Comments for Cold House Journal

Comment on Treemagedon by Season Wrap-Up (belated) | Cold House Journal

Season Wrap-Up (belated) | Cold House Journal — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:36:55 +0000

[…] just around the corner here. At present we still have about a winter’s worth (1.5 cords) of slaughtered Norway maple in the garage, so yet again there will be no need to spend anything on heat next year. Someday I […]

Comment on Heatless Mid-week by Andy UK

Andy UK — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:42:39 +0000

My parents (here in the UK) were refused the sale of an upright (front opening) freezer for their garage by the UK’s largest electrical chain store, for the very reason that they don’t work properly at low temperatures. This problem doesn’t seem to exist with chest (top-opening) freezers though, my parents now have one of these in their unheated garage and it’s fine even with sub-zero air temperatures.

Comment on Hello, Scotland! by Frosty Jim

Frosty Jim — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 04:52:41 +0000

When doing searches on cold houses that led to this blog, the most relevant information outside the US came from islands: Great Britain, Japan and Malta.

Comment on Hello, Scotland! by alifesgayventure

alifesgayventure — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:23:08 +0000

if people are now realising u can have minimal heating in the house and still be comfortable, that would be a good thing. before i tried it i would be really convinced it is not possible to live at 10C indoors. but now that i have actually been doing so in the flat at 10C, i find it is comfortable so much so that i dont even think about the temperature anymore.
i think it is not the actual temperature that makes a person feel cold or not, it is the wind. it can be minus C and u can be comfortable, in the right clothing, but sit in the cold wind and even if it is 20C, you can still feel frozen.

could not hear the radio show, as it requires flash to be downloaded and i dont really want to download it. maybe u can provide a written transcript?

Comment on Just Keepin’ On by coldhousejournal

coldhousejournal — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:41:22 +0000

Oh yes, what felt “cold” in October definitely feels “warm” by March. And, great story about the kids! I daresay, around here, if you left your kid outside a coffee shop in a pram in winter, you would quickly have a visit from the Dept. of Human Services, likely have your child at least temporarily taken away, and quite possible would face criminal charges (I don’t think I’m exaggerating.) But, my mom tells me I was often put out to nap on an unheated porch. Explains a lot.

Comment on Just Keepin’ On by Frosty Jim

Frosty Jim — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:06:13 +0000

By late winter the body builds resistance, no? I find it easier to go around the house in one pair of socks than the two that were needed a few weeks ago.

Obviously, it’s best to start them young:

http://bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21537988

Comment on Seeking advice by Joannie Lamie

Joannie Lamie — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:35:07 +0000

Apart from wearing layers on your body, consider getting some fingerless gloves. (Take a 2nd hand pair of fleece-polyester fabric gloves and basically cut the fingers areas off & sew the seams up where the cut is) & also buy a knit hat that is slightly loose and able to come down over your forehead — both gloves & hat are for wearing INDOORS especially in cool winter evenings. This will help you stay warm in addition to the extra socks, long underwear, and layers of clothing on your body. The body does adjust to colder temperatures better than you think it will. Another tip is to carry an extra 3 to 5 pounds more weight on your body to help stay warmer (ie. fatten up !). Best of luck to you.

Comment on Toilet-Water Heating: Last Crackpot Post For A While by goefrey biggins

goefrey biggins — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:28:50 +0000

Really useful info. I noticed condensation on the cistern and got to thinking about the water temp and subsequent heat it would absorb. Good to have some numbers to think about. Insulated cisterns seem to be quite a simple passive way to go.

Comment on Heatless Mid-week by coldhousejournal

coldhousejournal — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 02:24:57 +0000

Yeah, no digital controls on anything around here… Seem to have solved the freezer-thawing problem, though somewhat at the expense of creating a fridge-freezing problem! Mainly just have to keep the lettuce away from the top shelf now…

Comment on Heatless Mid-week by icerabbit

icerabbit — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 02:14:44 +0000

Also, if the house is too cold a frost-free fridge freezer will not cycle properly and may thaw out your food in the freezer and spoil stuff in the fridge. IIRC the cold causes the defrost (heating) cycle to come on via some thermostat and it doesn’t get warm enough to jump out of it. May be alleviated with digital controls these days, but we have had this issue at our cabin, where during the winter we couldn’t figure out why the fridge/freezer quit working properly.