So at work today, the discussion of household heating and gas/electricity bills came up (entering winter Down Under), and I commented that we have our central heating set to 14 Celsius (approx 57 Freedoms) overnight, and off during the day/evening. We find that 14 is quite comfortable under a fluffy doona/duvet. I was warmly mocked (well natured), and informed that something closer to 24C (75F) is appropriate, day and night.

Surely not… right?

    • passthepotato@aussie.zoneOP
      1·
      2 years ago

      Hahaha not sure where you are exactly, but my memory of Houston and Corpus Christi involves using my arms to swim through the air - the heat and humidity was suffocating; the air was so thick! Sunglasses fogging up instantly when you step outside from an air-conditioned room.

      We regularly see 110F here Down Under in our south, but it’s a dry heat. You can at least spend the day outside getting stuff done.

  • fratermus@lemmy.ml
    1·
    2 years ago

    I live offgrid in a campervan and do not have HVAC in the normal sense. I follow mild weather, aiming for daily highs of 65-70deg F. Because I camp in arid regions this usually means overnight lows of 35-45F. I try to avoid overnight freezes for comfort and to protect my water system.

    My roof vent is set to 65F (comes on then and tries to hold that temp). The LiFePO4 battery bank is warmed to 50F. At night I use an electric blanket and dogbuddy to stay warm if needed.

    • tallwookie@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 years ago

      what you’re doing is what I want to do - do you have any suggestions for links to/communities on lemmy or other federated platforms? liked vandwellers back on reddit a lot but cant find something similar here.

      my rig is a 1987 Ford/Grumman Kabmaster, it’s been in the shop for a while now.

  • Pyrrhocore@lemmy.one
    0·
    2 years ago

    I set temp to 18C when at home during the day, and 16/17C when away or night.
    Bad insulation (empty air…), so if I lower too much it take hours to heat up again.

    • passthepotato@aussie.zoneOP
      0·
      2 years ago

      Ahh yes, we also suffer from a lack of insulation. Empty ceiling and walls. The 50s was a pretty relaxed era for Australian housing.

      • Pyrrhocore@lemmy.one
        0·
        2 years ago

        It’s a house from the early 70s in France.
        There was almost no insulation. First rules to improve that started around 1974.

        How does it work in Australia? Does gouv try to help people to improve that in old houses?
        I guess it would be great for summer as I think it’s pretty warm there.

        • passthepotato@aussie.zoneOP
          1·
          2 years ago

          I don’t believe the government has any running initiatives to improve energy ratings on old houses, but there are certainly standards for new builds like you would have today. Generally speaking, because the summer sun disproportionately heats up our metal roof (and our ceiling cavity is not insulated), it will get to around 2-3 degrees hotter inside than it is outside, if no climate control is used.

          The advantage on a sunny winter day, is that it can be 10 degrees outside, and 17 inside if we’re lucky :) (but of course that heat vanishes the moment the sun goes behind the trees.)

          • Pyrrhocore@lemmy.one
            0·
            2 years ago

            Hotter inside than outside must be a nightmare especially to sleep.
            I manage to keep temperature around 23/24 during summer and exceptionality 26/27 during heat wave. But I don’t have AC.

            It’s a bit more difficult on winter when the max temperature of the day is 1-2 degrees and there is no sun. Radiators need work frequently to keep 18 degrees.
            I wish we would have more sunny winter days.

              • Pyrrhocore@lemmy.one
                0·
                2 years ago

                Traditional houses from the 70s are usually a basement and the house upstairs.
                Basement is often half or totally underground.
                Then the wall are made with cinder blocks, empty air and bricks.
                There is chimney (not sure the term in English), so you can heat with wood, but most of the time there is central heating with Gaz or Fuel to replace or in complement.

                How is it in your country ?

                • passthepotato@aussie.zoneOP
                  0·
                  2 years ago

                  How interesting - the bricks and blocks would act as quite a good heat mass to sort of, smooth out the temperature? (And chimney is the word we use also 😆)

                  Our cottage is built up on hardwood stumps, with a hard oak frame, and asbestos sheet cladding, both inside and out. The roof is almost flat, just a 2 degree incline, with corrugated iron sheets from end to end. Cheap and hollow 😀 hahaha