#ColdInside #WinterWeather #ThermostatConfusion
Have you ever found yourself bundled up inside your house during winter, even though the thermostat reads the same temperature as usual? It can be quite puzzling and frustrating, leaving you wondering why you’re still feeling cold indoors. Let’s dive into the science behind this common phenomenon and uncover the reasons behind it. ❄️
The Role of Humidity
One key factor that affects how cold or warm we feel indoors is humidity. During winter, the air tends to be drier both inside and outside our homes. Dry air can make us feel colder because it is better at absorbing moisture from our bodies, making us feel chilled. Even if the thermostat shows the same temperature, lower humidity levels can create a colder sensation inside.
Real-Life Example:
Imagine walking into a room with air conditioning that is set to a low temperature but has high humidity. You may end up feeling clammy and cold despite the actual temperature!
Drafts and Insulation
Another culprit for feeling colder indoors in winter is drafts. Cracks in windows, doors, or walls can let cold air seep into our homes, making it feel chillier inside. Inadequate insulation can also play a role in this, as it allows heat to escape more easily, leaving us feeling the cold more intensely.
Real-Life Example:
Think of a leaky window in your bedroom during winter. Even if your thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature, the cold air seeping through the crack can create a draft that makes you feel colder than you should.
Personal Comfort Levels
Everyone has different comfort levels when it comes to temperature. What feels warm to one person may feel chilly to another. Factors such as activity level, clothing choices, and individual preferences all come into play when determining how comfortable we feel in a certain environment.
Real-Life Example:
If you tend to feel colder more easily than others, you may find yourself turning up the thermostat higher than your housemates to reach a comfortable temperature.
In conclusion, the feeling of being colder indoors during winter, even when the thermostat says otherwise, can be attributed to factors like humidity levels, drafts, insulation, and personal comfort preferences. By understanding these factors and taking steps to address them, you can create a cozy and warm environment inside your home during the colder months. Don’t let the discrepancy between the thermostat and your comfort levels leave you feeling chilly – take control of your indoor climate and stay warm all winter long! 🏠🔥
Not sure what you mean – that’s not really familiar to me at all. The one scenario I can imagine is the following: you’re outside, where it’s very cold, but lightly cloudy or even sunny. You go inside into an unheated building. The air temperature will be the same as outside, yes. But outside, you were getting hit by the rays of the sun, which carry energy and warm you. Inside, you are not, or less so, so you feel colder. You’re basically stepping into the shade, which works no matter what the temperature is.
The humidity plays a role here. Evaporation from your skin cools it down. So if the air is dry, it seems that it is colder.
Outside you also need to account for wind, which accelerates the exchange of heat with air.
When you compare the temperature as shown on the weather, that’s measured in the shade, in a sheltered environment, so the actual temperature will be somewhat higher
You cant feel temperature directly. What you feel is the heat exchange from your skin. Temperature is the most important factor in that but not the only one. Humidity is another big factor. Air movement is also one.
Another thing that is unrelated to what you feel on your skin is that you will feel cold when you get sick ie the common cold.
Both explenations are equaly possible especially in winter.
The temperature displayed on your thermostat is (generally) the temperature measured in that one spot.
If your place isn’t well insulated, or is drafty, the temp in another area might not be the same.
Just to clarify for others trying to answer here: I believe OP means that why does 20c on the thermostat in the winter feel colder than 20c in the summer? Is there something else at play that affects the way it feels?
Humidity – for instance I live in SE Asia, where there (often) is very high humidity. So 35°C here feels a hell of a lot hotter than 35° in for instance Europe, middle east, or other drier places. Has a lot to do with your ability to sweat properly – thats really the only way your body can regulate temperature down. So when its very humid, there is already so much moisture in the air that you struggle sweating as well as you would otherwise. So 45°C can kill people in Bangkok – but be “just another day” in Dubai. Its ofc very hot in both cases, but feels very different.
Same with cold. -30°C in Northern Russia isnt *that* bad – its cold ofc, but manageable. -30°C in London, and birds starts falling from the sky.
Trying to keep this simple, in addition to humidity (convection) we also radiate heat. This can be felt if you stand in front of a window on a very cold day, you can feel this radiation. You notice this in front of the window because there is a sudden change between the rest of the room and that location, but this exchange happens wherever there is a temperature difference, so even if the air temp and humidity were exactly the same, you would feel colder in a room with cold walls.
It’s all about the moisture in the air and humidity. It’s the same reason why sometimes outside 48° seems perfectly comfortable in other times it feels stone cold
Sometimes it depends on where the thermostat is located. If it’s located on an external wall, or near a duct, it may skew the reading.
In summer, there is more radiant heat from the walls and ceiling which wouldn’t have much effect on the thermostat measuring ambient heat.
A few factors:
Humidity – more humid means you sweat less therefore lose less heat.
Air movement – more air movement means you lose more heat.
The sun – inside the sun does not heat you directly so it will feel much colder even though it is the same temperature
Everyone is missing an important component here: radiation from surfaces.
In the summer, the walls are warmer than they are in winter. As they are warmer they emit more infrared energy that goes directly from the walls to your skin but doesn’t reflect in the air temperature. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to make it feel warmer despite having the same air temperature.
So 20C in the summer feels warmer than 20C in the winter because it *is* warmer.
Humidity. In the winter the air has lower humidty.
Longer answer:
Your body doesn’t actually “feel” temperature. You actually feel the rate of heat transfer in and out of your body.
That’s why a metal surface “feels” cooler than a wooden surface even if they’re the same temperature. The metal is able to conduct heat away from your body faster than the wood.
The main process we have for controlling body temperature is sweating. Not the secretion of sweat itself, but the cooling effect of it evaporating from your skin. When water evaporates, it needs to absorb energy (latent heat of vaporization). It’s easier for water to evaporate when the humidity of the air is low. At 100% humidity, water cannot fit into the air, and cannot evaporate. That’s why if feels so gross. We sweat, but it doesn’t evaporate.
Even though it’s water evaporates more readily and faster in low humidity air, it takes the same amount of energy, and it takes it from our skin.
This is why your arm will feel cold when wet. It’s also why rubbing alcohol or acetone in nail polish remover can feel very cold. They evaporate very quickly, and just like water take some energy with them.
You may not be actively sweating, but there is always moisture in your skin cells that can evaporate. That’s why low humidity feels cooler than high humidity at the same temperature.
The answer is only partially humidity.
A much larger factor is in infrared radiation. Your body is constantly rejecting and absorbing infrared radiation. In the winter, the walls are cold and your body is warm, therefore you lose more infrared than you gain. Opposite is true in the summer.
You can see this effect by putting a large metal plate outside at night with a large vertical tube over it. Radiation lost to space will cause the plate to cool significantly below ambient.
It’s the same reason that you feel hotter in the sun than in the shade, even though the air temperature is the same.
Your skin “feels” temperature by sensing heat transfer.
A thermostat just measures air temperature.
But your skin also exchanges heat via radiation.
So even though the air is 70F in both cases, in the summer, the floor, walls, and windows are much warmer than in the winter. Even if you aren’t touching a warm wall, the heat radiates from it to your skin. And so you feel much warmer in the summer!
There are a few reasons but one big one is the location of your thermostat. If it’s in a small area or close to vents it will heat up to the targeted temperature before other areas so other areas in your house will in fact be colder if it’s colder outside.
I have always chalked the difference up to humidity. At a higher relative humidity the air feels warmer. It works the same way a dry heat in AZ is often more bearable than a wet heat in FL. I have to run a humidifier during the winter because the cold drives the moisture out of the air, therefore it feels colder in the house even though its technically the same temperature.
I believe I have caused quite the stir
This is my pet peeve… People that want to keep the heat it’s 75 in the winter but the air conditioning at 65 in the summer. Make it make sense! If you’re comfortable at one temp, why isn’t that your year round temp? Lol
I do think that since people tend to wear thinner clothes in the summer and thicker heavier clothes in the winter So 70° will feel different depending what you’re wearing. But otherwise, no clue
Humidity plays into it quite a bit.
Extra water in the air can hold heat much better than very dry air.
One of several reasons to use humidifiers if it gets cold during the winter where you live.
Also, unless the air is in movement inside the room, the heavier cold air can pool near the floor, and the hot air can rise near the ceiling.
Let’s say the thermostat is 2/3 of the way up the wall. It’s 72F/20c there. So it’s happy with the temperature and doesn’t turn on the furnace.
But it might be 50F where your cold feel are, 60 at sitting 🪑 level, and 70 at face level. It might even be 75 by ceiling. The air mixes when the heat comes on, but settles into layers when still.
The ASHRAE 55 standard is associated with thermal comfort and does a deep dive into everything that affects it.