WFH Heating

Grumpy_chap

Just for clarity, I'm not talking temperatures as low as 12 deg C.

My thermometer in the study shows around 17 or 18 deg C when I pick up that it is getting chilly.  I know that is not actually cold, but it's not warm either when sitting doing an "office" job.  Wit the heating on, lovely and toasty, the thermometer only shows 20 - 21 deg C.

I also go for a lap round the park to take breaks and stretch my joints.

silverwhistle

Yes, 12 degrees is a seriously cold house. I hardly use my gas central heating, only a few times last winter as I have a wood burner in the lounge. Once or twice it was a cold as 15/16 in there of a morning which I only noticed because my covid temperature checking thermometer doesn't read at that ambient temperature. But in a reasonably well insulated terrace house it never gets too cold and the wood burner helps maintain heat in the whole fabric of the place. It's been so warm this autumn that I've only had the fire on twice as an indulgence and to cheer myself up.

When I go away for a couple of weeks skiing I put the thermostat at the bottom of the stairs on to about 14 and open the loft hatch as a frost preventer in there, and open the airing cupboard so that any heat from PV and diverter benefits the whole house. When I get home from my long trip both the stove and the CH go on. I don't use much gas in that period, but I suspect a different house  would need more inputs.

If it gets really cold in my study I have once or twice had a hot air blower under my desk for half an hour, but as I'm retired getting up and moving is even better, this afternoon sawing and stacking wood for next winter. Your point about movement is so true. I'd combine moving and standing a bit (during phone calls?) with a bit of localised heat and maybe a bodywarmer that you can slip off for important video calls!

Grumpy_chap

I may have found the solution with the latest marketing e-mail from a major British airline - the headline offer for a week in Spain including hotel and flight was so low that, with the current electricity prices, that will probably be cheaper than staying at home with the lights on.

QrizB

QrizB said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Is the most cost, energy and environmentally efficient approach to heat just the study using an electric heater, or to heat the whole house using gas central heating?

If you want to experiment, a heated seat cover (link to a typical one) uses around 40 watts and will be both efficient and green. You'll need a suitable 12v power supply or (at a pinch) car battery charger.

Bumping this thread ...

I thought I'd better put my money where my mouth is, so I bought a heated seat pad (similar to this one) and plugged it into the PSU I already had for my cool box (a bit like this one).

It works. The heat pad draws a little less than 2A, so around 20W, and keeps me warm in my chair when I'm WFH. The heat pad claims to have two settings (high/low) but the one I received doesn't, so it's either on or off. Not a huge problem for an experiment but it might be worth looking for one with more adjustability if it's a long-term purchase.

I haven't tried it on the floor under my feet but I guess it would work that way, too, if you preferred?

2nd_time_buyer

It seems most of the heated seat pads are 12v and designed for cars.

We have a heated pad for cats. You can set the temperature to whatever you like and is mains powered (with a transformer). Upto 40w. Might be worth a look if your are struggling to find something designed for humans.

Grumpy_chap

Well, Santa delivered me one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fellowes-Professional-Climate-Control-Adjustable/dp/B002YNU7YK/

It is the first day back working properly and the temperature has also dropped sharply outside so by after lunch time, I wanted some extra heat.  So far this is doing great guns.  It is only 250 W which you would not think would make much difference but the heat is so focused it has a greater effect than that.  

It is not actually that cold, 4deg C outside, 19 deg C in the study and 16 deg C on the landing, but it certainly seems effective without heating the whole house.  I am assuming that 250 W of electric power uses less money and generates less CO2 than whole house central heating by gas.  I shall see how it goes in the coming period.

If I had a similar thing for the keyboard and mouse, that'd be superb.

Screwdriva

We faced a similar issue with our home. We found the following really helped comfort levels without adding much cost:

1) Radiator reflectors - Has its share of inexperienced skeptics but we've found marked improvements in the property's comfort levels and increased residual heat levels after the boiler has stopped.

2) Boiler Condensing mode - This was a game changer. Turning our boiler temperature control (round knob on the boiler itself. Not the thermostat setting) to around 50-55 degrees. This means the return flow temperature will be 35-38 degrees which is low enough to make modern condensing boilers achieve 92+ % efficiency.

3) Electric Heating - Used on sunny days when our rooftop solar can compensate for the massive electric draw a space heater requires.

4) Gas Fireplace - Used on non-sunny days, we use a Nu-Flame gas fireplace to warm the immediate area quite effectively, using less gas than the main boiler. A high efficiency fireplace is essential for this - ours is rated 77% efficient

QrizB

Screwdriva said:

2) Boiler Condensing mode - This was a game changer. Turning our boiler temperature control (round knob on the boiler itself. Not the thermostat setting) to around 50-55 degrees. This means the return flow temperature will be 35-38 degrees which is low enough to make modern condensing boilers achieve 92+ % efficiency.

I've done this too. A couple of these (link) with the sensors taped to the flow and return pipes and I find I can run quite happily with a ~50C flow temp, provided it's above freezing outside. (The heating struggles to keep the house warm at that flow temp if the ambient is below freezing, so I have to turn it up - manual weather compensation!)

Grumpy_chap

Screwdriva said:

2) Boiler Condensing mode - This was a game changer. Turning our boiler temperature control (round knob on the boiler itself. Not the thermostat setting) to around 50-55 degrees. This means the return flow temperature will be 35-38 degrees which is low enough to make modern condensing boilers achieve 92+ % efficiency.

Yeah, but, I'd actually need a condensing boiler for this.  It's not something that can be done with any conventional boiler.  I have a Potterton Profile "E" from Y2K.

QrizB

QrizB said:

QrizB said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Is the most cost, energy and environmentally efficient approach to heat just the study using an electric heater, or to heat the whole house using gas central heating?

If you want to experiment, a heated seat cover (link to a typical one) uses around 40 watts and will be both efficient and green. You'll need a suitable 12v power supply or (at a pinch) car battery charger.

Bumping this thread ...

I thought I'd better put my money where my mouth is, so I bought a heated seat pad (similar to this one) and plugged it into the PSU I already had for my cool box (a bit like this one).

It works. The heat pad draws a little less than 2A, so around 20W, and keeps me warm in my chair when I'm WFH. The heat pad claims to have two settings (high/low) but the one I received doesn't, so it's either on or off. Not a huge problem for an experiment but it might be worth looking for one with more adjustability if it's a long-term purchase.

I haven't tried it on the floor under my feet but I guess it would work that way, too, if you preferred?

BGumping this thread again to say the heated seat pad is still working well. I've upgraded it; I've replaced the on/off switch with a PWM controller similar to this* so I can vary the level of heating for my convenience.

* - but my knob isn't blue (RIP Frankie Howerd).