|
"Dr. Don: Engineer Therapist"
|
|
November 23, 2010 |
Who settles
the “technical” arguments in your
relationships? A therapist? Google? Dell
Software Support? It’s a good question
and one that I have been faced with
recently. People have been writing to me
to ask technical questions to help solve
their “issues” with their partners. See,
it turns out - many of us folks in
committed relationships deal with many
of the same conflicts, so I thought it
might be helpful to share. Let me know
what you think. Here is the first of
what I hope is the first of many “Ask
the Engineering Therapist” letters. This
is NOT a joke. This is a real letter
that a real guy sent to me. I hope to
get more. Maybe I (with your help) can
help others.
|
Dear Don,
I am in a "heated" (no pun intended)
battle with my wife over a really
strange/funny topic. I know you are
the one to help us set the record
straight. Here's the deal: My wife
says that my turning on the hot water
first when heating the tub ultimately
uses more hot water and therefore drains
the hot water tank for her shower than
it would if I just turned both the hot
and cold on at the same time. Logic
tells me that if you want the end
temperature to be 100 degrees for
example and the hot water is 150 degrees
and the cold water is 50 degrees it
doesn't matter how or when you put
either in the tub if you are to arrive
at the same end temp. She says that if
I make is scalding hot at first, then
turn the hot off and cool it down with
cold that ultimately that "wastes" hot
water. Who is right and why?
Thanks,
“In Hot Water” in Ventura
|
Dear “In Hot Water”,
If you are taking a bath first and then she is showering - the
answer lies in the question "which gets you to the temperature you want your
bath at faster?” (Assuming you get in the tub right away). If you first run the
scalding hot and then the cold here's what happens: Because the air is MUCH
cooler than the scalding hot water, there will be a larger temperature gradient
so energy will flow from the water to the air (i.e. you will be heating the air)
at a faster rate. By filling the tub with hot water first you will lose more
energy to the cooler surrounding air then if you slowly raised the temperature
of the water. Sorry to side with your wife on this – but that's the
thermodynamics of it.
BTW, if you really want to be energy efficient what you should do
is fill the tub partially with cold water, then let it sit until it reaches room
temperature and then fill it with just enough hot water so that it achieves the
desired temperature just when the tub becomes full. Do that and your wife will
say you are truly “efficient” and isn’t that what every guy wants to hear?
Regards,
Don
PS – I frequently remind all my techie friends (who are so used to solving
problems all day at work) that the key to a good relationship is this: It’s
always more important for a couple to be happy, than for someone to be right.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
