Australia

I, unfortunately, use my gas heater extensively. Most of the year I use an electric heat pump, but midwinter it just isn't butch enough.
 
Predicted to be even colder tomorrow. Our closest met station showed minus 3 today.

I’ve been sleeping in a spare bedroom as my wife has had covid. Which doesn’t have an electric blanket. So I have had multiple layers of clothes on in bed. As she is now out quarantine, back in the warm bed.
 
lionking said:
Predicted to be even colder tomorrow. Our closest met station showed minus 3 today.

I’ve been sleeping in a spare bedroom as my wife has had covid. Which doesn’t have an electric blanket. So I have had multiple layers of clothes on in bed. As she is now out quarantine, back in the warm bed.
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I feel your pain, but in reverse. We're in the middle of a heat-wave here, and I'm currently letting my kids share my bed as it's the only cool room in the house. I'm sweltering through the night in my son's bed, which hasn't gone much below 90F.
 
Eucalypt found only in Sydney suburbs confirmed as new species

An incredibly rare eucalypt found in some of the most densely developed areas of Sydney has been confirmed as a new species.

The yet-to-be formally named species is a shrubby type of eucalypt with cup-shaped fruit and is found in the Hills District in Sydney's north-west.

"It's an unassuming eucalyptus tree," Australian Institute of Botanical Science scientist Trevor Wilson said.

"It's not too tall, it is actually a mallee which means it doesn't have a main trunk system, it looks very shrubby."

It was first spotted in the suburbs in the 1990s, but it is only now that scientists can say with certainty that it is a distinctive new species.

"It's been a long time coming," Dr Wilson said.

"The problem was that it was never known whether or not it was a hybrid, like a cross between two other species, or whether it was a distinct species on its own."

To answer that question, the Australian Institute of Botanical Science used genomic sequencing to identify key differences from other types of eucalypt and understand more about its evolutionary history.

Dr Wilson said the results showed, not only was it not a hybrid of two other species, it was more distantly-related than expected.

"That means we've identified quite a distinct, more unexpected amount of biodiversity, just sitting at the doorstep of Sydneysiders."
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Prometheus said:
I feel your pain, but in reverse. We're in the middle of a heat-wave here, and I'm currently letting my kids share my bed as it's the only cool room in the house. I'm sweltering through the night in my son's bed, which hasn't gone much below 90F.
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I really feel for the people in the UK who never thought they would need air conditioning in their houses. I would love to be an air-con salesman in the UK right now.

Of course in Australia I would guess that almost all houses had air conditioning.
 
lionking said:
I really feel for the people in the UK who never thought they would need air conditioning in their houses. I would love to be an air-con salesman in the UK right now.

Of course in Australia I would guess that almost all houses had air conditioning.
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When I moved in, mine did not. For two years I coped with opening doors and windows, and a standard fan. Then I got air conditioning put in.
 
lionking said:
I really feel for the people in the UK who never thought they would need air conditioning in their houses. I would love to be an air-con salesman in the UK right now.

Of course in Australia I would guess that almost all houses had air conditioning.
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Still don't need it though it would be nice for the few really hot days we get. I'll wait for a dual heat pump system that pumps heat into the radiators for 6 months of the year and pumps near freezing water into the system on the few days it gets really hot.
 
Lplus said:
Still don't need it though it would be nice for the few really hot days we get. I'll wait for a dual heat pump system that pumps heat into the radiators for 6 months of the year and pumps near freezing water into the system on the few days it gets really hot.
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We have an evaporated cooling air con ducted system as many houses have. It doesn’t require refrigeration just pumps water cooled air throughout the house. Costs almost nothing to run, but even on the hottest 40C+ days, the inside temperature doesn’t get above 25C.

ETA, these systems don’t work well in humid climates like Queensland, but are perfect for our dry heat in Victoria.
 
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lionking said:
We have an evaporated cooling air con ducted system as many houses have. It doesn’t require refrigeration just pumps water cooled air throughout the house. Costs almost nothing to run, but even on the hottest 40C+ days, the inside temperature doesn’t get above 25C.

ETA, these systems don’t work well in humid climates like Queensland, but are perfect for our dry heat in Victoria.
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Nor cold humid climates either, like up on the dividing range. Evaporative aircon is very much a dry climate solution.
 
lionking said:
We have an evaporated cooling air con ducted system as many houses have. It doesn’t require refrigeration just pumps water cooled air throughout the house. Costs almost nothing to run, but even on the hottest 40C+ days, the inside temperature doesn’t get above 25C.

ETA, these systems don’t work well in humid climates like Queensland, but are perfect for our dry heat in Victoria.
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Thats what I used to have in my house in New Mexico. We call them swamp coolers. On a 100f (38C) day it would get to about 80f (27C) in my house upstairs, that was just about the best they could do. On a rare humid and hot day it would just make things miserable. Then again when I first moved here we might get 3 or 4 100f days a summer, now its 20 or 30 days. Then there's the problem of forest fire smoke. You're choices on a smoky day (and those are getting more common too) with an evap cooler is to roast or choke.

It died 2 years ago and due to it being from a company now out of business that used some weird electrical system it was unrepairable. Now I have these split window units, they're like in a U shape so your window can be almost totally closed which makes them much quieter.
 
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Yeah!

Canberra is the happiest capital of Australia, according to research

Study finds city has nation’s highest average income, some of shortest commuting times and good access to services and green spaces


It’s freezing in winter, baking hot in summer and has more roundabouts than just about any city in Australia, but Canberrans seem to like it that way.

New research from the University of Canberra shows the citizens of the nation’s capital are happier than other city dwellers across Australia.

Lead researcher, Prof Jacki Schirmer, said: “Canberra is unique. The wellbeing is pretty high across the city. In Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, there are pockets of really high wellbeing, whereas in others it’s much lower.”

The researchers point to the city having the highest average income nationwide, some of the shortest commuting times, and good access to services and green spaces such as nature reserves.
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Norman Alexander said:
Used to be that Hall was a little village way out on the north-west ACT border. Now it's a Canberra suburb. Ditto Eagle Hawk. Belconnen used to be "out in the sticks". Now you can't even see the sticks from there.
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When I was a kid we used to go on day trips for picnics on Pine Island, which is now just down the hill from the Tuggeranong Town Centre.
 
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