{"items": [{"author": "David", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=228876267176951", "anchor": "fb-228876267176951", "service": "fb", "text": "If you want to spread the cooking heat around, you could use fans. Whether or not the cost of the fans would be regained by lower heating bills depends on the size and layout of the apartment and how much cooking heat you generate.", "timestamp": "1319906781"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=228891983842046", "anchor": "fb-228891983842046", "service": "fb", "text": "HVAC engineers know all about this, and there is much discussion on the web. Of course, besides the fuel cost, is the amount of insulation in the walls, whether you have heated walls, ceiling and floor (in an apartment, from neighbors), and particularly how your windows and doors are insulated.
David's point about fans is important because a thermostat works based on its local temperature, so if heat is rising, then your ceiling will be warm, your floor will be cool, and the thermostat will be somewhere in the middle. I had a pal whose apartment had a \"hot air register\" in the floor that blew right on his thermostat, so the room was always cold. I fashioned a hood for the register (out of a cardboard box) that directed the heat away from the thermostat and his problem was solved.", "timestamp": "1319909389"}, {"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=228915367173041", "anchor": "fb-228915367173041", "service": "fb", "text": "It was a dark and stormy October night. The boat was tie up at the dock, with rain pelting while we loaded our supplies. With everything on board, we loosed the boat from its thumping at dockside and moved out into the dark, wave-tossed harbor to pick up a buoy for the night. Finally the mooring was secured, the hatch closed, lights turned on, and the miniature wood stove warming the cabin. A small cold dinner, much bonhomie, and beers. Looking at the thermometer, the skipper said, \"Gentlemen, in case anyone cares, the cabin temperature is 59 degrees.\"
That winter I kept my apartment at 55 degrees. Warm hat, vest, and slippers, thick quilts, and the healthiest winter I had had in a long time. Oh, and low heating bills. MoreTite on all the drafty windows helped.", "timestamp": "1319913030"}, {"author": "David Chudzicki", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/106120852580068301475", "anchor": "gp-1319916441797", "service": "gp", "text": "Does the thermostat setting vary depending on things like whether people are at home, or awake?", "timestamp": 1319916441}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1319941666230", "service": "gp", "text": "@David Chudzicki\n Yes. It's programmable. It used to go to the higher temperature for mornings and evenings, but now that celeste is home with the baby all day it's only cold at night.", "timestamp": 1319941666}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=229065540491357", "anchor": "fb-229065540491357", "service": "fb", "text": "Is my calculation reasonable? It's a good bit higher than most things on the web that put the cost per degree closer to $3.", "timestamp": "1319942219"}, {"author": "BDan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=229081500489761", "anchor": "fb-229081500489761", "service": "fb", "text": "If you have a gas stove, then that's part of your heating bill, too, and it won't be any cheaper to create the heat in the kitchen and spread it around than it would to use the actual heating system (maybe a tiny bit due to losses from the pipes, but that would be offset by the cost of running the fans). If you have an electric stove, it will be much more expensive to generate heat with that than with the gas heating system. (My old apartment had an electric radiator in the kitchen instead of steam like the rest of the place, and we quickly discovered that heating just that room with it cost about $100/month; we decided to just let the kitchen be cold when we weren't cooking.)", "timestamp": "1319946184"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=229083553822889", "anchor": "fb-229083553822889", "service": "fb", "text": "@BDan: the stove is gas, and is included in the bill. I believe David's idea was not \"save money by heating your apartment with the stove and using fans to spread the heat around\" but \"if you're already using your stove some, you might do better to move the heat into other rooms with some fans\".", "timestamp": "1319946665"}, {"author": "David", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=229087587155819", "anchor": "fb-229087587155819", "service": "fb", "text": "Yes, the latter is what I meant.", "timestamp": "1319947777"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/228865867177991?comment_id=229088590489052", "anchor": "fb-229088590489052", "service": "fb", "text": "If you have gas for heat, hot water, and stove, then you have a gas meter, and if you're curious, you can check it every day. you might even be able to read it automatically.", "timestamp": "1319948046"}, {"author": "David Chudzicki", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/106120852580068301475", "anchor": "gp-1319988946246", "service": "gp", "text": "Yeah, I was just curious how much \"time\" of heat you're buying for that much. \n
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\nWe don't have a thermostat, just an old gas heater. ", "timestamp": 1319988946}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/112947709146257842066", "anchor": "gp-1320019385766", "service": "gp", "text": "(from Facebook) \"... and the healthiest winter I had had in a long time.\"\n
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\nI can definitely see that, at least in opposition to forced air heat. I've always hated forced air heat. Dries everything out and just generally makes things unpleasant. Of course, I also hate being cold, and could never stand to leave the thermostat at 64 F. If I ever move somewhere like Boston, I'm going to have to get really creative not to be miserable in the winter (or just have enough money to spend a lot on an alternative solution).", "timestamp": 1320019385}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1320023101097", "service": "gp", "text": "@Todd\n \"I've always hated forced air heat\"\n
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\nMuch of the boston housing stock has radiators.", "timestamp": 1320023101}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/112947709146257842066", "anchor": "gp-1320023585495", "service": "gp", "text": "Aren't radiators significantly less effective at actually heating the space, though? I do like the idea of having them under the floor, to get a better distribution of heat sources throughout a room, but I'd assume that most places aren't configured that way.", "timestamp": 1320023585}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1320059326834", "service": "gp", "text": "@Todd\n I don't know about radiator efficiency. A single steam or forced hot water radiator per room is common.", "timestamp": 1320059326}]}