Planking on hot carpet.

It's that more or less energy efficient than a kotatsu? At least we get to see Hiei and her fine back side...

Behold a properly heated dwelling! The latest innovation in Japan developed after decades of incompetent home building tireless research!

Central heating and other built-in heat sources are anathema to Japanese building practices, which are orientated towards rebuilding rather than remodeling, which does lead to pretty crappy buildings quite a lot of the time. And they do have insulation, you just need to go further north - because Hokkaido's winters laugh at uninsulated houses.

On the cost side, a kotatsu is cheaper per hour to run (3.5yen/hr and 6.5yen/hr - both of which are significantly cheaper than any major heating appliance), and you get the utility of a table! (I use my kotatsu table all year round, just take out the heating element and blankets and stuff).

The carpets aren't expensive on the whole though, so they're pretty popular in apartments.

Paracite said:

Central heating and other built-in heat sources are anathema to Japanese building practices, which are orientated towards rebuilding rather than remodeling, which does lead to pretty crappy buildings quite a lot of the time. And they do have insulation, you just need to go further north - because Hokkaido's winters laugh at uninsulated houses.

Luckily we over here at the lower regions have snowless winters and the furthest we need is a heater and heated toilets.

Unluckily, we get lots of rain and typhoons.

Paracite said:

Central heating and other built-in heat sources are anathema to Japanese building practices, which are orientated towards rebuilding rather than remodeling, which does lead to pretty crappy buildings quite a lot of the time. And they do have insulation, you just need to go further north - because Hokkaido's winters laugh at uninsulated houses.

On the cost side, a kotatsu is cheaper per hour to run (3.5yen/hr and 6.5yen/hr - both of which are significantly cheaper than any major heating appliance), and you get the utility of a table! (I use my kotatsu table all year round, just take out the heating element and blankets and stuff).

The carpets aren't expensive on the whole though, so they're pretty popular in apartments.

Are they more cost effective, though? The heat radiates al over instead of being contained in one small area.

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Jarlath said:

Are they more cost effective, though? The heat radiates al over instead of being contained in one small area.

They provide heat to the whole room, so that's something that the kotatsu can't do (however little heat that might be). You also get a carpet for insulation and noise control. And if you have a nice big one, you're less limited in how you can use the room.

The most popular (read:cheaper) carpets are basically just kotatsu-sized (plus a foot or so more) anyway, so you just put a table on it, with a blanket, and have a psuedo-kotatsu anyway - with a bit extra for you to sit on outside of it.

The kotatsu just has massive cultural momentum going for it, though it is a neat and pretty efficient way of providing warmth to a room that can, critically, usually be folded away to take up little space when not in use (the tables are usually collapsible, and the table-top just sits on top of the base loose - you put the blanket under the table top, so it can't be fixed in place).

Another benefit of the kotatsu/blanket is that apart from being cheap, it's also quite safe - gas-powered ones need ventilation and can burn things, and the oil-column ones could burn a kiddo if they ran into it. While you can burn yourself a bit on a kotatsu if you ram you leg into the heat part, it's not really that hot, as the heat doesn't have to go far.

Really, at that cost per hour (larger heating appliances tend to be 20-60 yen an hour minimum, and a/c can be upwards of 150), it's not an issue.

It always seems odd when they have foreigners from countries that generally have well insulated and warm houses become fond of the kotatsu though. I get that they'd be probably be cosy in a coldish house, but I'd assume anyone used to a warm house would still prefer a warm house over a kotatsu.

HumbugUserHello said:

It always seems odd when they have foreigners from countries that generally have well insulated and warm houses become fond of the kotatsu though. I get that they'd be probably be cosy in a coldish house, but I'd assume anyone used to a warm house would still prefer a warm house over a kotatsu.

Aha! New Zealand also has poorly insulated houses!

I don't actually use the heat in the kotatsu though, since I'm an amazingly cheap bastard (power bill is normally under 3500 yen/month). It really comes down to that if you don't have decent insulation, then heating a whole house (or apartment) is just pissing away your money, since it's just going to disappear out the walls.

The kotatsu give the room a nice focal point, so in the tiny apartments that most foreigners have, it's more than sufficient to do most of what you'd want to do. Kotatsu tables are usually 1-2m a side, so you get a lot of surface space anyway.

I just don't get the appeal of paying to heat a room that nobody's in.

Keo said:

Luckily we over here at the lower regions have snowless winters and the furthest we need is a heater and heated toilets.

Unluckily, we get lots of rain and typhoons.

Got a massive snow drop last year in Kumamoto, though. Don't normally get much snow, but it gets down to the low singles pretty often in the dead of winter. Gotta love that chill coming over from China-way, I guess.

HumbugUserHello said:

It always seems odd when they have foreigners from countries that generally have well insulated and warm houses become fond of the kotatsu though. I get that they'd be probably be cosy in a coldish house, but I'd assume anyone used to a warm house would still prefer a warm house over a kotatsu.

You sound like someone who's never experienced a real winter. ;) even a heated house can feel chilly in the mornings (as the furnace is not usually run 24/7), and even good insulation doesn't mean rooms (or floors) are always toasty warm.

Plus, warm doesn't automatically translate to 'cozy' - anyone who's gone around wrapped up in a blanket or housecoat knows what the difference is. Kotatsu sound quite cozy, while the heated carpet doesn't automatically have the same connotation.

Paracite said:

They provide heat to the whole room, so that's something that the kotatsu can't do (however little heat that might be). You also get a carpet for insulation and noise control. And if you have a nice big one, you're less limited in how you can use the room.

The most popular (read:cheaper) carpets are basically just kotatsu-sized (plus a foot or so more) anyway, so you just put a table on it, with a blanket, and have a psuedo-kotatsu anyway - with a bit extra for you to sit on outside of it.

Really, at that cost per hour (larger heating appliances tend to be 20-60 yen an hour minimum, and a/c can be upwards of 150), it's not an issue.

So it's the difference between being warm and a warm surface to sit on (but you have to bring your own blanket versus using the one built into the kotatsu).

Jarlath said:

You sound like someone who's never experienced a real winter. ;) even a heated house can feel chilly in the mornings (as the furnace is not usually run 24/7), and even good insulation doesn't mean rooms (or floors) are always toasty warm.

Plus, warm doesn't automatically translate to 'cozy' - anyone who's gone around wrapped up in a blanket or housecoat knows what the difference is. Kotatsu sound quite cozy, while the heated carpet doesn't automatically have the same connotation.

I can't claim to live in a place that goes below -40 regularly if that's what it takes to call it a real winter, but otherwise its plenty cold enough for me :). As you said cozy isn't the same as warm, but if the room is warm enough to begin with a simple blanket is enough to make it cozy. There's no need for extra heating at all.

Having simple (unheated) carpets on the floor is also enough to make floors not feel cold, although I will admit that houses with floor heating are even more comfortable during the winter. A heated carpet actually sounds cozier to me, but it doesn't have the same connection to sitting around and having fun at table that's usually depicted in manga.

Paracite said:
Aha! New Zealand also has poorly insulated houses!

I don't actually use the heat in the kotatsu though, since I'm an amazingly cheap bastard (power bill is normally under 3500 yen/month). It really comes down to that if you don't have decent insulation, then heating a whole house (or apartment) is just pissing away your money, since it's just going to disappear out the walls.

The kotatsu give the room a nice focal point, so in the tiny apartments that most foreigners have, it's more than sufficient to do most of what you'd want to do. Kotatsu tables are usually 1-2m a side, so you get a lot of surface space anyway.

I just don't get the appeal of paying to heat a room that nobody's in.

Yeah, I didn't meant that every other country except for Japan has well insulated houses, I've for example heard from people that visited Australia that their houses are worse insulated than our barns as an example. As you yourself pointed out isn't not like every house in Japan is badly insulated either. However when people from places with the well insulated houses are depicted it just seems a bit amusing to have them praise Japanese ingenuity in creating the kotatsu so you can *gasp* not freeze inside your home.

Of course if you aren't living in a house with enough insulation then I understand the appeal.

Paracite said:

The kotatsu just has massive cultural momentum going for it...

Well, that's certainly what's going on in this strip, that's for sure. Hiei's definitely of the opinion that a heated carpet can warm your body but it can't warm your heart.

Tk3997 said:

Behold a properly heated dwelling! The latest innovation in Japan developed after decades of incompetent home building tireless research!

I say karoshi induced research and development

Paracite said:

Got a massive snow drop last year in Kumamoto, though. Don't normally get much snow, but it gets down to the low singles pretty often in the dead of winter. Gotta love that chill coming over from China-way, I guess.

Oh yeah, I remember that. There was a blizzard in Kumamoto back in 2015. If I remember correctly that was also the first time it snowed in Okinawa as well. It was really surprising yeah.

But for most cases it's rare to have snow down here in the Kansai and beyond. I travelled around to the Tohoku(never been to Hokkaido however) during mid-winter and it was freezing cold in some areas with tons of snow but even during that time, areas in Kansai still didn't have a drop of snow.
Well, there was hail though...but it was hard to tell cause it could have also just been strong rain.

Point is, if you hate winter and snow then the lower regions are heaven. It'll still be cold and you'll need heat though.

I've always felt that heated rooms eventually start feeling stuffy, so I don't mind something like the kotatsu instead.