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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.
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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. |
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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.
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