# How should I get/keep my (Mac) laptop warm? And other temp Q's. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806 "2009-12-11T01:37:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![eno801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@eno801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eno801)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806/21 "2009-12-14T08:34:35Z")
you might check the specs to see if your mac already has a hard drive warmer installed. I don’t know much about macs, but I know my laptop has a hard drive warmer just for those situations. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806/22 "2009-12-14T18:00:24Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > TAlso, generally speaking, it burns WAY more fuel to rewarm a house every single day than it does to maintain a steady temperature if you have anything remotely resembling insulation. Turning off the heat completely is bad for the environment, bad for your bank account and bad for you pipes. Your PC is the least of your problems. This is completely untrue, and has been discussed on the SD before. Due to greater Delta-T, it always takes more energy to maintain a constant temperature than it does to heat up a cold house. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806/23 "2009-12-14T18:14:22Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > This is completely untrue, and has been discussed on the SD before. Due to greater Delta-T, it always takes more energy to maintain a constant temperature than it does to heat up a cold house. Not necassarily. It all depends on the difference between inside and outside temperatures and the amount of insulation on the house and thermal mass inside the house, and also the amount of time the house remains cold. It can vary all over the map. For instance if you have a heavily-insulated house and only a 10-degree difference between inside and outside, you will expend less energy per unit time keeping it warm than if you have a 30-degree temperature difference and a lightly-insulated house. Air infiltration also makes a big difference in steady-state energy expenditiure when heating a house. You can also figure out the one-time heat input needed to warm the cold contents of a house back to room termperature. At some point, the cumulative energy expenditure maintaining a constant temperature will be greater than the one-time expenditure required to bring the house from ambient to room temperature, but it is not necessarily obvious when that is. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806/24 "2009-12-14T18:54:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Not necassarily. It all depends on the difference between inside and outside temperatures and the amount of insulation on the house and thermal mass inside the house, and also the amount of time the house remains cold. It can vary all over the map. > > For instance if you have a heavily-insulated house and only a 10-degree difference between inside and outside, you will expend less energy per unit time keeping it warm than if you have a 30-degree temperature difference and a lightly-insulated house. Air infiltration also makes a big difference in steady-state energy expenditiure when heating a house. > > You can also figure out the one-time heat input needed to warm the cold contents of a house back to room termperature. At some point, the cumulative energy expenditure maintaining a constant temperature will be greater than the one-time expenditure required to bring the house from ambient to room temperature, but it is not necessarily obvious when that is. Just do the math, OK? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806/25 "2009-12-14T22:07:20Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Just do the math, OK? It’ll take a while… in the meantime, may I refer you to an excellent [reference book](http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/catalogue/cold-climate.html)? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806/26 "2009-12-15T18:28:16Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > It’ll take a while… in the meantime, may I refer you to an excellent [reference book](http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/catalogue/cold-climate.html)? I don’t think I have any more space on my [shelf](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2507/4187589623_de43178760_b.jpg).. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-keep-my-mac-laptop-warm-and-other-temp-qs/520806.md?page=1)