Heating Rooms with no mains power

[diamond lil]

I think a lot depends on where in the UK you live. I wouldn't like trying to live in an unheated house or flat in Scotland in winter - I have an online pal from the south of England who was taken to hospital with hypothermia while living in Edinburgh.

[Arzosah]

I was watching a Food Channel reunion type programme on two Chinese chefs returning to China after a long absence ... they were visiting the parents of the younger chef and everyone was in coats and hats - the voiceover casually mentioned that there's no central heating in older Chinese tower blocks The linkie above to the NCBI is interesting, though!

[GillyBee]

How well you can cope in an unheated environment is very specific to the person, their health metabolism and activity levels as well as how cold it actually is.
There is the world of difference between a young active mountaineer with no health conditions who has been burning thousands of calories a day in activity and an elderly unfit person with a circulation problem.
The first may well be fine in a sub zero tent with correct clothing. The latter may become unwell or even die at 14 C because they don't have enough capacity to move around or generate adequate body heat by themselves. As a child my bedroom was unheated and I was quite happy despite ice inside the windows glass but that is less common nowadays.
There is also the question of habituation. Many years ago I shared a flat with a young man who took a market stall job in high summer. As the year wore on, he was outdoors in freezing weather but was still happy in short and T-Shirt. His body was able to adapt as it had been given enough time to do so. I have noticed the same effect myself, returning from camping trips.
So maybe the questions that need to be asked for a no power unheated room are:
Who exactly is going to be in this room and do they have health/mobility/fitness issues?
Will they be active or sitting still/sleeping?
Will the room be in daily use or only occasionally? (Habituation)
What level of clothing wil be available to the user and are they prepared to wear it?
Can you go elsewhere to warm up if necessary?

[jansman]

How well you can cope in an unheated environment is very specific to the person, their health metabolism and activity levels as well as how cold it actually is.
There is the world of difference between a young active mountaineer with no health conditions who has been burning thousands of calories a day in activity and an elderly unfit person with a circulation problem.
The first may well be fine in a sub zero tent with correct clothing. The latter may become unwell or even die at 14 C because they don't have enough capacity to move around or generate adequate body heat by themselves. As a child my bedroom was unheated and I was quite happy despite ice inside the windows glass but that is less common nowadays.
There is also the question of habituation. Many years ago I shared a flat with a young man who took a market stall job in high summer. As the year wore on, he was outdoors in freezing weather but was still happy in short and T-Shirt. His body was able to adapt as it had been given enough time to do so. I have noticed the same effect myself, returning from camping trips.
So maybe the questions that need to be asked for a no power unheated room are:
Who exactly is going to be in this room and do they have health/mobility/fitness issues?
Will they be active or sitting still/sleeping?
Will the room be in daily use or only occasionally? (Habituation)
What level of clothing wil be available to the user and are they prepared to wear it?
Can you go elsewhere to warm up if necessary?

The last sentence there is the clincher.

I have just got back from a day fishing.I was fully kitted up in good outdoor gear.Plenty of food and hot drinks.When the weather set in at 11 am,I was sheltered well under my very large umbrella.However,the wind changed direction and the temperature dropped quickly.I was catching well,and didn't realise I was getting cold! Finally I realised it was time to pack up.

I was lucky to have the car to warm up in,but by the time I got home I was glad of a hot shower and am now sitting in front of a roaring fire with copious cups of tea.I can still feel that I got cold,if that makes sense?

So,a cold house over a prolonged period of time,would have the same effect IMHO.If the power was out all over as well,there may be nowhere you could go to warm up,so the situation could get rather serious for vulnerable people.

[GillyBee]

Lessons from camping in cold weather.

1) Cuddling someone helps a LOT with warming up. The old "shared bodily warmth" thing. And you don't need to strip right off to feel the benefit although staying out of the wind and getting as sheltered as you can with a sleeping bag or blankets around both of you is important to keep the warmth in.
2) You can convert an outdoors BBQ/brazier/small fire to quite a cosy outdoor room by adding a windbreak all round it at a sensible distance and keeping the entry point(s) away from the wind. The windbreak reflects the heat back and gets best warmth for the fire size. Just remember to make sure you have an easy exit and that the fire is not able to spread. We used to use a pot belly BBQ which worked really well for this.
Not much use indoors but if shtf and you have an outdoors brazier it might help with warm up.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Lessons from camping in cold weather.

1) Cuddling someone helps a LOT with warming up. The old "shared bodily warmth" thing. And you don't need to strip right off to feel the benefit although staying out of the wind and getting as sheltered as you can with a sleeping bag or blankets around both of you is important to keep the warmth in.

Dont tell the wife


I find a wool blanket on the foot end of the bed makes a massive difference

When camping a wool blanket on top of a decent ground sleeping mat works wonders

air beds are just cold

I've woken up in winter unable to unzip the tent due to the zip been made up with ice a decent mummy sleeping bag is worth its weight in gold

[jansman]

When I was 19- many, many Summers ago, I was accepted as a Royal Marine. In Norway we did Arctic training. We had to drop into freezing water, strip, then go into a ‘hot’ tent. It had HEAT. It taught us to stay dry wherever possible, AND the consequences of getting wet. That is why I could have kicked myself , fishing today.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Remember working in a cold store and blast chiller. Walking out for a rewarming break... It was snowing outside but it felt warm ..... Really messes with your head

[grenfell]

Lessons from camping in cold weather.
2) You can convert an outdoors BBQ/brazier/small fire to quite a cosy outdoor room by adding a windbreak all round it at a sensible distance and keeping the entry point(s) away from the wind. The windbreak reflects the heat back and gets best warmth for the fire size. Just remember to make sure you have an easy exit and that the fire is not able to spread. We used to use a pot belly BBQ which worked really well for this.
Not much use indoors but if shtf and you have an outdoors brazier it might help with warm up.

Variation of that which i have used in really cold weather is to warm up a rock , wrap it up and take it to bed.

[grenfell]

So maybe the questions that need to be asked for a no power unheated room are:
Who exactly is going to be in this room and do they have health/mobility/fitness issues?
Will they be active or sitting still/sleeping?
Will the room be in daily use or only occasionally? (Habituation)
What level of clothing wil be available to the user and are they prepared to wear it?
Can you go elsewhere to warm up if necessary?

To which we could add several other points such as does the person own the building and is in a position to knock it about a bit to add more insulation or things like thermo syphoning systems or passive heating and what is the budget ?Someone on a decent income will find the task much easier than someone on the dole. Can that person get help through the Warm Home Discount scheme or the recently run out Green Deal ? Is this for long term or the occasional powercuts ?
And probably several other questions. Not wanting to be critical but the original post was a tad vague. Perhaps the first responses to questions should be another question for more details?