Time and Temperature

My poor little weather bug icon is getting quite a workout this week. I’ve been tracking the outdoor temperatures and the house temperature.

6:30 Outdoor temps have been 32-37*. Brr!! I have been closing the curtains at night to help hold back the cold. It seems to be working. Our house temps in the morning are about 56*. Chilly, but not cold enough to fire up the wood stove.

At 9:30 the sun is high enough to warm the windows. Outdoor temp is 44*, indoor temp still at 56*. We go around the house and open the east and south curtains.

By 10:30 the house has warmed up to 62* (outdoor temp 54). All the curtains are pulled back now.

At 3:00 we are up to 67* (outdoor temp 60). Shortly after we reach “peak indoor temperature” I start closing the north facing curtains. By 5:00 the east window curtains are pulled shut.

At 8:00 we are down to 65* (outdoor temp 45*). Now it is time to start shutting all the south facing curtains again.

I think in another few weeks we’ll have to add the window quilts to the north windows. I hope to delay putting them in the east windows until the end of November. The south windows have pull back quilts to take advantage of the passive solar.

I’ve been wondering about getting ceramic tile and laying it in front of the south windows to collect more solar heat. I’m not sure how effective it would be. I might buy one box and try it in HM’s room. Her room is always cold in the winter. Has anyone tried this?