Getting heated about the heat
I need to vent.
I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist… I figure if a blog post has a picture of some variety it makes it something a bit more interesting. No? Oh well, I thought it was funny. I need to “vent”, so there’s a picture of a vent…okay, never mind.
Let’s go back in time just a bit, to March 2010. I’d been looking around at different apartment complexes, and narrowed it down to a few within a short drive of my mom and brother’s place. Once I found the one where I currently am living, I was excited to get my paperwork in order and to move in. But, once I did move in I found the one extremely annoying thing about my apartment that really bugs me.
So, the papers are signed, I’ve got the keys, and I’ve come in to have a look around before I move in. The wood floors are all shiny, I have a new refrigerator, and I can start moving in any time. Great! So, I’m looking around, and I can’t find the thermostat, since it was a little toasty in the apartment.
A friend suggested I look on the baseboard heater things to see if there was a controller, and sure enough I found one! Or, I found one that…kind of looked like it may have been one at one time or another.
I called the rental office, and asked if someone could come to repair the thermostat, and I then found out, the hard way, that which I wished I’d asked initially.
A friendly voice on the other end of the phone said to me, “There used to be a thermostat there, but it was removed a few years ago and all apartments heat is now controlled from a central location.”
What?! I have no control over my heat?! WTF!
I then found out this was common among apartments…
Asinine!
Now, back to the present; I got my rent bill, and sometimes included with the bill will be some sort of flyer or letter from the landlord. This time around, we had something talking about “Getting ready for Winter” - the letter stated that all of the snow removal apparatus was ready, they were stocked up on salt and whatnot, blah blah blah, but then there was a section about “What you could do to get ready for winter”
This is when I started laughing. Uncontrollably.
One of the lines stated “To ensure proper heating of your apartment, please remove all window air conditioners.” (and they made sure to bold and underline this part too)
Proper heating of my apartment?!
That’s damn hilarious. I can’t properly heat my apartment, because with the windows closed it makes an oven look like Antarctica. I have to have the windows open, and even that doesn’t help all the time. Sometimes I will need to use the fan mode on my A/C units to get adequate air flow to make the environment habitable. Sometimes when it’s been below 50 outside I’ve even had to use the actual A/C component since it was just too damn hot in my room.
So, in response to that request to remove my air conditioner, in a word:
No. In more than one word: “To properly heat my apartment, give me a damn thermostat. Until then, you can either come remove them yourself (which I’ll just put them back when you’re not looking), or shut up."
I’m not bitter, honest. Really.
I honestly don’t see how removing the window units will "ensure proper heating” - the two have nothing to do with one another.
There is another apartment complex just down the street from where I live now, I may look at it as an option if the rent goes up too much when my lease renewal comes up. The caveat, though, is these apartments rely more on electricity, but have lower rent as a result since none of the utilities are included (I need clarification on that) - so, theoretically, I may be able to pay for exactly what I want/need and not have to feel like a broiling chicken when I’m watching TV… I don’t know. I really don’t feel like moving again, but I also don’t feel like experiencing the inside of a sauna just when I’m trying to relax in the sanctity of my home.
Okay, rant over, thank you for letting me get this all out.