Wind Direction

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • paulockenden
    Automated Home Legend
    • Apr 2015
    • 1719

    Wind Direction

    Does anyone else notice that wind direction makes a difference to the perceived temperature in their house?

    I live in a 1950s house, with cavity wall insulation and a well insulated loft. Double glazed and no draughts. We're in quite an exposed position, southerly.

    My weekend heating schedule has been running running all day, and the boiler is just ticking over from time to time, so the zones are all ut their set temperature.

    But the win is coming from the SE, as opposed to the more usual SW. And the house feel noticeably colder. I've noticed this on several occasions now - it's not just a one-off today. I also find the same with northerly winds. No basically cold rather than warm air.

    It's got to the point where I'm actually thinking of using a SmartThings script to bump up the zone temps when there's a noticeable breeze from anywhere other than the west or south-west.

    But I wondered whether others find something similar.

    To me it seems daft. The thermostats (wall in some zones, HR92s in others) are obviously seeing their set-point temps, no matter what direction the wind is blowing outside, so why should it make a difference indoors?

    P.
  • Jahill
    Automated Home Jr Member
    • Dec 2017
    • 11

    #2
    My thinking is that, as wind chill would apply to houses as well as people, if an exterior wall facing one direction is less well insulated than the walls facing another, then I could see the direction of the wind having an affect.

    Comment

    • paulockenden
      Automated Home Legend
      • Apr 2015
      • 1719

      #3
      But like I said, the rooms are up to temperature as far as Evohome is concerned. They just FEEL colder.

      Comment

      • Jahill
        Automated Home Jr Member
        • Dec 2017
        • 11

        #4
        Assuming the walls are losing more heat depending on the wind direction, I wonder whether you are feeling the increased air currents which makes you feel cooler (a kind of mini windchill factor?!), even if the radiators are keeping the room up to temperature? Of course, this would feel no different from a sudden external temperature drop.

        Comment

        • chrisgare
          Automated Home Guru
          • Dec 2013
          • 182

          #5
          I would add that when the weather has been damp amd miserable throughout the day as it has recently then it really affects your perception of being comfortable or not inside the house. So if it is cold, windy and damp then we light the wood stove! This is a noticable effect undoubtedly.

          Comment

          • radar2016
            Automated Home Jr Member
            • Mar 2016
            • 43

            #6
            Could humidity play a part in our perception of warmth, for example at 21 degrees on the thermometer on a day when raining feels colder than 19 on a sunny day.
            Also a lot of people feel warmer in a colder room with a log fire than a warmer room with radiators, a lot of this I agree is in our perception of warmth.

            Comment

            • DBMandrake
              Automated Home Legend
              • Sep 2014
              • 2361

              #7
              Originally posted by radar2016 View Post
              Could humidity play a part in our perception of warmth, for example at 21 degrees on the thermometer on a day when raining feels colder than 19 on a sunny day.
              Also a lot of people feel warmer in a colder room with a log fire than a warmer room with radiators, a lot of this I agree is in our perception of warmth.
              That's because they are warmer - there is a lot of radiant heat from a fire so your skin temperature will be higher for the same air temperature in the room due to the infrared radiation falling directly on you. Radiator panels operate at a much lower temperature than a fire so proportionally heat the air through convection more than they heat you directly from IR radiation.

              It's the same as the difference between a cloudy and sunny day - an 18 degree day with direct sunlight falling on you feels warmer than 20 degrees and overcast, but only so long as you are in the sun of course...

              In the case of both direct sunlight and direct visibility to a fire there is a lot of infrared heating effect on your body.

              Comment

              • DBMandrake
                Automated Home Legend
                • Sep 2014
                • 2361

                #8
                Originally posted by paulockenden View Post
                But like I said, the rooms are up to temperature as far as Evohome is concerned. They just FEEL colder.
                All rooms feel colder or only rooms on one side of the house ?

                Comment

                • paulockenden
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Apr 2015
                  • 1719

                  #9
                  Originally posted by DBMandrake View Post
                  All rooms feel colder or only rooms on one side of the house ?
                  Not easy to answer that, as we're fairly open-plan downstairs, and most of the 'living' rooms are on the South side of the house. But if you pushed me for an answer I'd say all rooms.
                  P.

                  Comment

                  • blowlamp
                    Automated Home Sr Member
                    • Apr 2017
                    • 98

                    #10
                    Our mid 1950s detached house has an exterior curved tiled bay between the ground floor and first floor. Like you, we used to have days where the house just didn't feel warm and that seemed to coincide with cooler weather approaching from the front of the property.

                    Stripping out the old heating system involved the lifting of carpets and floorboards in the front bedroom with the bay, so as to remove all the old pipe work and the single panel curved radiator. The surprise to me was of how much of a gale was blowing between the floor & ceiling in the area of the bay, despite outward appearances of being sealed. The upshot of this experience is that although no draught was previously apparent, there must have been a very gentle and persistent ventilation of the whole property that sucked out enough heat to make make it feel uncomfortable given the right weather conditions.

                    Insulating the ceiling void over the bay and front door porch has eliminated this particular problem to such a degree that the replacement twin panel radiator that I lovingly cut up, curved, welded back together and resprayed is one of the most underused radiators in the house.



                    Martin.
                    Last edited by blowlamp; 14 January 2018, 01:58 PM.

                    Comment

                    • G4RHL
                      Automated Home Legend
                      • Jan 2015
                      • 1580

                      #11
                      Originally posted by paulockenden View Post
                      But like I said, the rooms are up to temperature as far as Evohome is concerned. They just FEEL colder.
                      Surely it is the level of humidity that is affecting you? My Netatmo tells me that the comfort level in Summer is 23C to 26C but in Winter it is less, 20C to 24C. Yes, we want it hotter in Summer! Reason is the drier the air the higher the comfort temperature so perhaps, whilst your temperature is at set point, it feels different because wind is affecting the humidity level.

                      Keep off the beans!

                      Comment

                      • fergie
                        Automated Home Sr Member
                        • Mar 2017
                        • 92

                        #12
                        I notice a difference when the wind blows from the west - which is sadly the prevailing wind. Part of the reason for this is that the house is open to the west. From the east, I'm sheltered by the neighbour and if its from the North the houses across the street act as a windbreak, as well as my own garage.

                        What do you think of the Netatmo weather station? Does seem quite pricy once all the modules are added? I'm thinking about upgrading my La Crosse to something app enabled which also gives wind direction so looking for suggestions.

                        Comment

                        • G4RHL
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Jan 2015
                          • 1580

                          #13
                          Originally posted by fergie View Post
                          What do you think of the Netatmo weather station? Does seem quite pricy once all the modules are added? I'm thinking about upgrading my La Crosse to something app enabled which also gives wind direction so looking for suggestions.
                          It does its job which is for me no more than knowing what the outside temperature is and with a little more detail than a simple thermometer. The inside module is in my study and I find it’s CO2 warnings helpful. I have not bought any other modules as I am not interested in how much rain has fallen (I can see that) nor the wind strength. The camera systems look good but are not cheap. Having said that I indulged in Netgear Arlo cameras. I can understand why some may need to know the outside temperature to allow for internal adjustments but for most of us it cannot be necessary as the house or zone, will heat to what you have set it at, whether it is 0C outside or 15C. I am fortunate in that I have 20 year old house that heats up quickly so there is no interest in allowances for longer periods to warm up because of a low outside temperature.

                          The Netatmo is nicely made. I don’t need them but their add on camera systems are worth looking at.

                          Comment

                          • fergie
                            Automated Home Sr Member
                            • Mar 2017
                            • 92

                            #14
                            Cheers. I think I may go for 2 or 3 outdoor cameras once they are a sensible price. Doubling as a light and also having motion sensors, night vision etc are all very useful. I also had a look at ring, but they are even more expensive and require a monthly subscription.

                            Comment

                            • paulockenden
                              Automated Home Legend
                              • Apr 2015
                              • 1719

                              #15
                              I have a combination of Arlo, Blink and Nest cameras. Each has pros and cons. But the feature set seems to be gradually converging.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X