When it comes to energy savings, I definitely have an advantage. Keyword onset of menopause. The editorial office, where I work regularly, is only heated to a maximum of 21 degrees to save energy. While my younger colleagues are constantly wrapping themselves in two or three layers of clothing, I walk around in a t-shirt.
But even on days when my hormones are more or less kind to me, I don’t like rooms that are too warm. In my home office, I’d rather put on a sweater than turn up the heat. I don’t need more than 18 degrees at night, after all, what is a blanket for? I even like to wake up with a cold tip of my nose. Maybe I was a dog in a past life.
The only room where I turn up the heating is the bathroom. On the one hand, because getting out of the shower naked and wet also requires a certain amount of heat for me. On the other hand because I’m afraid of mold. The higher the humidity and the lower the room temperature, the greater the risk. Good ventilation after showering is therefore a must. I admit, though, that my bathroom window is always in a tilted state otherwise. I somehow feel that this helps prevent mold.
The same goes for the windows of the children’s rooms. And honestly, I’m not sure I’m ready to change that. Two rabbits live in my daughter’s room. They are regularly mucked and don’t smell nearly as bad as other pets, but they are not completely odorless. My daughter is definitely more of the hot-tempered type. Even in winter, the heating in her house is never turned up.
Not so my son. With him it is already running at maximum, but the window is constantly tilted, often even open. Sure, if there are always damp towels and dirty clothes scurrying around, along with the beloved expensive sneakers that you can’t possibly leave at the door, otherwise they will be stolen. In combination with penetrating deodorants and aftershaves, this results in a cave in which even the rabbits would not want to live with the windows closed. You see the problem, don’t you?
Adrian Grossenbacher, construction specialist at the Swiss Federal Energy Agency:
“Our usual heating recommendation is as follows: 17 degrees in bedrooms, hallways and rooms that are rarely used (position 2 on the thermostat), 20 degrees in the living room and living room (position 3) and 23 degrees in bathrooms (position 4) . However, depending on personal feelings, it may also be less. Because with every degree of reduction in the room temperature, you save 6 to 10 percent heating energy.
A ten-minute quick ventilation immediately after showering is usually enough to get the moisture out. Otherwise fogged windows are always a sign of too high humidity. If this is the case, you must ventilate. A simple hygrometer (available almost everywhere, usually in combination with a thermometer) measures the relative humidity. The FPS Public Health BAG recommends a relative humidity of 30 to 50 percent indoors as a rule of thumb.
Windows must never be tilted open during the heating period, because if you ventilate with constantly slanted windows, a lot of heat escapes to the outside. Much better: open all windows fully three times a day for five to ten minutes.”
Hand on heart: what do you think of heating and ventilation? Do you follow the recommendations? Why not)?
