We had friends over for supper last week, people who just purchased a P68, after hearing about mine for three years. Sitting at the dinner table, the woman commented their house didn't feel as warm as ours, more drafty. I chuckled a bit, since my house is far older, and drafty, from my viewpoit. They have a new home, built in the last few years, and by a good local builder.
I asked two questions. Are you using the ceiling fans ? And, what are you using for a humidifier ?
Their answers were, No, the ceiling fans are for Summer heat, we don't use them in the Winter. And no, they felt the humidity was fine. Didn't I see all the snow around! The humidity must be high enough.
So, I quietly shut off my two ceiling fans, one in the kitchen area , and one in the living room where the pellet stove is located. Then we sat and chatted for a while. After about 30 minutes, everyone was commenting on how cold it was that evening, down in the -5 degree range. And my wife asked why the fans were off. I was geting chilly.
I turned the fans back on, and ten minutes later the little 'drafts' were gone, the house felt comfortable again. I also told them I kept the humidity level just to the point where a little condensated near the colner of one older window, about 35% according to the meter.
I got a phone call this morning. Ceiling fans were running at their place, the humidifier had the level at 35%, and the house was just as comfortable as mine was. And, oh, by the way, they aren't running the pellets through the stove anywhere near as much as before.
Learning to adapt to the real cold weather, especially in Maine, is sometimes more subtle than people realize.
I asked two questions. Are you using the ceiling fans ? And, what are you using for a humidifier ?
Their answers were, No, the ceiling fans are for Summer heat, we don't use them in the Winter. And no, they felt the humidity was fine. Didn't I see all the snow around! The humidity must be high enough.
So, I quietly shut off my two ceiling fans, one in the kitchen area , and one in the living room where the pellet stove is located. Then we sat and chatted for a while. After about 30 minutes, everyone was commenting on how cold it was that evening, down in the -5 degree range. And my wife asked why the fans were off. I was geting chilly.
I turned the fans back on, and ten minutes later the little 'drafts' were gone, the house felt comfortable again. I also told them I kept the humidity level just to the point where a little condensated near the colner of one older window, about 35% according to the meter.
I got a phone call this morning. Ceiling fans were running at their place, the humidifier had the level at 35%, and the house was just as comfortable as mine was. And, oh, by the way, they aren't running the pellets through the stove anywhere near as much as before.
Learning to adapt to the real cold weather, especially in Maine, is sometimes more subtle than people realize.
