Why does it sometimes feel colder inside in the winter even though the thermostat says the temperature is the same?
In: Biology
The humidity plays a role here. Evaporation from your skin cools it down. So if the water is dry, it seems that it is colder.
Outside you also need to account for wind, which accelerates the exchange of heat with air.
Not sure what you mean – that’s not really familiar to me at all. The one scenario I can imagine is the following: you’re outside, where it’s very cold, but lightly cloudy or even sunny. You go inside into an unheated building. The air temperature will be the same as outside, yes. But outside, you were getting hit by the rays of the sun, which carry energy and warm you. Inside, you are not, or less so, so you feel colder. You’re basically stepping into the shade, which works no matter what the temperature is.
You cant feel temperature directly. What you feel is the heat exchange from your skin. Temperature is the most important factor in that but not the only one. Humidity is another big factor. Air movement is also one.
Another thing that is unrelated to what you feel on your skin is that you will feel cold when you get sick ie the common cold.
Both explenations are equaly possible especially in winter.
When you compare the temperature as shown on the weather, that’s measured in the shade, in a sheltered environment, so the actual temperature will be somewhat higher
The temperature displayed on your thermostat is (generally) the temperature measured in that one spot.
If your place isn’t well insulated, or is drafty, the temp in another area might not be the same.
Humidity – for instance I live in SE Asia, where there (often) is very high humidity. So 35°C here feels a hell of a lot hotter than 35° in for instance Europe, middle east, or other drier places. Has a lot to do with your ability to sweat properly – thats really the only way your body can regulate temperature down. So when its very humid, there is already so much moisture in the air that you struggle sweating as well as you would otherwise. So 45°C can kill people in Bangkok – but be “just another day” in Dubai. Its ofc very hot in both cases, but feels very different.
Same with cold. -30°C in Northern Russia isnt *that* bad – its cold ofc, but manageable. -30°C in London, and birds starts falling from the sky.
Just to clarify for others trying to answer here: I believe OP means that why does 20c on the thermostat in the winter feel colder than 20c in the summer? Is there something else at play that affects the way it feels?
Trying to keep this simple, in addition to humidity (convection) we also radiate heat. This can be felt if you stand in front of a window on a very cold day, you can feel this radiation. You notice this in front of the window because there is a sudden change between the rest of the room and that location, but this exchange happens wherever there is a temperature difference, so even if the air temp and humidity were exactly the same, you would feel colder in a room with cold walls.
It’s all about the moisture in the air and humidity. It’s the same reason why sometimes outside 48° seems perfectly comfortable in other times it feels stone cold
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