The weather has been up and down where I live lately, we just came off a period of unseasonably warm days into much cooler days. I had yet to flip the AC back over to heat until last night when my house was showing 60 degrees. At that time, my hands, feet, and nose were freezing cold. Yet 60 degrees outside is a relatively nice day and certainly doesn’t leave you feeling freezing. On the flip side, if you’re house gets much higher than 72 you start sweating even though 72 is a pretty nice day outside.
Why does the indoor temperature seem to have such a greater affect on whether you feel hot or cold than the outdoor temp does?
In: Biology
Humidity, wind and solar radiation can greatly influence your perception of the temperature. For instance I used to like reading down by the river where I live and found if I was sitting in the sun outside anything over 45 degrees would be ok without a jacket. But without the sun and a little wind and I’d want a jacket at 60 degrees. Obviously inside you never have the sun or wind and humidity varies significantly less than outside so that controlled environment can feel much different than outside where all these factors are constantly changing.
One of the main problem is outdoor temperature is measure in the shade on in sunlight. The heating you get from the sun is not included in the outdoor temperature. So you are lilkly not comparing equivalent situation.
Another diffrence is what clothes you typical have on, how much you move around and if there is wind. All of that have a effect on you body temperature.
Wind will move away are close to you that you have cooled down or heated up and replace it with air with the ambient temperature, Same air temperature in indoor and outdoors in shade can be qyute different because of how air close to you get replaced,
Depending on you heating system the exact temperature in the air will not nessecty be what you set the thermostat too. To cool or heat a room the air need to be colder or warmer then the target temperature. You might be in location that do not have the same temperature as the thermostat. Try put a themoment where you are.,
Air mostiure level alos has a effect on heat transfer especially in regards to sweating, you can cool down you body that way at 100% relative humidity.
Try go out when it is 60 indoors and outdoors in the same clothes and sit in the shade where there is no wind. That should be equivalent
Many reasons, here’s three big ones:
1. Outside, you are in the sun/wind/rain/humidity. All of those factors radically change the apparent heat to your body. Your climate controlled indoor setting is much less variable.
2. Most people are going to be wearing less clothing inside than outside, especially in February. Clothes keep a nest of warm air around you. If you lose that nest, then it can take a long time to get it back, especially if the air around you is cold.
3. Most of us are inside a lot longer than we’re outside. Inside is the *default* temperature for most of us. That means inside will be your default, and outside will be your adjustment. If outside is warmer than your house, then it will feel *very warm*. If outside is colder than your house, then it will feel *very cold*.
Two big factors impact this: sun and wind. The sun puts out a lot of visible light, but it also puts out a lot of infrared and thermal radiation. This means that even if the air around you is quite cold, if you are standing in direct sunlight it might not feel very cold since the sun is acting like a space heater warming you up. The wind is also a big factor, when you are indoors unless you are right under the A/C or heating vent, there isn’t very strong flow of air, which means that your body can heat the air around you without that air being moved away, which slows heat loss. Outside, if there is even a slight breeze, almost all of the air around you is getting moved around and away, which means that it can feel a lot colder.
When you are outside on a cool day you most likely are doing something active not just sitting down. Also sun light can directly warm you even if the air temp is cool
Meaning if the temp is 60 degrees outside and you find a shaded spot and just sit down you are going to feel cold. Most people are doing something while outside , walking, biking, doing some sort of physical activity that also increases body temp
And if its 72 outside a small breeze will help cool you down , usually there is not much airflow indoors so 72 in complete calm may feel much warmer then 72 even with a slight breeze
Outdoor temperature is measured in the shade. A 60°F (15.5°C) day can indeed feel pretty nice, provided that there is some sun and not too much wind. Inside your house, you won’t feel any warmth from the sun. However, you can achieve a similar effect if you place yourself within view of an infrared heater. While catching the infrared rays from such a heater, you can feel comfortable even though the temperature of your environment is still only 60°F, just as 60°F outside in the sun can feel pretty nice too.
Conversely, 60°F outside can feel pretty chilly, if there’s a strong breeze and no sun.
There are a few more things to consider as well. First, what are you doing in both scenarios? If you’re sitting down, then your body is touching an object (like a bench, chair or couch) that’s also 60°F, and which will likely conduct heat a lot better than air does, which can make you lose heat faster (and thus feeling cold) than if you are walking or standing up and only in contact with the ground through your feet. Also, when outdoors one is often active, like walking or biking from one place to another, and that will also heat you up. Indoors you’re more likely to be inactive and sitting down.
Also, how are you dressed? Usually people dress for the weather when they go outside, putting on a coat, for instance. Indoors, they tend to wear indoor clothing, which usually doesn’t include an extra outer layer, and that layer could make all the difference.
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