The great heat Myth...

I have an old house.
I love my house but it is old, and while this means we have a lot of history and have come across some great surprises as we continue to renovate, it also means that we suffer in other ways.
Maybe its a karma thing ;)

When we moved in eight years ago we had single glazed windows and the first thing they tell you to do when you do a place up is to get double glazing in. So we did and for a while it was great, "No more condensation running down the windows!" We shouted, but what we failed to realise is that condensation is a tricksy beast.
Now the windows were too warm for it to cling too it sought out all the other cold spots in the house and clung to them.
So now, instead of wet windows we have things like wet walls.....not nice.
Our bathroom gets mouldy, the kids bedroom has to be wiped with a towel every day.

This winter has been a real problem as its been stupid oC for months and of course we've had the fire going all the time. So yes..condensation has become he bane of our lives  ....

BUT..... (and this is why I love the Internet!)

Last week I stumbled across the No Impact Man blog by Colin Beavan, and while perusing through his posts I came across a guest post by a family living in Japan.
Sean Sakamoto was worried about his first winter in Japan. His wife, Japanese born, couldn't believe that in America the whole house is heated! The whole post goes onto describe how they live happily without the fuel/electric guzzling whole house heat and what he learned about himself through that winter.
Go read ithe whole thing HERE its fantastic!!

Anyway, that night, before bed, I gave the kids and extra cover each and opened all the vents in the house and some of the windows a crack so they would still be locked, and guess what?
In the morning, little to no condensation!

The whole thing gave me pause for thought.
WHY do we feel the need to have our interior spaces hot enough to wear light clothing in?
Outside temperature has no bearing on your internal temperature. The trouble is, we've all heard about old people getting hypothermia in their homes and dying, but what we fail to realise is that the few who do die don't die from exposure, but from the inability to regulate cour body temperature. So if your very old and a little wooly thinking and you don't eat well enough you will get hypothermia and die.

Think about some of the coldest places in the world.
Do they have central heating in the mountains of Afghanistan? Is the wall of a Mongolian Yurt double insulated and fitted with radiators? Did the Native Americans abandon their TeePees in winter for an oil heated new build?
I saw a program about scientists at a base in Antarctica and they lived in glorified TENTS!! You could see light though the walls! In the height of summer its still -6-10 oC!!

In the winter we all tend to eat a little more. Its the bodies way of keeping you alive. So if your eating winter rations but living in summer heat (and many homes and offices are heated to 24oC and over all year!)you won't be burning off the extra calories will you?

Right now I would say its probably warmer outside than it is in my house! But I am sitting in the North end.
There is no heating, no fire, no nothing.
Windows are open, its not windy so why not?
I don't know how cold it is temperature wise but my breath is still steaming!
I'm dressed well and I'm not cold. Not even chilly. I put an extra sweater on, job done :)

So how can you cut the heat and still stay warm?
Here are some gleefully obvious tips!

1. Wear more clothes! Seriously, if there is snow outside you should not be wearing jeans and t-shirt inside. Layer up, wear a light fleece over the top of everything, always wear socks, two pairs if need be.

2. Eat well. Not an excuse to pig out but make sure you eat 3 hot meals a day. Skip the salad and go for vegetable soup instead. Have a bowl of porridge instead of cold cereal, eat warming carbohydrates for dinner.

3. Don't forget your drinks. You still need to stay hydrated and we all know about drinking your 6 -8 glasses of water a day but a cold glass of water is NOT what the doctor ordered! Try warm water with lemon or a herbal tea to get your water intake (normal tea and coffee don't count!) and for a treat a hot chocolate hits the spot every time!

4. Go outside! It's easy to sit inside all day if your heatings cranked up. Go outside for a few hours, get a walk, work in the garden. When you come inside you'll notice how warm your house really is, even without heating on!

5. Bedtime bliss! Make sure you have enough covers on your bed. A good trick is to have a second duvet UNDER your bed sheet as it helps to trap your body heat better than having the sheet directly on the mattress. Wear socks in bed, cold feet are responsible for most night time waking. Wear enough in bed..so jammies and a sweater in very cold weather!! And I don't have to point out the number one way of getting snuggy in bed do I?? Just remember to put the layers back on after ;)

6.Getting chilly watching TV or reading at night? Pull up a duvet or some blankets to snuggle under, much warmer than having the heating on!

Why not give it a go?
Your not only letting your house breath but yourself as well, condensed, stale air is no good for anyone!
Turning the heat down, leaving it off for part of the day, these are ways we can connect back with the seasons, and when the sun DOES shine it feels marvelous again.