This is a collapsed woodshed my grandpa, who was ForestSámi, built on his land to dry the firewood he made.
This is a van's cabin he had placed there to create some warmth and shelter in the arctic world. The place is far away from human settlement to get out of the weather if it gives you a hard time. It is easier to sit, keep warm and wait it to go away. Especially if you didn't finish your work yet or the snow storm locked up you there.
This is the cottage he started to built there before he got sick and unable to go anymore. On the begin he bought the place to get hay for his horse. Later on, when there was no horse anymore he used the land to get firewood for heating. I visited the place several times with him. I loved to play in the woods meanwhile he worked. When he was finished or had a break he had always warmed up a spot in the woods where we could gather to have a lunch no matter how cold it was.
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Heating is said to be arctic people's biggest environmental sin. Good tips for anyone to save the energy for the environment or money -or both- is to decrease the indoor temperature by 1 degree. Not to mention 2 degree or more.
Here are the energy saving tips we have successfully used:
1. Reduce the room temperature as low as possible without causing damage to your building/property
- How low? It depends on your climate and building. Find it out from your insurance company, municipal's energy department or somewhere like that, not on google or social media chat unless you can be 110% sure the information is reliable.
- In my case that temperature is +18 or +19 Celsius degrees in the house and +12 Celsius degrees in veranda.
- We use firewood in our kitchen stove and sauna department iron stove.
- We don't use solar energy panels because they'd be frozen, covered by the snow & ice and not working the when we need them most.
- We use more clothes also indoors. (If it is not summer there is no need to wear only T-shirt and skirt indoors.) We have spare woolen socks and blankets also for our guests.
- We dress up in layers. Different cloth layers create air pockets between the layers. These air pockets insulate and create more warmth. We use this method also in our bed with blankets. On cold arctic nights I wear woolen socks but also mittens as I get cold very easily during the night despite the others would not.
- On snowy season (6 months) we allow the dogs on sofa to warm us because then there is no danger of parasites. (Other time of the year we control it by the baby gates.)
- We use hot water bottles.
- We drink only warm drinks like tea or home made berry juice. (It is as important to drink enough when it is cold, as it is in the heat.)
- We eat only hot foods and take care of that the nutrition level is enough and constant. If you are fasting or not eating often enough you don't get enough energy and that means your body can't work in the optimal way to keep you warm. So simple is that.
- Stay busy. When you are at least a bit activate instead of just laying down your body movement creates warmth.
3. Find out the places you loose the warmth
- Windows: Make sure the window gaskets work/exist. Use thick curtains to prevent the draft but do not cover the heating radiators that usually are placed below the windows. Placing the curtain on/over the radiator you may cause a fire or prevent the radiator work well.
- Doors that lead outside: Work as with the curtains. You can place a full length thick curtain over the door and then you have kind of two doors. The fabric one hides the door and prevents the draft.
- Doors in the house: Keep them closed to keep the warmth in a certain room or use the doors to guide the warmth into needed direction.
- Notice: If you don't have fabric thick enough you can use two or more layers of it.
- Floors: Use rugs/carpets so the floors stay/feel warmer.
- Walls: Re-arrange your furniture in the way that bookshelves etc. cover the outer walls instead of inner walls -if needed. Use wall hangings etc. on outer walls. Originally wall textiles were made to keep the cold away, not to decorate the home!
4. Hot Water Boiler
- We have it as hot as possible. It is big so heating it up takes extra energy. When it is hot it doesn't cool down so easily, and water taken in to it to heat it up warms up very fast because there still is so much hot water in. Warming up our hot water boiler takes energy, but on the long run it becomes cheaper and sustainable to keep it adjusted hot. Also, because it is in the middle of the house, it radiates the warmth to living area. (It doesn't feel hot, neither warm, but neither the area it stands doesn't feel cold even there is no other radiator in the space.) Check out your own hot water boiler how you can adjust it to work best possible way in your circumstances.
5. Actions to save energy and water
- We use dish washing machine and laundry machine only as full if not exception. You can wash the clothes only when they are dirty. If you don't want to go on them to work after using once you can wear them at home until they get dirty. You also can drink from the same glass couple of times. If there is many family members use different kind of glasses/mugs or markers.
- Forget the bath tube. We shower under 5 minutes. Only long haired are allowed to use more if needed. Get ready enough towels to get dry and warm fast so you don't need to heat yourself up under a running water. Also, get ready your clothes and blankets if needed. If you have sauna it still might be more efficient to use it than cold bathroom.
6. Psychology
- TheLook: Natural light or faux natural light (candle, stove) make you think it is warmer than it actually is!
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