Edit: Context behind this question is because my parents always tell me to shut the windows all the way and I kinda feel like I’m suffocating… literally… (it’s Winter here)
Like I just struggle to breathe with windows closed…
So I’m just curious, how do y’all not suffocate while trying to keep house warm and spend less on heating?
Southern US, windows are only open in winter, basically whenever it’s comfortable outside. Never in the summer. The A/C runs basically 24hrs a day during the hottest 2 months of the year.
Windows on the car are basically left cracked for the opposite time. Rain deflector are installed to allow for this without rain getting in.
I use linux
Spring: Never, my partner is allergic to tree pollen released during the spring, nor does the indoor temperature warrant opening the windows
Summer: Sometimes in late summer - I am allergic to grass pollen highly prevalent in early summer. Once they clear, I open the windows when it’s warmer inside than outside, to cool down my apartment slightly
Autumn: Rarely. The temperature usually does not warrant opening the windows
Winter: Never. It’s far too cold to let heat intentionally escape
How I avoid suffocation: my apartment is well-ventilated, this is not an issue whatsoever
deleted by creator
When we taste the air is a bit a stale, we open the all the windows and sliding doors to exchange the air during all seasons.
I basically never open my windows. This winter, I don’t think I opened them at all except maybe during a big cleaning day.
In Japan, ventilation is required by law, and most modern houses are equipped with a 24-hour ventilation system. Because of that, we don’t really need to open the windows to get fresh air — the system continuously circulates air for us.
At the same time, it doesn’t make the house noticeably colder in winter or hotter in summer. The air also goes through filters, which is especially nice during pollen season.
So I don’t really feel suffocated even with the windows closed, since the air is still being exchanged constantly.
Almost never. I lived in a bad neighborhood for too long, so I doubt that habit will change.
bad neighborhood
I remember when I was in China we used to have 防盗网 (“Anti-Theft Nets”) all over our windows… I mean it also prevents us kids from falling out of windows I guess.
I remember my old apartment in Guangzhou, there was a sofa next the the window, the TV is on the opposide of the sofa. And behind the sofa was the window, that looked down straight to the alleyway (not a street, cars can’t get in, the main road is like 10-20 minutes of walking distance away)…
Like sometimes as kids you play around and climb the sofa and then the top of the sofa (like the thing where you lean you back against) is the same height of the window.
So you could accidentally play around and if the window was open, you could, you know how kids be, peek out the window out of curiousity and fall out and die.
Like the only thing standing in the way is the Anti-Theft Net thingy.
This is what it looks like (random image found online):
I was always told to “be careful or you can fall out of there and DIE” and jeez… kid-me got so terrified of heights.
The stairs also have a bare-minimum concrete/cement barrier, you can get drunk, accidentally hop over it, and fall down to your death…
Come to think of it you could literally murder someone and pretend they accidentally fell. (Russian Dissidents have joined the chat 👀)
I remember when I visited one of my aunts apartment… it was like 16 floors high in the middle of Manhattan… OMG I got so scared… but I wanna look outside the window but I immediately just feel like I have a panic attack like “OMG what if I fall out?”…
I remember having a sleepover there with my family and literally every moment awake I was like Window = Scary
But yea I asked my parents “why not install those like we had in China”, but apparantly most cities in the US have city ordinances against these things, you need a permit for it… and then since it’s not the norm in the US, you’d just get targeted since people would think: “Ooh they must be rich / hiding a lot of valuables” so yea we don’t have those anti-theft nets here in the US.
My bdroom windows are open almost the time, except when it’s 30+ degrees in summer (to keep the heat out, we close it during the day) or below and -5 in the winter (to keep the heat in, we close it during the night).
I have sensors that let me know when the outdoor temperature and humidity are both better than indoors so I can open the windows. Typically that’s an hour or two a day in the winter when the weather is nice, and most of the day in the summer.
I never open Windows regardless of season.
I like the fresh scent of Mint in my house instead.
fresh scent of Mint
Oh you…
xD this is the best Linux joke by far.
(You did make a Linux joke and it’s not a coincidence right?)
I open the windows during winter even when it’s like -30c, at some point the air gets stale and circulation is needed. The stuffy air also makes my headspace feel weird, like something is irritating me but I can’t tell what it is.
Then at some point I open the windows, I also run a huge fan to circulate air around.
I always have a window cracked open in my room, but SoCal coastal weather is best in the world year round. There are few locations with deep water upwelling AND onshore flow atmospheric patterns. Of those, there is only one other location, in Peru, where it is also a temperate desert.
My weather is the same but I live on the first floor on a very busy Los Angeles street, so opening the windows lets in too much unfiltered grit and smog. I do step out onto the balcony daily to care for my plants and feed the birds, so some air gets in then.
mediterrenean climate, california, chile, perth, S africa,etc.
I’m in a microclimate that is even more unique than most of SoCal. You would have to visit to really understand it. I would not have believed it until I moved here. The temp where I live is 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit different than the surrounding area even just a few miles away. It only exists within a mile or so of the ocean. Riding a bike everywhere for years was quite fun because the weather always gets better the closer I get to home. It could be in the low 40’s F at night in Irvine, but it will be 55-60 F in San Clemente in the winter. It may be nearly 100 F in Mission Viejo in Summer, but it will still be 75 F in San Clemente. It has to do with the water, mountains, and how this area is situated at the edge of the LA Basin. It causes the wind patterns to be favorable here across both major regional weather patterns. If you go diving here, it also becomes obvious. There are three major thermoclines even at recreational diving depths and the first one hits hard at just a couple meters down. The cold water is why there are never hurricanes here. Any disturbances of the surface mixes the thermoclines and prevents building strong storms. When the air gets too hot, this area is covered in a marine layer at night because of the water temperature and that is what keeps it much cooler. San Clemente is where that phenomenon starts. There are actually cheesy little tourist shirts sold about the place in Peru that is supposedly the only other location with the same microclimate in the world.
Northern part of a Nordic country: never during winter; never closed during summer, unless raining.
I live in the Pacific Northwest, which means temperatures don’t fluctuate too much into extremes.
I personally like having the window cracked at night in the winter. I like to have fresh air, even if it’s cold. I feel sick if a room feels too stuffy.
Spring, summer, and fall the windows are definitely open at least at night if not during a larger part of the day. If it’s ~15-25C outside, I’ll usually have at least one window open. More likely two in the 20s. I just don’t tolerate heat well, so I will close my windows during the heat of the day when it approaches 30s.
Otherwise they’re only closed if outside is gross (smoke, people talking, hazy) or if I want total silence.
At least once a day. Really depends on the temperature, though. On hot days I open it in the morning to let cool air in, on cold days I avoid leaving it open and only open it temporarily when the air gets noticeably stale, leaving the room when I do so. Inbetween I usually leave it open the entire day.
Though, I only open it fully in the mornings of hot days. Other times I always leave it tilted only.
German here: yes. 24/7
LÜFTEN
Austrian here: STOSSLÜFTEN!
