Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, Not Places, Parts 2 and 3

I&#x27;m not sure if the linked article is part 2, part 3 or neither... I was actually hoping for some more tips, but it seems to just be a rehash of the information in part 1. Maybe I&#x27;m missing something.<p>Since I already live this way, here are a few things that I haven&#x27;t seen mentioned anywhere else:<p>1) Wear a hat all day. It makes a huge difference. A sleeping cap is essential on cold winter nights, but even during the day some kind of hat will really help. I wear a wool cap that makes me look like an old man. My wife seems to be happy with long hair, but still wears a night cap at night.<p>2) Your feet and hands are the first thing to get cold. I work at home as a programmer, so I&#x27;m not often moving around. My wife bought me a kind of pillow with a pocket in it to put my feet. It is amazing. Any kind of pillow with a blanket over it will work just as well, I think.<p>3) On the same topic, never, ever go anywhere without wearing slippers. As soon as your feet get cold, it is really hard to get them warm again.<p>4) If you are like me and have a sedentary job, make sure to go for walks at regular intervals. As it never gets below freezing where I live, I also go for a bike ride at lunch. Your muscles are amazingly efficient heaters -- and you will lose weight! (I am always worried about being cold on my bike, but even at 3 or 4 degrees C and the wind howling, the bike is the warmest place to be).<p>5) Don&#x27;t get wet. At cold temperatures it takes forever to get dry again. All the while you will suffer. If you must get wet (washing dishes, hands, face, whatever), then make sure to use warm water and be careful not to get your clothes wet. If your clothes get wet (i.e., if you go for a walk in the rain and your socks get wet), change to dry ones immediately. I really can&#x27;t stress this point enough.<p>Finally, if you <i>do</i> end up getting cold (your skin feels like ice, or your fingers or toes go numb), then warm up immediately -- however you have to do it. If you start shivering, then you have gone waaay too far and you must warm up. Learning to live comfortably in the cold takes a lot of practice -- it is not intuitive (at least it hasn&#x27;t been for me!). Do <i>not</i> &quot;tough it out&quot;. If you get cold, then realize that you have made a mistake somewhere and try to figure out how to fix it for next time.

Having recently lived in a few very cold houses... I have to say, no thank you. In order for a place to feel like home — for my thoughts to relax and spread out — I absolutely need the temperature to be warm all around me. If it isn&#x27;t, I feel like a hostage to my environment, hugging my computer&#x27;s power brick and covering myself in heaps of blankets just to keep my mind working. The outside no longer feels &quot;out&quot;; it&#x27;s inside too, all around me, chipping away at my defenses until I start to freeze again.<p>I need my safe place to be happy and productive.

What people fail to remember is that in humid climates like Canada where there is a lot of rain and snow, it is important to heat well to get rid of humidity which both increases comfort (humidity makes cold temperatures seem colder than they are in reality) and also prevents mold formation in houses.<p>What we should do instead: - Better insulate houses - Make smaller living spaces - No one needs 2000 sq&#x2F;ft of living space.

I have lived in 2 cold climates that differ greatly in temperature comfort. Canada, with its R-2000 &quot;standard&quot; and China with its build-concrete-boxes-as-fast-as-possible method. The difference is incredible. Though Canada experienced colder and wetter weather, the indoor comfort was ideal. Whereas in a drafty concrete box, one relies on &quot;heat people, not places&quot; and it is uncomfortable much of the time. Especially during typing (gloves and keyboards don&#x27;t mix)<p>I&#x27;d say the 3rd paragraph of the article is the most important. If you have the choice, live in or build an efficent, insulated dwelling. If you&#x27;re already stuck in a drafty box, this article has some good insights for you.<p>I wish it would give more hints on how to keep typing fingers warm though.

Low tech magazine? Now I have seen everything. Luddites rejoice, for your publication has arrived!

One way to achieve radiative heating (heating surfaces instead of air volume) are far-infrared radiation panels.<p>Unlike other IR heaters they don&#x27;t need to glow red-hot, but they need a larger surface area due to low power density.

In the &quot;What could possibly go wrong?&quot; department: <a href="http://www.wired.com/2008/01/pain-beam-centr/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;2008&#x2F;01&#x2F;pain-beam-centr&#x2F;</a>

What worked for me was to do weightlifting every day. I used to run my heating at 20 degrees (68). Now I&#x27;m quite comfortable at 17 (62.6).

An alternative would be to make energy cheaper, instead of altering behaviours to cope with energy poverty.