Drafts, low humidity and feeling cold

Glastoun

We moved from a fairly well insulated place, such that on a wet winter's evening the humidity level could easily be 70-80% with condensation on the windows, to a place that has a few drafts and a noticeably lower humidity, usually around 50% in most of the house.

We're identifying where most of the drafts are (e.g. gaps around the front doors, cold air coming from the cupboard under the stairs) and blocking these up makes a difference.

But we're finding that a given temperature in the new place 'feels' colder than the same temperature in the old one. 20C in the old living room meant I'd not be uncomfortable in just a t-shirt, but 20C in the new one and I still have that cold bones feeling. There are no noticeable drafts in thie room, and the temperature is pretty much the same in all parts of the room, including near the windows and the boarded-up fireplace.

I did some [STRIKE]research[/STRIKE] googling and lowering the humidity does indeed make it feel colder for the same temperature, as we lose moisture/heat from our skin more quickly in dry air.

Does this ring any bells with anyone who's had a seemingly unheatable house before? Any solutions aside from running a plug-in humidifier?

Bella56

?? I thought it was the opposite - lower humidity = feels warmer? One of the reasons we bought a dehumidifier.

Glastoun

http://www.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/meteorological-terms/humidity-info.htm

"Low relative humidity causes a person to feel chilled —even at 21 C.— because perspiration evaporates at a rapid rate. Low humidity causes dryness of the skin or throat and may aggravate colds and other respiratory ailments. Low humidity is most likely to occur in winter, particularly when the house is being heated."

ging84

my parents house has a load of these special ceramic pots that are hooked onto the radiators and are full of water which you need to occasionally top up, my dad is quite obsessive and goes on about certain type of heater giving on dry heat but i don't pay any attention

ihatemyhouse

I live in a house, that has a "condensation" problem and it is always cold, and water can run down the walls

Kynthia

ging84 wrote: »

my parents house has a load of these special ceramic pots that are hooked onto the radiators and are full of water which you need to occasionally top up, my dad is quite obsessive and goes on about certain type of heater giving on dry heat but i don't pay any attention

Double post

Kynthia

ging84 wrote: »

my parents house has a load of these special ceramic pots that are hooked onto the radiators and are full of water which you need to occasionally top up, my dad is quite obsessive and goes on about certain type of heater giving on dry heat but i don't pay any attention

Was this for antque furniture? We were advised to do this for an old piano as central heating was too dry and therefore bad for the wood. It's also supposed to be drying for our skin too.