A friend of mine said to me the other day that he had purchased a very small fan heater, 200 watts, to plug in under his wifes desk, who works from home. She said that it dries out the air. I mentioned it to my wife who said "Yeah, horid things that dry out the air, and make her eyes dry"

Is that true? If so what dries out the air more. Wet central heating (rads). Wet central heating (underfloor) Electric mat heating. infared heating. Fan blower heating ?

I never did pay attention in physics but say no heating is used, and the temp outside is the same as the temp inside. would the moisture content be the same in the air ? I thought hot air could hold more moisture than cold air. Is any of this the reason why my wife wants a window open even in the summer ?

Sorry should be window open even in the winter.

The air does not 'hold' moisture.  Water vapour is just another gas, like nitrogen, oxygen and argon.

https://edavies.me.uk/2017/03/vapour/

 

Now of you are in a room, regardless of the temperature and humidity, the act of you breathing will increase the absolute humidity.  This may be masked if the temperature also increases as it is more usual to measure relative humidity.  The RH will go down, even if the absolute amount of water is still same.

 

Why this causes physiological problems I don't know. I know I prefer dryer climates: grew up in the Far East and it was horrible, then moved to West Indies to a very dry island, it was lovely.  But I do know that when I do a long haul flight, my noise starts to bleed, apparently a known phenomena of the dryer cabin air.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 20223 yr by SteamyTea

I think heat does the air. The more heat, the drier the air. If that logic is correct, low temperature heat emitters, such as UFH are likely to dry the air less than higher temperature emitters such as fan heaters.

But I’m just guesstimating here. May well be wrong.

Probably paid £30 plus for the 200 watt heater.

 

shoukd have just bought the cheap 1000watt heater and had it on for 1/5 of the time.

I think what your wife is actually complaining about is the fan.  Blown air will dry you (or the clothes on a line) much faster than still air.  In summer a fan is cooling because it blows away the moister air close to your body so your skin can evaporate more sweat, which cools you.  With a fan heater blowing air over you, you get the same drying effect but because the air is hot you don't notice the cooling.  But you may feel the drying.     

Edited December 7, 20223 yr by ReedRichards

Point the fan heater away from her 🤷‍♂️, or get an oil filled rad.

Tell SWMBO to be quiet and stop complaining 👍 ( at your own risk of course ! )

You guys cold ???

8 minutes ago, pocster said:

You guys cold

At least our beer is warm. And spelt right.

1 minute ago, SteamyTea said:

At least our beer is warm. And spelt right.

The sun was blinding my screen .

St Johns. Canada?

Better than Antigua and Barbuda, not.

Should have gone further south. 

3 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

St Johns. Canada?

Better than Antigua and Barbuda, not.

Should have gone further south. 

Come find me 

11 minutes ago, pocster said:

Come find me 

Why.

I have this.

 

Edited December 7, 20223 yr by SteamyTea

I bought a one of these fan heaters so we could have a quick blast of heat on cold evenings (stove going in next year). It's quite a gentle fan but really makes a difference.

I fell asleep for an hour with it going last night, about 5 meters from me and it felt like my eyes had been sandpapered and my throat was very dry. 

50 minutes ago, Ralph said:

I bought a one of these

Looks like a tin of white paint, with a drip covering the L in the name.

2 hours ago, pocster said:

Come find me 

 

Looks more like the Ritz-Carlton in St Thomas. Maybe St John's is where your crappy iPhone thinks you are. 

2 minutes ago, Radian said:

 

Looks more like the Ritz-Carlton in St Thomas. Maybe St John's is where your crappy iPhone thinks you are. 

Come see 

5 minutes ago, pocster said:

Come see 

Beach party! Aw, can't get a flight into STT (Saint Thomas Cyril E King) until Sunday. 😪

24 minutes ago, Radian said:

Beach party! Aw, can't get a flight into STT (Saint Thomas Cyril E King) until Sunday. 😪

I miss the Concorde going into Barbados.  Shame it did not fly from Newquay.  The runway is long enough.

Still, come next year, Branson can take me to the edge of space.  I should get free flights as he frittered away all my pension money.

3 hours ago, pocster said:

You guys cold ???

 

You at the fertility clinic again?

2 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Branson can take me to the edge of space.

 

I like pickle as much as the next guy but I wouldn't go that far! 

2 minutes ago, Onoff said:

You at the fertility clinic again?

He may be spending a couple of weeks as a cuckold, only reason to take your own to the West Indies.