Why does a room at 19 degs feel colder on a cold dark night?

[adam2]

DATA

External temperature 7
Boiler flow, about 75
Boiler return, about 60

Warmed fresh air supply, 22

Internal temperatures,
Living room varies according to where measured but averages 23
Bathroom-22 without the supplementary electric heating.
Toilet-21
Kitchen-22
Games room-21
kids bedrooms-22
Master bedroom-23 En-suite bathroom 22
Guest bedroom (in use) 23
Guest bedroom (unused) 16
Linen store-23
General tut store-16
Attached garage-12
Sun room/conservatory-14

Average heating and hot water demand for 10 days of cold but not exceptional weather estimated at about 10Kw. No direct way to measure this, but as estimated from oil consumption.
Log burner lit each evening, estimated wood consumption of about 100 kilos in 10 days.
Larder-10

[vtsnowedin]

I don't know why the linen store needs to be 23 but other then that it seems like a very comfortable house.
Perhaps in late January I'll take a few temps in my own wood heated house and share them with you for comparison.

[kenneal - lagger]

I don't know why the linen store needs to be 23 but other then that it seems like a very comfortable house.
Perhaps in late January I'll take a few temps in my own wood heated house and share them with you for comparison.

Linen store/airing cupboard in the UK is a cupboard that is kept warm to make sure that bed linen, towels and other clothes are fully dry and warm and cosy when you come to use them. That's why it is usually warmer than the rest of the house. It's probably a left over from the times when all UK houses were cold, draughty and damp.

[adam2]

Indeed, in this case the linen store is slightly heated by central heating pipes that pass under the wooden slatted shelves.

[vtsnowedin]

I don't know why the linen store needs to be 23 but other then that it seems like a very comfortable house.
Perhaps in late January I'll take a few temps in my own wood heated house and share them with you for comparison.

Linen store/airing cupboard in the UK is a cupboard that is kept warm to make sure that bed linen, towels and other clothes are fully dry and warm and cosy when you come to use them. That's why it is usually warmer than the rest of the house. It's probably a left over from the times when all UK houses were cold, draughty and damp.

Thanks for that explanation. Considering the number of heated towel racks I have seen in American bathrooms lately I see the charm in it. Colonial America used bed warming pans full of hot coals to pass between the sheets prior to bed time to make sure the occupants started off the night comfortably. We are too cheap to keep the entire closet warm prior to use.

[kenneal - lagger]

........... Colonial America used bed warming pans full of hot coals to pass between the sheets prior to bed time to make sure the occupants started off the night comfortably. ..........

As did Old England and probably most of Europe! I think the Chinese lit a fire under their beds. Mind you the bed was built of stone.

[Vortex2]

heated towel racks

... we found that the large heated towel rack the electricians fitted in our eco house was responsible for HALF of our monthly electric billl ...

[vtsnowedin]

heated towel racks

... we found that the large heated towel rack the electricians fitted in our eco house was responsible for HALF of our monthly electric bill ...

The rest of the house must have been extremely efficient for that to become the top of the list.
Do you take showers close enough together in time for the rack to need to dry the towels faster then they would if you just let them air dry while you were about your business? For most of us working stiffs I think not. Must be nice to be able to not tolerate a towel that is not warm and dry the moment you step out of the shower.

[RenewableCandy]

........... Colonial America used bed warming pans full of hot coals to pass between the sheets prior to bed time to make sure the occupants started off the night comfortably. ..........

As did Old England and probably most of Europe! I think the Chinese lit a fire under their beds. Mind you the bed was built of stone.

That was a k'ang (in Northern China) and was built-in to the house, with a flue from the fire passing through it. People slept on it wrapped in a quilt. I've always wanted to give it a go - it sounds so nice and cozy (and I like the air cool in a bedroom).

[adam2]

DATA, IN RECENT HOT WEATHER.

Outside air------------------typically 25 degrees, higher briefly.
Fresh air supply------------18 degrees.
Living room-----------------23 degrees
Bed rooms ------------------23 degrees
Bathrooms ------------------25 degrees.
External RH-----------------55%
Internal RH------------------42%

Average electricity consumption of chilling unit about 700 watts, it is rated at 1.5Kw but did not run continually.
Only one of the two chilling units was used.
The system was designed for "10 degrees of cooling" That is to achieve an internal temperature of 23 degrees with outside air at 33 degrees, or internal temperature of 30 degrees with outside air of 40 degrees.

I suspect that a slightly better cooling performance than designed for could be achieved.
It was designed on the basis of 6Kw of heat input from lighting, domestic appliances, and entertainment equipment.
With modern and reasonably energy efficient lighting and appliances the summer heat load is less than half the original design figure.
Heat gain has also been reduced by partially shading south facing windows.

Domestic hot water has been heated entirely by thermal solar collectors.

[kenneal - lagger]

Our house has been at 23C with outside temperatures of 25C to 27C but that was with two french doors open during the day and no aircon. We are still warming our house for the evenings from the winter so we are still letting warm air in during the day. The inside temperature drops to 21 at night. Later in the summer we will keep the doors closed during the day and open at night on hot days to cool the place down a bit and maintain an internal temperature range of 21 to 23 even with daytime external temperatures of 35C with no aircon. today is 23C inside and out so I think we have the house as we want it for the summer and autumn.

If you have to use aircon in a house in the UK you have a design failure. There are plenty of older houses in the tropics which maintain comfort temperatures during the day with no aircon unless you count a fountain and trees in a courtyard as aircon. It's all down to proper design and use.

Nearly all our windows except two small ones and one door face east, south or west with the main elevation facing south. At this time of year the only sun penetration into rooms we get from the three south facing french doors at ground level is the width of the wall, about 450 into the room. We do get morning and evening penetration on the est and west elevations but the windows here are smaller so less of a problem and the heat is dealt with by blinds, the thermal mass and night time cooling. We have had to put a spring on the back door because our dog opens it but hasn't learned to close it after him. It was getting too draughty during the winter.

If an architect suggests to you that your new house will require aircon tell him to go away and redesign it properly. (Rant over)

[adam2]

DATA from my neighbours house in recent cold weather.

Outside air------------------varied between zero and minus 2

Warmed fresh air-----------23 degrees
Master bedroom------------21 degrees
Kids bedrooms--------------22 degrees.
Spare rooms, not in use---17 degrees.
Living room, stove lit-------24 degrees.
Sun room, not heated-------11 degrees.
Entrance porch----------------12 degrees.

The porch and the sun room are not heated in the accepted sense of the word, but DO have continual air extract to prevent damp. This does indirectly provide very limited heating since the air that is extracted is replaced by warmer air from elsewhere in the premises.

Guest rooms when not in use have the radiators turned off, but still get some heating via the warmed fresh air supply.

The radiators in the living room are turned off automatically when the stove is hot.

Boiler flow--------------------80 degrees
Boiler return------------------70 degrees

Domestic hot water---------62 degrees

[kenneal - lagger]

Have they tried reducing the flow temperature by 10 deg and seeing if they can maintain temperatures at that? It would be much more economic cash wise and especially carbon wise if they could do that.

[adam2]

DATA in recent very cold weather.

Outside temperature------------minus 3
Heated fresh air supply, 26 degrees.

Inside.
spare bedrooms----------- not in use 15
Childrens bedrooms--------------------20
Master bedroom-------------------------20
Bathroom---------------------------------21 (26 if suplementary electric heater used)
Toilet--------------------------------------20
Living room-------------------------------24, stove lit.
Kitchen-------------------------------------23
Games room-------------------------------17 (heating turned off for excercise, otherwise about 21)
Unheated sun room----------------------12
Outer unheated porch------------------- 5
Inner porch/boot room------------------14

Heating demand estimated from oil consumption about 15 Kw.
Logs about 20 kilos a day in the current cold weather, less in mild weather.
Propane, used for cooking and a couple of lights, about 2 kilos a day.
Coal, paraffin, and candles kept for emergencies but none consumed.

[kenneal - lagger]

Sounds like it's overheated because it's under insulated to me Adam. 15kW oil use plus log use also points to that.