Needless to say, it’s very cold right now. I’m freezing my ass off.
My heating in my apartment sucks. I want you guys to tell me what I should do about this.
Our heat has always been quite weak. We turn the thermostat to 80 and it barely warms it to 70. This is on a not so cold day (30s). Our heat is provided by an individual boiler attached to our gas line which turns on and off with the thermostat. The radiators are some smallish aluminum types.
Called the landlord, who called a guy and came to check it out. He seems to think that we are getting pressure, but just that we need cast-iron radiators. We mentioned that the floors below had no heating problems. He said that it’s probably because we live on the top floor and that we are exposed on all sides essentially (makes sense)
So what are our options? We just finished paying 100 bucks a month in heating bills to get nothing essentially. I hate that. We also pay 17 cents per kWh so if you think we should switch to electric, let me know.
He said that he’d talk to our landlord about how we needed cast-iron radiators, but I don’t see it happening.
"We turn the thermostat to 80 and it barely warms it to 70. "
Are you telling me that you want your house/apartment to be AT 80 degrees? That’s where you $100 is going. My house T-stat is set at 59-65.
The first thing to check is if your boiler is in operation. If the themostat set point is never reaced (ie set at 80 but room temp is always 70) then you need to check and confirm that the boiler is always running. In this case the boiler SHOULD run because the heating setpoint has not been reached. If it’s turning on and off you have a problem in the control loop. Changing the radiator material won’t help.
In response to you exposure, yes you definetly lose more heat to the outside than you neighbors. If you have a boiler identicle to an apartment with no exterior walls their boiler would be capable of heating the apartment to a higher steady temperature than your boiler could heat your apartment.
I expect your are simply asking too much of the boiler if you want the interior temp at 80 degress. It’s simply undersized. I don’t see how changing radiator material would help.
If it’s the money you’re worried about turn down the thermostat and put on some sweaters.
I agree with onecolumbyte. 70 should be more than adequate. Wearing more clothes warms you without wasting energy warming empty air and (due to your poor insulation) the entire neighbourhood.
The only way to get it to 70 is to set it at max. Anyway, the heating guy is coming back later tonight. I installed a digital thermostat, and checked on the boiler, and it isn’t on enough. Anyway, we shall see. I can’t get the bastard to turn on.
Sorry to say - yes, since you’re on the top floor and more exposed, your apartment is going to lose heat faster. Your most cost-efficient option is to put on a fleece and some wool socks while you’re home, if you’re feeling that cold when the thermometer reads 70 in your apartment. I’m not sure your landlord will go through the expense of changing your radiators when by law, he’s not required to keep the temperature at more than 68 deg. during the day, and you do seem to be achieving that much.
Who’s supplying your electricity? I don’t pay ConEd more than 10.6 cents per kWh. If the electrical situation in your apartment seems good, though, and you’re really miserable, you can look into getting space heaters to supplement. Don’t skimp on those, though - get the ones with safety shut-offs if they tip, etc.
I stay 2-3 nights a week at a friend’s apartment in an old building with 14-foot ceilings, on the top floor, so I can commiserate with feeling the chill. But dressing more warmly really makes a world of difference.
Are you taking actual temp readings? 70 in winter is downright hot.
If it’s drafty, 70 on the th-stat is chilly, but the core area where the thermostat is at might read 70 (and really be 70), but areas you sit/eat/sleep in might be as low as 60.
If the thermostat is near a hot zone, you might have the setting at 80 because it really is that hot near the th-stat, but it could just be a hot zone in the apartment.
Take some real temp reading through the place and report back. The thermostat and heat could be working perfectly.
My house is 65 right now w/ modern everything, but my family room is 58. To get my family room to 65, my house would have to be near 72 or higher. I have installed a Lennox fireplace with thermostat control to heat the room up. It is gas, but saves me gas and money, because it heats up the two coldest rooms.
You may have a water flow problem. The boiler will have an internal setpoint independent of the wall thermostat. It will try to heat its water up to some temperature, say 140 °F. As long as the water is at that temp, the boiler is happy. The thermostat in the room should be controlling water flow through your radiator with a valve or a pump, although it could be simply enabling the boiler to operate. So the boiler will cycle on and off if its water is hot enough until the thermostat tells it to stop.
What you need to check is if you are getting sufficient water flow to your radiators. Are the radiators getting hot? Is the water leaving the radiator significantly cooler than the water entering it? If the radiator is getting hot, how quickly does it heat up after the boiler fires? These are the kinds of things I would look at to determine what the issue is. You may simply have a shutoff valve that is partially closed or sedimented up. Or any of a host of other problems that would impact the heat transfer in your system. If you give more info, I will try to give more suggestions.
I can give you a few ideas on how to make your house feel warmer if that’s what your looking for.
You can buy a humidifier to increase the humidity in the air. It will still be 70 in your house but it should feel warmer to you. If you don’t want to invest in a humidifier than you can try boiling a pot of water on the stove. You can also buy a space heater ( I would recommend one of the ceramic types. Hot damn do they put out heat!) You move it from room to room where you currently need more heat.
Does your building have an attic? If so, sounds like the ceiling insulation could be improved significantly. Talk to your landlord - it’s fairly inexpensive and easy to do. It could make a world of difference.