Are all houses just cold?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thermostat says 72. It’s on the main level. I bundle up and just bought a long ugly fleece robe with a hood. Windows and doors are new. Decent insulation in the attic/crawl space. House was built in the late 80s.

Main level is somewhat open, and the kitchen area has sliding glass doors (3 panels) with a second story of 3 panel windows directly above it. That’s by far the coldest area. Not sure if there’s anything we can do the keep the glass from being so cold.

Bedrooms do have space heaters for when it’s really cold but I try not to sleep with them on.

72 is cold? are you in DMV? my house at the moment is 66, heat is off. i will set for 63 when we go to bed. it's not cold. we are in moco

That’s a personal preference. 66 is downright chilly to me. I would have to sit around in multiple heavy layers at that temperature and I have no desire to sit around our house like that.

[Anonymous]

You need a tighter envelope all around, not just the attic.
The sliding doors in the kitchen are a huge problem. Sliding doors are not exactly the most weathertight means of assembly - because, you know, the components are meant to slide around.
Don't forget your basement is surrounded by soil - moist soil. Your foundation walls, if uninsulated from the outside where the moisture is, are a major source heat loss.

How old is the house? Was building wrap used? What are the layers of the wall (brick, how many wythes, is there an air gap, tar paper/building wrap?, insulation?, etc? Is your floor a concrete slab directly on the soil? That would be cold indeed.

[Anonymous]

What’s your humidity?

[Anonymous]

If you want lush - radiant floor heating in a well insulated house is cozy and quiet.

[Anonymous]

You have a heat pump am I right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turn the heat up!

The thermostat lies!

It does lie. I have a thermometer next to me on the table that reads 63. House is set to 68. Maybe it's 68 by the thermostat which is also in this room, but I doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Get a heated mattress pad - I’m obsessed with mine. I love it so much. And it has separate controls for each side too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thermostat says 72. It’s on the main level. I bundle up and just bought a long ugly fleece robe with a hood. Windows and doors are new. Decent insulation in the attic/crawl space. House was built in the late 80s.

Main level is somewhat open, and the kitchen area has sliding glass doors (3 panels) with a second story of 3 panel windows directly above it. That’s by far the coldest area. Not sure if there’s anything we can do the keep the glass from being so cold.

Bedrooms do have space heaters for when it’s really cold but I try not to sleep with them on.

Heavy curtains help when not light out.
Wood stove really helps.
Expensive to keep warmer than 68F for most houses. Try to heat just one or two areas rather than whole house that much.
Perhaps you are getting low on muscle also.

Much easier than a wood stove is a cast-iron propane/gas stove. The metal heats up and radiates delightfully all around the stove.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thermostat says 72. It’s on the main level. I bundle up and just bought a long ugly fleece robe with a hood. Windows and doors are new. Decent insulation in the attic/crawl space. House was built in the late 80s.

Main level is somewhat open, and the kitchen area has sliding glass doors (3 panels) with a second story of 3 panel windows directly above it. That’s by far the coldest area. Not sure if there’s anything we can do the keep the glass from being so cold.

Bedrooms do have space heaters for when it’s really cold but I try not to sleep with them on.

72 is cold? are you in DMV? my house at the moment is 66, heat is off. i will set for 63 when we go to bed. it's not cold. we are in moco

That’s a personal preference. 66 is downright chilly to me. I would have to sit around in multiple heavy layers at that temperature and I have no desire to sit around our house like that.

Everything’s personal preference isn’t it?

[Anonymous]

House is set for 70° but it’s really 64°. It’s so cold!!

[Anonymous]

OP sounds like the sliding doors are not double glazed or at least not insulated well. You should apply that clear film to them that then you heat and it shrinks onto it. That’ll help a lot.
Without having multiple HVAC zones on different floors, it’ll be hard to get both levels correct. Next time you replace HVAC, do a different zone for each level. You could probably get it a little better by having a good company split it and add another thermostat upstairs or at least some remote sensors. You’d end up ahead bc then you could turn the downstairs way down when you go to bed. We have many zones and our historic house (so we still have original windows on the street side bc we are not allowed to replace them) is toasty everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thermostat says 72. It’s on the main level. I bundle up and just bought a long ugly fleece robe with a hood. Windows and doors are new. Decent insulation in the attic/crawl space. House was built in the late 80s.

Main level is somewhat open, and the kitchen area has sliding glass doors (3 panels) with a second story of 3 panel windows directly above it. That’s by far the coldest area. Not sure if there’s anything we can do the keep the glass from being so cold.

Bedrooms do have space heaters for when it’s really cold but I try not to sleep with them on.

72 is cold? are you in DMV? my house at the moment is 66, heat is off. i will set for 63 when we go to bed. it's not cold. we are in moco

That’s a personal preference. 66 is downright chilly to me. I would have to sit around in multiple heavy layers at that temperature and I have no desire to sit around our house like that.

We also don't know that the temperatures posters are feeling matches the temperatures on their thermostats. OP, get one of those thermometers that shows max and min temp and humidity. I have a Thermopro one.

It's eye opening how different the temperature is from room to room and at different times of day as well as how far off the temperature where you are is from that on the thermostat. And for me, how much the humidity level varies and affects how I feel.

[Anonymous]

Get off the sofa and do more chores. You’ll warm up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need a tighter envelope all around, not just the attic.
How old is the house? Was building wrap used? What are the layers of the wall (brick, how many wythes, is there an air gap, tar paper/building wrap?, insulation?, etc? Is your floor a concrete slab directly on the soil? That would be cold indeed.

+1.

Windows and doors are only a fraction of the overall exterior exposure of a home. The more important is how well the home is insulated. If the home is older and has not had any major renovations, then it likely has little insulation.

Think of covering up your body in cold weather. Focusing on windows and doors is like putting on a sweater vest while wearing shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt and thinking it will keep you warm. You need warm socks, shoes, pants, long-sleeve shirt, sleeve-length jacket, and a beanie.

[Anonymous]

Agree part of it is just not moving around. I have worked from home for years in various homes including an apartment that always ran hot even when we turned the heat off just because of all the people around us with heat on. I am ALWAYS cold while working from November to February.

But if I head out to do errands on foot wearing the same clothes I'm wearing at home, just adding a fleece jacket, I'll come home and be so hot in my house and feel like opening a window (I won't, because I know the cold is coming).

My recommendations:
- Get warm slippers which make a big difference even over wool socks.
- Workout at home in the middle of the day. Just breaking a sweat in your house and taking a warm shower after will have a big difference on your blood flow thorughout the day.
- If you are spending a lot of time/working in a room in the house that runs cold (attic, basement, addition with three exterior walls, etc.) get a little space heater to use just while you're in that room.