• rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works
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    26 days ago

    OK, OP… where do you live that a sweater is “enough”?

    Denver, CO checking in and I’ll take my central heat, thanks.

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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      26 days ago

      7200’ here, I’ll keep my furnace as well. I usually only keep it at 62°, unless I want a $600 gas bill. But, that the tradeoff of having mild awesome summers.

  • BudgetBandit@sh.itjust.works
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    26 days ago

    Americans should start building their houses like Europeans. Made from brick, mortar and good insulation. Your houses are made from wood and paper.

    • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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      26 days ago

      Earthquakes would say otherwise for at least part of the US. Also, without full-time mechanical ventilation, that would be misery in a lot of the US. The climate is also different to some places in Europe and varies hugely on US region

      • skye@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        There’s earthquakes in regions of Europe aswell, and climate varies by regions in Europe aswell.

        So what would be the excuse for not using paper walls?

        • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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          26 days ago

          Look up brick and motor walls regarding their performance in quakes. Those motor joints (or interfaces when dry stone) are all failure points and that leads to a wall collapsing. It’s why you don’t see modern japanese buildings like that; they don’t meet code. If you want earthquake safety, wood or reinforced concrete are the materials of choice.

          Also the walls aren’t paper. Even in modern Japan where I live they’re not and we have some interior walls with paper. I have no idea what you are on about.

    • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      Wood is a better insulator than brick actually. Sitting outside in the winter on a wooden bench would feel warmer than on one made of brick even if they are at the same temperature. A log cabin without insulation is better insulated than a brick building without insulation. Problem is that US homes aren’t log buildings but stick frames boarded up with cheap chipboard.

    • dafo@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      looks around at countless houses made from wood I guess northern Sweden, which gets below -30°c every year, lost its European status.

    • BastingChemina@slrpnk.net
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      26 days ago

      It does not have to be brick and mortar. The house with the best insulation I know is made of wood and straw bales.

    • Fosheze@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      You do realize that there’s insulation in those walls right. That’s the whole point of wood frame construction; you stuff the gaps between studs full of several inches of insulation. Besides, most of a homes heat loss isn’t through the walls anyways. It’s through any openings in those walls (windows, doors, etc) and through the roof.

      • el_abuelo@programming.dev
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        26 days ago

        Isn’t the whole point of woodframe construction to use wood?

        Europeans still have insulation in the wall cavity.

        • MNByChoice@midwest.social
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          25 days ago

          Isn’t the whole point of woodframe construction to use wood?

          Well, no. Not as such. The point was to not use brick. Wood was just very useful, cheap, and could be made uniform. Very similar to brick if near a brick factory. Cheaper if not near cheap but heavy bricks.

      • BudgetBandit@sh.itjust.works
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        26 days ago

        More insulation, double or even triple glassed windows. My in-laws have half the insulation on the walls compared to my parents, roof wise my parents got 2.5 ft insulation

  • I got sick of wearing cheap jackets and still being cold and/or having them fall apart super quick, so I splurged on a Carhartt jacket. So worth it. This thing is toasty as fuck, water proof and could probably withstand a knife attack.

  • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    I’ve lived in my current place for over 10 years, and so don’t actually know if the heater works.

    Then again, I live in Texas (and was away from home for the big freezes we had in 2021 and 2023), so it’s rarely an issue.

    But air conditioning is a different story. I can only trove so much clothing, and without air conditioning my little trailer home gets to like 120 degrees in the summer.

  • blind3rdeye@lemm.ee
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    25 days ago

    People in this thread are hitting us with all sorts of whatabout stories with extreme conditions; and meanwhile I’m working in a office where people will come in and turn on the cooling because they just walked up some stairs, and then turn on the heating after they’ve sat down for a couple of minutes. No concept of self regulation. Just any hint of discomfort means the room has to change temperature.

    It that context, the pushback in this thread is a bit depressing.

    • Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      This is a great way to mess with the self appointments lords of the thermostat as they caw their favorite sayings like “Wear a sweater” and “turn the lights out when you leave the room”.

      It’s the nuclear age grandpa. I’m cranking my thermo to 23. Take your shirt off if you’re warm.

  • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    yeah unless you’re drying off the thermostat should never be above like 58 for heating. Layers fix everything else

  • Preußisch Blau@lemmy.ca
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    26 days ago

    It’s gonna get down to -30°C this week, I’ll turn the heat off and just throw on the good ol’ toque and a sweater and report back, assuming I still have fingers.

    • Windex007@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      Same here.

      But there is middle-ground here. My wife came from a very temperate country. She wants the thermostat set at like, 26.

      I’d be happy to have it at 17 and wear sleeves indoors. 9 degrees thermostat difference makes a hell of a dent in the utility bill.

      • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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        26 days ago

        I grew up in cold but have spent almost two decades in humid subtropical. If it’s 20ish outside, I usually won’t turn on the heat, but 23 if it gets any colder (though that’s in part because old japanese house loses heat like crazy. 21 is good for me)

      • Fosheze@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        26?! Hell, I can’t even sleep if it’s above like 20C in my room. My bedroom right now is 10C (vents blocked to keep it extra cold) and that’s about the perfect sleeping temp. I’d go that cold in the rest of the house too but my pet snake probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

          • Fosheze@lemmy.world
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            26 days ago

            I don’t seem to have any actually good pictures of them in my phone atm and they’re in the middle of a shed right now. So the best I’ve got is a pic from the time they decided slither into my couch frame and made me partially dismantle my couch to get them out. They’re lucky that they’re cute.

            • Python@programming.dev
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              26 days ago

              aaah handsome baby! Using the single communal braincell to get into trouble is a great honor in their culture, I’ve heard.

      • Preußisch Blau@lemmy.ca
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        26 days ago

        Agreed. Funnily I’m from a more temperature country and she’s from where I’m at now, but she’s the one that is always cold and wants to keep it at ~22. I ain’t gonna argue considering she pays the electricity bill, though.

    • AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml
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      25 days ago

      I think this meme is mocking the people that turn their house up to 72°F instead of just leaving it at 60°F and wearing a hoodie. The difference in price is quite extreme.

  • jkozaka@lemm.ee
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    26 days ago

    Something that really should be used more is using those rubber hot water bottles. it won’t heat your whole room, but it’s great when paired with a blanket.

    • Zombie@feddit.uk
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      26 days ago

      And risk burning yourself when the rubber wears out in 3 years and bursts?

      Nah, get yourself one of those oat-filled microwavable teddies. Does the same job but with less risk of severe burns and doesn’t need replaced every few years.

  • alsimoneau@lemmy.ca
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    25 days ago

    To a point, yeah. But when it’s -40 outside, heating to 18 or 21 doesn’t make much of a difference energy wise.

  • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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    26 days ago

    I live in a relatively warm part of Canada and let me tell you a sweater alone is not enough 😭
    There are plenty of places in the USA Midwest and Europe that get colder.