of cold, and create a healthier living environment generally. You're still gonna have to wear extra layers but it'll be a cheaper way to make a liveable space.
TLDR If you live in a cold + damp area and are willing to wear extra layers and accept a colder ambient temperature, a dehumidifier might be a cheaper way to keep out moisture. Cheaper than heating a space every day to drive out moisture and keep mold away.
Should probably also say that being sedentary over hours in a colder room likely increases the risk of blood clots compared to a warmer room. It's crucial to stay well hydrated and active. Like, climb a stairs and get a hot drink every 45 minutes active.
Caffeine also increases your body's thermogenic something (broscience, whatever), so it's a way to feel good about drinking 5 cups of coffee through the day. It makes you run hotter, maybe.
Yeah, some of the stuff I was reading started to get pretty technical about the interactions between indoor temperature, humidity, perceived temperature...
Found a cheap digital temperature and humidity meter that I move around and watch pretty closely, so I think I have a good idea of what's going on.
Shit I just wikied minimum room temperature WHO guidelines: 18 °C/64 °F with a maximum 65% humidity. I'm chilling at 14 °C/57 °F @ 65% humidity in hea. It'll get to 10 °C/50 °F @ maybe 60% humidity in here for sure tho. I've lived at that temp and humidity and it's doable if you're motivated. Wearing layers and staying active through the day makes a massive difference. Anecdotal bullshit, but I can't remember having a cold, flu or respiratory infection.
If you're not able to be active, are not in good health, or have any respiratory illness , this is probably a bad idea.
Correct, which is why most forced air furnaces have humidifiers built-in, to introduce additional humidity to counteract the drying effect of the furnace.
EDIT: Also too low indoor humidity will cause nose bleeds and sinus problems by literally drying out your mucus membranes
too low indoor humidity will cause nose bleeds and sinus problems by literally drying out your mucus membranes
great point and something to remember. Don't think it's much of a problem here though, I haven't seen indoor humidity below 55% this time of year.
Yes, this is a good idea. I do this in the basement where it is fairly cool and also kind of damp, and it makes it feel significantly warmer down there.
It's a good idea. Actually looked in to arduino controlled motion tracking infrared heatlamps, maybe when I get the time and space to play with arduinos. A cold room that feels strangely warm wherever you move lol.
Heat-seeking missilemotion-seeking heater :sicko-blur:Tried one time pointing at working place, it’s a little uncomfy, cause one of your sides is heating, while the other isn’t, but sleeping is better
oh shit, what kind of lamp? I have this idea of infrared lamps as big red light bulbs used to keep chicks warm or whatever.
It had metal reflector and like cfl tube which glowed red, it was maybe 700w instead of 2kw like heater.
Interesting. 700w would heat up a room space pretty well anyway.
60W motion tracking infrared lightbulb in each room when? One for each person.