Lower heating bills with this wacky multifunctional Japanese invention

gokuma:

cosmic-aria:

the-gneech:

solarpunk-gnome:

Many of us get creative in trying to cut down the heating bill in winter. So far, we’ve seen people use tents indoors, DIY candle heaters, and of course, good ol’ fashioned layering with woolly socks and sweaters.

In Japan, land of quirky customs, quirky inventions and even quirkier homes,
some warm up in winter using what looks like a cross between a low
table, futon, reclining couch and a comforter. It’s called a kotatsu, and there’s a special heater built in underneath the table that warms the extremities of all who gather ‘round it. Or even sleep under it, as this writer recounts during her first winter in Japan.

And apparently, it can lower heating bills too, as Martin Frid explains on these pages some years ago:

Sitting by the kotatsu
heating table, under a thick blanket, is still the way for entire
families to keep warm on winter evenings. Rather than heating up the
entire house, the cosy kotatsu is a comfortable way to spend a couple of
hours together, with a much lower energy bill by the end of the month.

Make one here on Instructables!

I’ve seen so much anime that a kotatsu just seems like a normal, everyday thing… even if I’ve never seen one IRL. Kinda made me confused to see it referred to as “a wacky invention.”

yeah it took me a really long time to process that a kotatsu wouldn’t be common knowledge in the west until i remembered that not everyone was a fucking weeaboo in middle school like i was

THIS

I mean, as I can personally attest, Japanese homes don’t generally have central heating. This is literally one of the most practical ways to stay warm while still being able to work, eat, and nap.

Lower heating bills with this wacky multifunctional Japanese invention