General > General Technical Chat
Window screens
Ed.Kloonk:
The English in the days of the Empire used to put mosquito nets on and over the bed in the colonies.
themadhippy:
--- Quote ---I was chuffed, having never seen one before, as we don't have them in Oz.
In turn, they didn't seem to have anything like our annoying bushflies---a few houseflies, for sure, but not in huge numbers.
I remember some sandflies, but not mosquitoes.
--- End quote ---
if you want to meet the most evil bitey thing just take a trip to the west coast of scotland in summer and introduce yerself to the wee midge, insect repellent is useless against them, they just see it as a condiment.
CatalinaWOW:
I was surprised to see the comment that stainless steel wasn't that expensive, so did some searches and found that the relative prices of materials has changed a lot since I last bought any a couple of decades ago.
Here in the US fiberglass is the most common and runs about $0.50/sq. ft. Aluminum next most common $0.42/sq ft. Next is stainless steel at $1.02 sq. ft. and finally the standard from early to mid 20th century, copper at $3.00 sq. ft. For you metric zealots remember you are only interested in the price ratios and that math is the same regardless of units.
Given those prices it isn't obvious why fiberglass is used most here. It is easier to work with (cuts with a knife and is very flexible), but is far less durable than aluminum. Stainless is not noob friendly but obviously one of the best in terms of durability. Copper is about like aluminum to work with, and is beautiful, but dang it costs plenty.
I also ran across a product that might be of interest to some, pet-proof fiberglass.
I don't understand why screens aren't used everywhere. In combination with exhaust fans they allow me to almost totally avoid air conditioning while not suffering from mosquitos, houseflies, bees, wasps and hornets. In an eco-friendly world they are one of the easiest and cheapest solutions. And while I agree that bees and wasps can usually be gently herded out, it is a nuisance and SWMBO isn't as tolerant of the six and eight legged sharers of our planet.
TimFox:
Yes, at these prices window screens qualify as an "appropriate technology", even where air conditioning might not be appropriate.
james_s:
--- Quote from: MK14 on June 06, 2023, 11:09:18 pm ---In years gone by (before global warming and other factors), the UK didn't have too much of a problem with bugs. The main (rare) exceptions being, bees and sometimes wasps (but relatively rare for them to enter a house).
But the common insect to enter at times (when windows are open), would be house flies. But you can learn to get rid of them, reasonably easily. So, maybe once or twice a week, the flies can be dealt with, in various ways. Including opening a door or window and sort of chasing them (or letting them) out.
But in modern times, the insect populations, are suppose to be increasing in the UK.
Maybe it is because of the (still) relatively mild temperature changes, most of the UK experiences, during the year. I.e. Never that cold or that hot (although probably with global warming, it can get rather hot, these days).
--- End quote ---
Global warming has raised the average temperature of the planet only 0.8C per decade since 1981 according to what I've found. That's enough to cause problems but not likely going to be very perceptible to humans or affect the amount of time you'd want to open the windows. Where I live has weather similar to that in the UK and it does seem like our summers are a bit hotter than when I was a kid, but it's always gotten pretty hot for at least a few weeks.
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