It’s 21 degrees in the room, so why do people feel cold

[Swanfairydust]

I don’t understand this.

In winter people put the heating up to 23+ degrees.

In summer they whinge because it’s that temp, and they want air con to reduce the temp.

Can anyone explain?

@Gwenhwyfar

21 in winter is not the same as 21 in summer. Also, even if I manage to get the room I'm in up to 20 degrees in the winter, the hallway and bathroom are at about 15 because there's no heating there so every time I go to one of those rooms I get really cold and need to warm up again.

Why is it different though?

Maybe they’re not the same people?

My thermostat is always high by most people's standards 23.5 in the evening even 24.0 as it is at the moment.

At this time of the year I'm always in a couple of jumpers, with a thermal vest underneath, socks, thick jeans.

Even on warm summer days I'm generally wearing a warm cardigan by the evening.

Not everyone experiences temperature in the same way.

Although oddly, unlike a lot of posters on MN I never keep my heating on overnight and I'm always comfortably warm in bed.

Because the sun isn’t out keeping us warm

Different kinds of heat. The heat we get in summer is usually smothered with humidity, so feels extremely close to our skin and like it's pressing on us. The heat in my house isn't like that.

Warm house in winter - heat dissipates into environment. Also, no humidity.

In summer - humid - it’s often hotter inside than in. Most uncomfortable!

I would imagine it's got to do with the temperature outside in the sun being different to air temperature inside? Same as water isn't comfortably warm until 35 degrees or so but that would be a bit hot for me air temp wise!

When the weather forecast says it's eg 23 degrees, that's what the temperature is in the shade, so in the sun it can be a lot hotter.

Plus 23 degrees out does not equate to 23 degrees inside! In the summer, our upstairs is pretty much constantly high 20s plus.

Thermal comfort depends not only on temperature, but humidity and wind speed (drafts) as well. Thermal comfort can be determined via a psychrometric chart that plots these three variables together. Also radiant heat of surfaces has a bearing on comfort as well like a PP said, but mostly thermal discomfort is sensed due to large radiant temperature differences between surfaces. For example if the room was warm but the floor was disproportionately cold under foot, we’d feel thermal discomfort. So temperature isn’t the only metric when it comes to feeling cold or warm.

I've noticed this too! I also noticed in an old fashioned office I worked in with no AC either windows were open or heating was blasting, no in between. I mean surely at some point in the year the natural indoor ambient temp should be ok?!

@gogohm

Well my thermostat is set at 18, they invented these things called jumpers. Socks and slippers, I find they help a lot.

🤣🤣 same here "Put a jumper on"

Have a bath
Hoover
Go out for a walk
Clean up

Get a blanket
Put a jumper on

It sounds as though you are talking about a work situation rather than at home, is that correct?

I used to be sat directly under the bloody aircon blaster and ended up with a sore frozen neck. Sometimes my hands were shaking from the cold.

The bastards who "don't feel the cold" never want to sit under the cold air blaster though do they?

Also, as I have got older, despite becoming plumper, I definitely feel the cold more. I imagine there is some science to this?

Yup radiant temp is the kicker. When the outside temp plummets here e.g. at sunset I can feel it within a few minutes! Despite air temp in the house staying the same..

@lockdownalli

It sounds as though you are talking about a work situation rather than at home, is that correct?

I used to be sat directly under the bloody aircon blaster and ended up with a sore frozen neck. Sometimes my hands were shaking from the cold.

The bastards who "don't feel the cold" never want to sit under the cold air blaster though do they?

Also, as I have got older, despite becoming plumper, I definitely feel the cold more. I imagine there is some science to this?

Not correct