Do I look like a landlord??

[Ellen Forradalom]

I recently moved into a six-unit condo building in Chicago. We have a communal heating system, hot water heat with a boiler in the basement and radiators in the units. Heat bills have been skyrocketing, and this year the residents decided to address it. At my husband's suggestion, we bought a programmable thermostat and had a meeting in which we agreed upon a time-temperature chart (morning 72 degrees, daytime 69, evening 72, nighttime 65).

Since my husband and I assumed ownership of the problem (i.e. we are doing something about it), everyone turns to us. The same few neighbors (the "warm" contingent) turns up at our door and calls us up to complain bitterly that they're cold, their radiators aren't on, they have the sniffles, they're not going to pay their assessments, they're going to call the city. When I investigate the temperature is within guidelines.

The past few days our temperatures have been below the target (66-67 daytime). The thermostat is in the unit of an elderly neighbor who likes things warm. It turns out she and her sister run two space heaters. This skews the measurements and makes the rest of us cold. When I point this out, she resists mightily. Oh no, the doors are closed, that can't be happening.

I draw up new guidelines and submit them for a vote. The folks who like it cooler agree to raised temperatures (72 all weekend days, 70 weekdays), but the elderly neighbor says it's insufficient; we need another meeting, and she's had the sniffles all week long!

I decided to count this as a 'no' vote. If a majority vote yes, I will go and attempt to seek access to reprogram the thermostat. If she doesn't let me in, well, everyone will be cold.

Let's not even talk about the space heaters. That's a separate issue. Removing those from the premises will be slightly more difficult than tying down the neighbor and pulling her teeth.

[Cha]

1. That would drive me crazy!

I live in an apartment in New York and haven't even turned the heat on yet! I think most people keep it way too hot in the winter and not enough fresh air and that's what leads to the "sniffles" and worse. Fresh air is Key!

I have 2 shirts and 2 sweaters on now and two pairs of sweat pants. I'll admit I try to save money on it but it still seems like a waste of electricity to have the heat on now. I will turn it on when it gets colder but not way high..just enough to take the chill off!


Jimmy Carter and I would have gotten along on this issue when he was in our White House! :)

[Melsky]

3. I am like that too

I would much rather be slightly cold and wear extra clothes. I spent one year in Ohio, and having no control over the heating drove me crazy. I had to have the window open a lot, such a waste!

[Cha]

6. Now, you're in the Desert! I loved living in

the Desert in Cal. There's a movie called "29 Palms" that's a thriller and pretty good!

But, yeah, "extra clothes and slightly cold" is where it's at, baby :)

And it is "a waste" to have all that energy burning to keep it at summer temperatures. Even where I work at our Co-op ..they keep it at 63degrees and I think we could save on that, too!

[BiggJawn]

13. How do you type with gloves on?

For me, If I had 2 shirts and 2 sweaters on, I'd had lost feeling in my fingers by now...

[Ellen Forradalom]

15. I'm a big fan of the right clothing

I have fleece pants on and a wool cardigan and a nice pair of my own handknit wool socks. Works for me!

[Ophelia]

2. Sounds like a lot of work.

I keep picturing Mr. Roper for some reason.

[Ellen Forradalom]

4. Who's Mr. Roper?

[Ophelia]

8. From Three's Company.

Remember that one? One of my favorites as a kid anyway.

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. Oh, okay.

We watched 'All in the Family.'

[yankeeinlouisiana]

5. Only thing I can think of

make sure the windows are tight. My first apartment in Chicago had really bad windows and the wind just blew right through the spaces around the window. One of those 3-M window kits helped a lot. Maybe you can add those to the ladies with the sniffles. :shrug:

I would have been very happy with those tempatures. One day I came home early from work with a fever and the little thermometor on the frig read 47 degrees! Now that's cold and the only time I ever called my landlord!!

Try talking to an HVAC/heating guy or maybe he can check out the system.

Good luck!!

[Ellen Forradalom]

7. The other neighbors

in the 'warm' contingent threw a hissy fit when they went to three other neighbors (including me) and complained they were cold, and we all told them to plastic their windows (they don't have storms.) The husband of the family threw a fit saying they were going to file a complaint with the city. His parents own the unit, so they're the landlords, so the only people the city could cite are his folks, and they live in Asia! Iy yi yi! Think this one through, people!

They still need to plastic their windows, anyway.

On edit: He's a wholesale ice-cream salesman and brings us free samples of Ben & Jerry's, so I can't outright hate them :-)

[Kenneth ken]

10. how fun for you!

glad I don't live wherever you live.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

11. The girls turned the heat up to 85 on our floor....

I turned it down to 70. It's not that cold....these skinny girls with no padding are pissing me off, because I can't sleep when it's hot, and they're always cold.
Duckie

[ProudGerman]

12. that reminds me

When I was an electrician, working in office buildings that were mostly women was exactly like you describe. The heat was always cranked way up. I always worked up a sweat working on those jobs. Of course, that was perfect for when I went outside to get something.

Instead of appropriate attire, just crank the heat up to 80. Man I hated that.

[Ellen Forradalom]

14. Then in the summer

the office is a meat locker. I always kept a cardigan at the office to keep from freezing to death :scared: Geez, no wonder America uses 25% of the world's energy.