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House heating question?


Chief8one

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Ok, here is the deal. I live in a house with 2 roommates and our past gas bill JUST gas was 379!!! The house is about 2400 square feet with brand new windows in 90 percent of the house and is heated using the old style registers. The only room that has not been redone is my roommates “master suite” he calls it. The windows are old as hell… yet he insists on keeping his door wide open all day.

 

I have been trying to make it a point that we need to turn the heat down during the day when no one is home to around 62. Then turn it up in the evening if need be, and then turn it back down at night when the last person goes to bed.

 

I also made a comment about closing the doors to parts of the house we don’t use and turn the registers off.

 

My roommate argues that turning the heat up and down will cost more than just leaving it on all the time??? He also says that shutting the doors doesn’t let the registers work properly?? There is a register in every room so I don’t see how closing off our extra office and bathroom is going to effect the houses heat one bit just the heating bill if the doors stay shut.

 

Is my thinking off ??

 

Anyone got a online article about saving money on heating gas with old registers or even how they work?

 

I’ll say he is right if he is right I just don’t see how

 

Thanks

 

Rant off

 

and don't get me started on the fact that no one takes out the garbage or does the dishes except me.

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If the rooms have return air ducts then open or closed doors won't matter a whole lot. Would probably work better with the doors closed if you do have return ducts in the rooms actually. Not an HVAC expert, but I understand air pressure a little bit.
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Who's name is on the gas bill? If your name isn't on it go buy a small electric room heater and don't fork over any cash anymore or simply what you feel is your fair share.

 

If the gas bill is in your name just turn it off and see how long that lasts, that should get their attention and get them playing ball.

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these are the old timey registers that run hot water through them. no heat is blown at all... if that makes sense.

 

My name is not on anything to this house, shit last month one of the roomies had an electric fireplace run 24/7 and our bill just for electric was 169.

 

I honestly have 2 light bulbs and a computer. I really don't want to move back in with my parents, but this outrageous billing is going to milk me dry, being in school and all.

 

all bills are split 3 ways, but its getting insane!

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Part II...

 

Your roommates argument is incorrect. Adjustable thermostats that lower the temp at night and while you are gone are considered "green" and can dramatically reduce your heating expenses.

 

It is simply bad math to assume that it will take more energy to resume a higher temp after an extended drop.

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these are the old timey registers that run hot water through them. no heat is blown at all... if that makes sense.

 

My name is not on anything to this house, shit last month one of the roomies had an electric fireplace run 24/7 and our bill just for electric was 169.

 

I honestly have 2 light bulbs and a computer. I really don't want to move back in with my parents, but this outrageous billing is going to milk me dry, being in school and all.

 

all bills are split 3 ways, but its getting insane!

 

 

And this is why living on your own > any other living situation.

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I'd recommend getting a couple of cheap humidifiers...in the winter, the air inside a house gets really dry and can "feel" colder. Adding moisture to the air inside will hold warmth just a little bit more.

 

That is a hell of a gas bill. I have a 2300sqft house...newer Anderson wood windows and doors, and even blazing both gas fireplaces and the thermostat at 71* most of December with family in town I crested at $303.

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The type of heater you have is called a "baseboard" heater, and they are SHIT for efficiency. All it is is a water heater and radiators. They rely on the air around them heating and rising, thus drawing in more air to be heated. This means all your heat crawls up the wall to the ceiling and sits there instead of being evenly circulated. It also means you're probably in an older house that has lousy insulation, which means all that heat crawling up the wall is also getting sucked out through the wall and attic.

Also, using a programmable thermostat with that system might not be as beneficial as you hope. Baseboards have a lot of "inertia", they take a relatively long time to heat up or cool off, and take a LOT of energy to bring up to operating temps, too. Remember, it's a water heater and a bunch of radiators.

 

I'm betting you also use a gas water heater, and that it's a nice, big tank, too. Talk to your roommates and landlord about replacing it with a line heater. It'll save you a TON of money over a tank heater, and for the landlord, it'll make the house more desirable to the next renter.

 

BTW, they do make fans that fit to base board heaters to circulate the heat and improve efficiency. You might look into those.

 

My final advice: When your lease comes up for renewal, bail. That house is a money pit for heat even compared to my own inadequately insulated apartment, and your roommates seem to have less qualms about throwing away money than you do.

Edited by GonneVille
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these are the old timey registers that run hot water through them. no heat is blown at all... if that makes sense.

 

i know exactly what you are talking about my grandpa has the same type and we just installed one of the outdoor wood burning boilers right before winter. He said he usually paid around 5k a year for fuel oil and that this stove will cut that down to a few hundred a year. the catch is we have a unlimited supply of wood on our land. it was around 10k for the whole system but i installed it so it is more if someone else does it. the best part about it is this is a fairly large house and unlike before every room is warm. he says the indoor furnace has yet to come on since the install.

 

with that said u could install a inside wood burner.

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i thank all of you for the imput. I should of known better than to get a bunch of younger roomates who don't go to college and and just spend money on dumb shit.

 

but it beats the hell out of living with the parents.

 

I live with the guy who bought the place and he is bull headed as hell... what he thinks is from Jesus himself.

 

I turned 26 a week ago and my one roomate is 19 and the other is 22. They know nothing about budgeting anything. I'm on a very tight budget (working on my second degree) so I'm all about having the temp of the house at 62 and wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

 

I remember why in undergrad why I opted to pay a bit more for a single dorm room.

 

fuck

 

never again.

 

on a side note someone mentioned to me that if i put a pan of water on top of all the radiators that it would help heat the house? Anyone know anything about that?

 

 

AND one of the biggest things that pisses me off is that the owner of the house who has the biggest room with 7 windows (that have not been replaced) bitches his room is always cold.... so then he keeps the heat cranked to keep it warm and the door wide open.. BUT he sleeps on the god damn couch downstairs with the tv and all the lights on 90 percent of the time!!!

 

 

Can't wait till June when I get my RN

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If it hasn't already been mentioned, putting some plastic over the windows can't hurt. That is an outrageous bill, I live in a small 4 bedroom apartment and only pay 70-90 dollars in gas per month. I made the mistake of living in a big house last year and realized it wasn't worth the extra cash for just having more room.
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If it hasn't already been mentioned' date=' putting some plastic over the windows can't hurt. That is an outrageous bill, I live in a small 4 bedroom apartment and only pay 70-90 dollars in gas per month. I made the mistake of living in a big house last year and realized it wasn't worth the extra cash for just having more room.[/quote']

 

 

all the windows that have not just been replaced do have plastic on them, but they HUGE windows... i told him to put some curtains up as well.... but he doesn't listen.

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