I am becoming a temperature nerd

Back at the farm with even colder weather and another opportunity to indulge into my new found obsession: checking every half an hour the temperature of the rooms to see how our heating system performs.

Although the weather is colder, the house behaved exactly as last time. A day to be comfortable and another day to bring it to its standard function.

The house was at 12 degree C when we arrived. It took 24 hours to bring it to its running temperature of 16 to 19 degree C depending on the rooms. After 2 days, you don't need to burn as much wood to maintain this temperature. In the morning, the house has come down to 15 to 17 and reheats within an hour of lighting the fire. The shower room even warms up to 20-21.

The reason for this time lag to bring the house to temperature when you first arrive is the concrete of the floor slabs and the stone of the internal walls. As they act as heat stores, it takes them time to warm up. Their presence is hugely beneficial as they regulate the internal temperature; they keep the house cool in summer and keep the house warm through the night in winter with the heat they have accumulated during the day.

All the rooms are comfortable. When you first arrive you stay in the room that has the range which warms up quicker and pre-warm the beds with hot water bottles so that they are comfortable right away.

When I woke up this morning, it was -5 degree C outside and the kitchen was still at 17 degree after a whole night without burning wood. It was back at 18.5 an hour later.