You and Yours at it again.

nope. I'd say all the figures are reasonable.

of course it depends how cold the environment is and how ell insulated the person is.

A person in full cold weather gear doesn't need any extra heat and its capable of generating 50-100W of 'idle' power.

I'd be wary of appearing in public wearing a jacket with loads of lithium cells attached.

Cheers

They've got a car battery on a little trolley following them behind, haven't they?

I wouldnt

You would have to heat the whole person including the face and nose otherwise it might get frost bite.

They had them on the moon and they didn't need a trolley, and it's much colder on the moon than most places in the UK.

"Heat is expensive, Cavlin. Just put on a sweater."

Agreed.

And I heard no mention of spare jackets etc to allow for washing - assuming they are washable.

Nah. 200Wh is really not that big.

just over a kg.

and bang on 200Wh

charge in 12 minutes

not sure if I believe a £50 price tag tho

A mistake by the third expert certainly, in claiming that it only takes

So for 3 occupants it would supposedly normally cost less than

I think.

michael adams

...

Can be done.

The critical issue is insulation and ventilation.

With 100% perfect heat loss recovery ventilation and similar massive insulation, you never need to heat houses at all.

AIUI that was not the claim,. The point was rather that the battery-powered heating pads etc did not save money compared with conventional heating when there were 3 or more people in the household. I think it was implicit that took into account the capital costs rather than just the running costs.

Probably not. Back when I used to ride a motorbike I'd wear a heat jacket in winter, with heating elements in the body and arms. My hands would stay warm enough with just summer gloves on down to zero degrees C.

That would depend on the capital cost of installing all this ventilation equipment and insulation. If the return on capital in terms of savings over the lifetime of the building was less than could be obtained elsewhere, then all other things being equal the third expert was indeed wrong.

Yours is exactly the same mistake as proponents of renewable energy make of course, in sometimes underestimating capital costs.

michael adams

...

Ok. What size of electric heater would you say is needed to warm the average room on a cold day? The figures given above would suggest 300 watts - if 100 watts can heat a person.

Think the idea was most wouldn't want to sit watching TV etc wearing 'full cold weather gear'

Should have said he reckoned his heated jacket cost about 200 quid all in

- including battery and charger.

They were held out as a solution for elderly people. I'm not sure they are well-placed to cope with clothing which has to be handwashed and cannot be wrung or tumbled. How long do you think it'd take to dry just hanging in an unheated flat in winter? Of course the elderly person could have 2 or 3 jackets - but there goes the capital cost.

I would imagine most people, old people included can manage to keep their upper body warm by simply wearing more jumpers. This in itself won't normally restrict mobility or create much inconvenience

Problem areas would probably be extremities such as feet and hands and the lower body more generally - the top of the head can always be covered with a hat.

michael adams

...

OK, how about bundles of candles taped together?

Cheers

I do sometimes wonder what planet you're from. Anyone able to afford a perfectly insulated house with heat recovery systems isn't likely to be unable to afford a normal gas bill either.

The purpose of the piece was to show there may be alternatives for the poor and elderly living in an average house or flat who have problems paying to heat it adequately.