JMH Realty Concepts - Realtors · Property Management

The purpose of this page is to assist our tenants with understanding and operating their heaters properly. First some basics: There are several different forms of heat. They vary both by the type of power that they use, gas, electric or oil, and by how they supply the heat, hot air or hot water.

SYSTEM COMPONENTS: There are several basic components in all heating systems.

Gas or Oil Hot Air Heat consists of the following components.
The Thermostat: Turns the unit on and off and controls the temperature
The Furnace: Heats the air to keep you warm. The air can be as warm as 135 degrees.
The Ducts: Carry the hot air to the various parts of the apartment.
The Registers: These are the vents that the hot air comes through. They can be opened or closed.

Gas or Oil Hot Water Heat consists of the following components
The Thermostat: Turns the unit on and off and controls the temperature
The Boiler: Heats the water used to keep you warm
The Pipes: Carry the hot water to the various parts of the apartment.
The Radiators: May be either standard or baseboard.

Electric Heat Pump consists of the following components:
The Thermostat: Turns the unit on and off, determines whether you are using heat or air conditioning, controls the temperature, the fan, (auto or on) and in some cases the emergency heat.
The Compressor: Creates the heat and is always located outside.
The Air Handler: is usually either in an apartment closet or the basement. It includes a fan & motor which blows the hot air through the ducts
Emergency Heating Coils: Are a back up system, which can be turned on manually on some thermostats, and also goes on automatically if you either try to increase the temperature quickly, or if the temperature drops below a certain minimum.
The Ducts: Carry the hot air to the various parts of the apartment.
The Registers: These are the vents that the hot air comes through. They can be opened or closed.
Circuit Breaker: is the switch that controls the power. This should always remain on.

SYSTEM TESTING: Each heating season, JMH Realty Concepts, Inc. changes the filter on each forced air, heating unit. Hot water systems do not have filters. We suggest that all tenants test their heating systems early in the season, prior to the first cold snap. It has been our experience that each winter several heating units may need service. If you wait until the last minute when the demand for heating service is high, it may take longer to provide the service. Please perform the following test.

1. Wait for a cool night
2. Turn your thermostat to HEAT
3. Turn the fan to AUTO if applicable
4. Turn the heat up to 80 degrees for test purposes only.
5. Turn off the heat after the test.

COLD WEATHER TIPS

1. Make sure that all regular and storm windows are shut. As silly as it sounds, each year one or two tenants fail to do this and call to complain about the heat.
2. If you have a fireplace, keep the chimney flu closed.
3. There is no way to guarantee even heating throughout a house or apartment, however adjustments can be made by opening and closing various registers, (vents). *In winter if you live in a 2 or more story apartment or house open up the lower level registers and close the top. The heat will rise. Reverse this for cooling in the summer.
4. Take advantage of passive solar heating during the day. If you have widows, that get a lot of sunlight; consider leaving the blinds or shades opened during the day to capture this heat
5. Seal your windows. Even with storm windows, you may want to use a plastic sealer on the inside of the window. 3M makes a great product especially for this. It is inexpensive, takes only minutes to install, and is practically invisible. It will also keep your home warmer, and cut down considerably on your heating bill. If you decide to do this, use only the original product made for just this purpose. It comes with double sided tape, which can easily removed without extensive damage to the windows if you are careful. Do not use plastic sheets and duct tape. It will cause damage, not work as well, and is ugly.
6. Space heaters are another way of bringing additional heat to a colder area. You can use
space heaters, with some restrictions. You cannot use kerosene, or electric element heaters, (these are the ones that glow orange when you use them), because they present a fire hazard. There are several other kinds of heaters available that are allowed. The best is an oil filled, electric radiator. It has thermostat controls and stays warm even after is turns off.