Hacker News Reader

Comment by Someone1234 | Hacker News Reader

Although higher humidity should make it feel warmer given the same ambient temperature. So if you're increasing the temperature mildly using this method AND increasing humidity, it may compound one another positively.

Although, it is a minor efficiency gain either way.

View on HN

I'm in the UK, extra humidity is the last thing I'd ever want in winter.

At the moment, I've got two beefy dehumidifiers running and I'm still at between 70-85% humidity in each room. I don't have any damp or leaks, it's just that the outdoor humidity has been 80-90% for the last few weeks, so ventilation is futile. And because of the weather at the moment, we're drying clothes indoors.

What is the temperature outside? Humidity is measured relatively (to how much water air can hold at the current temperature), so even 100% humidity outside at a moderately chilly temperature outside can still translate into uncomfortably dry (e.g., less than 35%) humidity inside.

Currently about 17c in the day, 14c at night. At the time of writing, outdoor is 13c and RH is 95%. It was 22c the other day, however it is quite unseasonably warm right now. Once it gets into proper winter weather, normal daytime climate is around 10c-ish and 80%-90% humidity. I've never seen my indoor humidity lower than about 50% without a dehumidifier except after a really long dry spell in the summer or a really cold day in winter.

It doesn't often get that cold here, just very damp. Global warming is making winters even wetter. The UK actually has a fair bit of "temperate rainforest" and is classed as a humid temperate oceanic climate.

What region of the UK are you located in?

Inner London, which is going through a bit of a damp period right now after a really dry summer. I'm not sure if those two things are related, but technically we are still in drought even though my garden is basically a swamp right now.

My tropical plants are enjoying it though.

I thought high humidity made it feel colder, when the temperature was relatively low?

Hot damp air feels hotter than hot dry air, but I've had the idea that cold damp air feels colder than cold dry air. Is that a misconception?

I agree with you. Water facilitates heat transfer, and the surface of skin is about 95f, so it seems that below that temperature, and assuming you aren't already sweating for the evaporative cooling effect, humid air should move heat out of your body more effectively than dry air.

I think “dry” and “damp” are two extremes. I feel warmer in 45% rH at 67°F in winter than at 30% rH same temperature, but the air doesn’t feel damp (OTOH 60% would start to approach feeling damp).

That being said, I think at normal conditioned air temperature ranges more humidity virtually always feels warmer. I’m not exactly sure where the cutoff is, but I’d guess below 60°F might be a decent guess?

I think you're right and actually the extra moisture in the air would also mean that raising the temperature of the house requires more energy input since the specific heat capacity of water is higher than air.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com