Re: The heating thread

[The Call of the Wendigo]

The weird thing is the room seems darker than usual, even though I have this bulb and my LED bulb both lit.

[Nightjar]

I think that's because the weird thing is The Room.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I used 0.73 units yesterday.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

Which is a relief, after the excesses of the day before.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

However, I've now discovered my meter measures units in cubic feet, not in cubic metres, meaning one unit is 31.6586 kw and not 11.1868 kw.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I have now calculated that I could run a 385 kw electric heater for the same amount of time for the same cost.

[Fangirl Three]

It's really hard to get gas/electricity equivalents, there's some awful formula isn't there, involving a calorific factor or something. I love working things out but even I don't enjoy that calculation.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

0.60 units used yesterday. Last night, I covered the little window above my Heat Experimentation Room door with baking foil, to trap radiant heat. What with it having been being sunny all day today, will it have had any effect when I check my meter tomorrow?

[The Call of the Wendigo]

This followed on from me discovering that the little alcove by the door is by far the warmest part of the room. If the room's heat congregates there, I want as much insulation there as I can muster.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I have now calculated that I could run a 385 kw electric heater for the same amount of time for the same cost.

I did, of course, mean 385 watts. 385 kilowatts might be a little overpowered for my needs.

[Fangirl Three]

I have now calculated that I could run a 385 kw electric heater for the same amount of time for the same cost.

I did, of course, mean 385 watts. 385 kilowatts might be a little overpowered for my needs.

I did wonder about that. The equivalent of 192 fan heaters on full blast.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

0.46 units used yesterday. My best day since I started my experimentation.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I've just discovered the existence of solar air heaters and that you can make them yourself. I wonder if I should try building one?

[The Call of the Wendigo]

[Fangirl Three]

My front room faces south-west and is positively boiling at this time of year (and, correspondingly, in October) when the sun is low enough to shine straight in.

Of course that's only from about noon-2pm so I only get to enjoy it at the weekends.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I used 0.44 units yesterday.

I'm expecting to use less today because, last thing last night, I made a vital breakthrough.

Ever since I started doing my heating experiments, my boiler's been given to sounding like it's firing up, even though the radiators haven't been getting warm, and it's been blasting away in the middle of the night, when the timer has set it to, "Off." Last night, I realised what was causing it. When I started my experiment, I inadvertently turned on the function which makes it automatically heat up my tap water whenever it drops below a certain temperature.

I've now turned that function off and should no longer be wasting energy heating up water I'm not going to use.

[Fangirl Three]

I don't time my hot water to come on till 10 minutes before I get up, as I shan't be wanting a wash for at least an hour after that.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

Just 0.39 units used yesterday.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I have created my solar powered water heater.

By wrapping kitchen foil around the back of a plastic water bottle and leaving it in the window to soak up the sunlight.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

After an hour, the water in it had gone from being cold to being lukewarm.

I feel it may need more work on it.

Tomorrow, I shall wrap corrugated cardboard around the back of the foil, to act as an insulator.

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