Soooo cooooold

[Red Squirrel]

It's been -20 to -30's out, some nights almost -40. Not as cold as what we can get, I've seen -50.

For whatever reason my mom keeps setting the thermostat very low. I just go back and set it to like 20 when she's not looking but it's short lived. Right now it's probably about 15 in the house.

One thing I've been thinking of buying one of those small electric heaters. I could probably run it for an hour and it would warm my room up to a comfortable temp of like 23 degrees. I don't really get cold easily, so it's not like I need it at 30 degrees.

Any other recommendations for an easy indoor source of heat? I need something that uses low power, (or I may trip the breaker - already pulling a lot) I'm sure I can find a low wattage heater though but just curious if there are other recommendations.

 

[episodic]

You must be talking celcius right? For Imperial people 10 c = 50 F

 

[Ramma2]

PC and a monitor on at all times adds quite a bit of warmth.

 

[Jeff7]

How old is the building? Is it well-insulated? Are there windows in the room? Are they drafty?
Hardware stores sell plastic film kits to help seal up old drafty windows.


Just be aware though, low power = low heat. Electric heat is extremely efficient; it's damn easy to convert electricity into heat. It just tends to be considerably more expensive than other heat sources, though this does depend on your local utility rates.

As per Rubycon's posts elsewhere in these forums, 1500W will get you 5121 BTU/hr.


Concerning computer heat output, I measured power consumption of my PC awhile ago, and I think it was less than 200W. I haven't checked it lately though, but I doubt it's changed by much.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Surprisingly my pc runs cool. I already overclocked but guess if it's not heating up enough, then it probably means I can overclock more right? MORE POWER! brb.

And yeah talking celcius.

For comparisons:
10c = 50F
15c = 59F
20c = 68F

 

[Rufus12]

Put on a sweater!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
How old is the building? Is it well-insulated? Are there windows in the room? Are they drafty?
Hardware stores sell plastic film kits to help seal up old drafty windows.


Just be aware though, low power = low heat. Electric heat is extremely efficient; it's damn easy to convert electricity into heat. It just tends to be considerably more expensive than other heat sources, though this does depend on your local utility rates.

As per Rubycon's posts elsewhere in these forums, 1500W will get you 5121 BTU/hr.

The house is about as old as I am, so it's like 22 years. Come to think of it the windows are a bit drafty, they're the original ones. That may be part of the issue. The room is also in the corner so I have two outside walls.

 

[Jeff7]

Sounds familiar, this building is probably older than my parents. Some of the walls are probably not insulated, and more than half of the windows are old-style single-pane, complete with a rope and counterweight on a pulley to help them slide open.
This place outright shines in infrared. And guess who pays utilities.


Neanderthals knew about the benefits of insulation; it surprises me that it's so rare in buildings. Although, maybe it just wasn't available cheaply until fairly recently. I can't say I'm well-versed in the history of blown-cellulose or fiberglass insulation.

 

[DrPizza]

Easy source of heat? Your body. Retain the heat by putting on a sweater or something.
(says me who's wearing a t-shirt & shorts when it's in the single digits (Fahrenheit). I keep the heat pretty high in the house.)

 

[BoomerD]

If your mom keeps the heat set at a low temp, odds are it's to save money on the heating bill.

I doubt she'll be happy with the increase in electric charges if you run an electric heater...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Well she gets hot flashes so that's probably the main reason. She sleeps with the fan on in her room and the window open. Would not surprise me if it drops to 0 in there at night.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Rufus12
Put on a sweater!

and some slippers or big socks.

Also turn on any ceiling fams top keep the warmer air circulating off of the ceiling.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I think I may have found my source of heat.

folding@home.

It's nice to OC my computer and all but if it's sitting idle it's not really producing any more heat. It's also only using 1 core, there's probably a way to make it use both (2 instances?) if I really want serious heat.