Unsurprisingly, especially in the winter, this entire island is a humongous waste of energy. While my law firm turns off the lights in the elevator lobbies to save energy, that’s small pennies compared to the amount we squander on heat during the winter. Every pre-war residential apartment building (“brownstone”) throughout Manhattan – i.e., almost every residential building – uses the single most wasteful winter heating system ever conceived of by mortal man (right).
Enemy of the People.
If you’ve ever lived in a brownstone, you’ll know the terror of which I speak. It’s the little metal abomination that, together with the heat pipe, somehow manages to raise your apartment’s temperature to the mid-90s despite the fact that it’s snowing outside. It’s the reason you have to open the window just to stave off heat stroke. Turning it off isn’t an option. The heat pipe is centrally controlled by someone who doesn’t have to live in the hell they’re creating, and the radiator, I’m told, can’t be turned off without imperiling the safety of the entire building.
What kind of sick operation, fully aware of our dependence on foreign oil and $4 gasoline, squanders valuable fuel by heating an entire island twenty-five degrees above the comfort zone? I can only chalk this criminal waste up to corrupt incentives somewhere in the supply chain, and the truly legendary inertia of the Manhattan landlord (why install a better heating system when you can get a new, less annoying tenant just by sneezing?). But something has to change. Quite apart from comfort, if all of Manhattan could slice their winter heating bills in half, we’d be taking a sizable bite out of our national energy crisis.
Living in a city is actually very energy efficient due to the lack of personal commuting relative to the suburbs.
Posted by KipEsquire | July 18, 2008, 10:51 pmBut think how much MORE efficient it could be… I agree it beats the ‘burbs for efficiency, but it’s still a waste :-/
Posted by Ames | July 18, 2008, 11:05 pmAlso, they often make weird and loud noises, and provide access for mice – that latter especially well when they’re in the form of a baseboard radiator. Thus did I learn in Minnesota.
Posted by Steve | July 18, 2008, 11:19 pmI’m not entirely sure I understand this. Isn’t it possible to turn the individual radiators off if they get too hot?
Here in Europe, we even have these little things called thermostats which automatically turn the radiators on and off to maintain a certain temperature. Are such devices really unknown in Manhattan?
Posted by lanfranc | July 19, 2008, 6:38 amIt’s the same story with everyone I talk to: either you can’t turn off the radiators (like me) or even if you do, the heat pipe or other system still makes it a good 87. Thermostats are available in nice buildings I can’t afford :-). But in brownstones ,which most of the city lives in, it’s the radiator bizness.
Posted by Ames | July 19, 2008, 11:16 amames, i totally understand … my b.f.’s apt. on the upper eastside was an oven from september through march … i remember visiting her in mid-december during a blizzard (mine was the last plane into jfk) and sleeping under an open window during my entire stay.
similarly, i lived in an old building in koreatown in l.a. … the radiators were on, but not as hot … i could turn the dial, but they were still warm …
back in the early 20th century, the system design made sense … it doesn’t now …
Posted by didionsmommy | July 19, 2008, 4:14 pmby “b.f.”, I hope didionsmommy means bff. since, being her husband, I hope there are no b.oy f.riends.
But, I think condemning radiators as the problem is incorrect. Radiators locked out by landlords is a problem. I spent many winters with my windows open when it was 30F outside because I could not get my apartment cool enough, so I know what you are getting at. But large cast iron radiators, like the one pictured, are not evil and have some advantages. They have a large thermal mass and, once hot, stay hot for a long time providing even heat to the whole room. And are great to sit on. Just ask the cat.
Thermostats good. Big radiators not the problem.
Posted by didionsdaddy | July 19, 2008, 9:44 pmdarling husband …
of course, thermostats are fantastic devices … BUT when these buildings were constructed … technology to separate users (for water for the radiators, for example) was not available. THAT being not available, there would be the need for only one thermostat. now i am sure there was some special algorithm to determine what measure on that one thermostat was necessary to ensure all of the rooms/apartments were warm enough … considering that water pressure could only increase as time went on, i am sure that the temperature set on that ONE thermostat was relatively high, to ensure enough radiant heat throughout.
i am also sure that building-code and -maintenance laws have been slow to change … so if the ONE thermostat needs to be set at 180 degrees, then it needs to be 180 degrees, forget about what happens in the floors above …
all of that said, you know that i love you … and now all of you (non-spouse readers) have an idea about the dynamics of our relationship.
oh, my poor husband.
; )
Posted by didionsmommy | July 19, 2008, 9:53 pmBuilding codes require that each dwelling be maintained at a certain minimum temperature.
When I have dropped below that temperature and called my landlord, I have received DEFCON-level-1 reaction time. Alternately, when I have called my landlord after reaching 87 F, I have received a similar reaction.
The valves in each individual dwelling allow control above and below the thermostat setting (within legal range) in the reference area. If you cannot turn your radiators all the way on or off, something is broken. (I am pretty sure there is a Friends episode about this.) (Not that I am a proponent of Friends)
Darling wife, the boiler is set at 180F, not the thermostat.
Posted by didionsdaddy | July 19, 2008, 10:20 pmDarling wife, the boiler is set at 180F, not the thermostat.
THAT is why i loooooove him!
good luck, ames! we feel your pain …
and if it’s any consolation … if you OWN a home with radiators, you’ll be lucky if you can get the house at 74 degrees anywhere beyond two feet of the radiator …
you know i’m atheist, but i have to say, when it comes to home heating and cooling, there are some crazy gods involved …
cheers!
Posted by didionsmommy | July 19, 2008, 10:24 pmNow THESE comments were fun to read :-)
Posted by Ames | July 20, 2008, 9:35 pm