Six degrees of cold...

This is what happens when it gets down to six degrees. This is ice on the inside of a window in the house. This window does not have storm windows on it and the condensation froze. I had to get a hair dryer to thaw it out.

This is an original window and it will be replaced by a door. Extreme cold is uncomfortable but it reveals the thermal weaknesses of a structure better than anything else. I knew this window was a weak point but I didn't realize the extent.

Storm windows work because they keep the exterior cold or heat away from the single pane glass. Condensation will always form where hot meets cold. Where condensation occurs that is below freezing ice will form. There should be an entire chapter in the book on inefficiency devoted to this.

I found several other places throughout the house that had ice on the glass that morning. Mainly where the storm window had been left in an open position.

I left the hose bibbs dripping the night before and icicles had formed on the spigots.

When I rode around the next day there was sign of burst pipes everywhere around town. Home Depot's watering system in the garden center burst. A major metropolitan hospital that my wife works at had a pipe burst which flooded a recovery room.

This is an infrared reading on the window pane. It's around 63 degrees inside the house.

The neighbors reported that one of the houses nearby had water running out of it and icicles were seen emanating from the front door. I tried working outside and only lasted about 15 minutes. At noon it had risen to 12 degrees. If it never gets that cold again it will be too soon!

Today I was wearing a t-shirt...