How not to design a cabin for winter

The front of the Secret Lair peaks at 14′, which in addition to making for a mighty peculiar-looking structure in a 12×16 cabin can also make heating the thing in the morning a gradual matter. There were reasons for doing it, of course: It permitted a 6×12 sleeping loft, and also encourages venting through the loft windows during the hot months. But it’s a disadvantage in winter and shouldn’t be done for laughs. When I first wired the place I did rig a ceiling box and wall switch for a ceiling fan, as well as space over the Lair’s vestpocket bathroom for the blades. But I went quite a long time without one not so much because of cost but because the electrical system wasn’t initially up to running one even on sunny days. Providentially I inherited a big fan with a cracked housing from a neighbor who was scrapping it at roughly the same time I got my current scrounged but much expanded battery bank. So running the fan before sunrise is no longer a ridiculous thing to do, and the years-long problem of the Lair’s absurdly high ceiling is now largely compensated for.

It was overcast all night so never got cold at all – but I was still able to bump up the indoor temperature 20^o in an hour. That used to take much longer on the rare mornings I accomplished it at all. I tend to be scrooge-like about fuel, since at some subjective point it’s easier to just put on a sweater.