|
I want to buy a programmable thermostat for the apartment. Office maintenance has said they'll install it for no charge once I buy it, but I need to get the right one (I forgot to ask them about that, and they're gone for the day  ). Are there many different types of thermostat that I need to look out for when I go to Lowe's or whatever, or is it pretty universal? I know dick all about electronics  (edit) Good lord, an Internet-controllable thermostat. 
Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Jul 17, 2013 |
#
?
Jul 16, 2013 23:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 22, 2024 17:58 |
|
|
Ciaphas posted:I want to buy a programmable thermostat for the apartment. Office maintenance has said they'll install it for no charge once I buy it, but I need to get the right one (I forgot to ask them about that, and they're gone for the day Sounds awesome if you ask me, have AC off while you're out of the house, set it to turn on with enough time for the house to be nice and cool when you get there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 08:28
|
|
|
Sure, but a $20 thermostat will let you do that with simple time programming. I mean I guess it might be worth it if you have no set schedule and could be coming and going at any time during the day, but that's a pretty niche need.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 15:41
|
|
|
Speaking of energy usage (I'm pretending that's what we were talking about, anyway), I just got off the phone with PG&E about what the new place will cost us. They only give a high and a low monthly cost based on the past 12 months. The lowest month was $70, which was about what I was expecting, but the highest month was $250 which seems...high. But I've never had to pay utilities before. It's a single story house, probably around 1300 sq feet, not terribly big. It's year-round cool so there's no need for any cooling in the summer. In the winter the lows are generally in the low 40s. Unfortunately I don't remember any specifics about the appliances, and of course we have no way of knowing what the current tenant is doing...for all we know she's keeping it at a steamy 82 degrees in there all winter. Is it reasonable to think that three conscientious renters could keep the power bill consistently closer to that $70 figure?
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 19:34
|
|
|
RabbitMage posted:PG&E I live in a one story house about that size and get utilities through PG&E. Our summer bills are typically $35-45, while our highest winter bill was $235, and that was with our heat set to 70 degrees 24/7 because we had a newborn. It was cheaper when we set it to 68 daytime, 64 nighttime.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 19:46
|
|
|
Those temps sound find to me. I know when my family moved into the house we're in now my bedroom had no insulation and no vent into the room, and I managed through colder winters with that simply using a space heater...maybe that's a more economical option, too?
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 20:03
|
|
|
RabbitMage posted:Speaking of energy usage (I'm pretending that's what we were talking about, anyway), I just got off the phone with PG&E about what the new place will cost us. They only give a high and a low monthly cost based on the past 12 months. The lowest month was $70, which was about what I was expecting, but the highest month was $250 which seems...high. But I've never had to pay utilities before. Not so much with my second roommate; our bill literally quadrupled (well, from "ridiculously loving low" to "about what you're talking about paying in a cheap month"). Also keep in mind that what people say they're willing to tolerate and what they're willing to tolerate in practice are frequently two completely different things.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 20:12
|
|
|
Ashcans posted:Sure, but a $20 thermostat will let you do that with simple time programming. I mean I guess it might be worth it if you have no set schedule and could be coming and going at any time during the day, but that's a pretty niche need. Oddly that does sort of kind of apply to me, but only in the sense that my time of arrival home from work is "late". Varies between 3 PM and 9:30 and all points in between. I guess whether it's worth it to get a wifi stat depends on how much I'd really save per month  So anyway, does anyone know if there are different kinds of wiring I need to watch out for? I'm getting the impression that really any thermostat will work, just with some of the plugs in back left undone. Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Jul 17, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 20:48
|
|
|
Ciaphas posted:So anyway, does anyone know if there are different kinds of wiring I need to watch out for? I'm getting the impression that really any thermostat will work, just with some of the plugs in back left undone. That's basically right, I've changed thermostats probably 5 times in my life and never had one be incompatible.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 23:30
|
|
|
Thanks, that's great to know. I probably will end up with one of those online ones from Honeywell, because A) the aforementioned variable-as-hell schedule, and B) I'm a nerd
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2013 23:40
|
|
|
Ciaphas posted:Thanks, that's great to know. I probably will end up with one of those online ones from Honeywell, because A) the aforementioned variable-as-hell schedule, and B) I'm a nerd I have the Honeywell Vision Pro stat and it works great. I have it on a timed schedule but I can also use the app to boost the juice or cancel the schedule if I need to. That said, if I could buy another stat, I'd buy a used first-generation Nest from eBay because it's about the same price, but the industrial design is 1000x better, if looks mean anything to you. Either way, you need to make sure your system has a wire that supplies constant power to the stat. Read sme basic AC wiring guides for more info.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 00:29
|
|
|
Keep in mind that the point of a programmable thermostat is to save you money by turning the temp down when your out of the house or are sleeping. Spending 10x as much on a wifi-connected thermostat sort of defeats the purpose. Just get a cheap 5- or 7-day unit.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 03:27
|
|
|
I was in Brooklyn last week and I've been thinking a lot about window AC units. All the ones I saw there and have seen on previous visits seem to be tiny and underpowered. Is that just a normal NYC thing? My real question is, what kind of things can I use to fill in the space that my window unit's awful sidepieces don't cover? There are real gaps between the unit on the bottom and the sides, big enough that I can see outside and bugs can enter. edit: I just checked, thanks to a sneaking suspicion, and I did ask the exact same question in May last year. I can't seem to remember at all what I did last summer, or what advice was given. I'm sorry for repeating myself and not learning any lessons.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 05:25
|
|
|
goku chewbacca posted:Keep in mind that the point of a programmable thermostat is to save you money by turning the temp down when your out of the house or are sleeping. Spending 10x as much on a wifi-connected thermostat sort of defeats the purpose. Just get a cheap 5- or 7-day unit. Might be moot though, since I just noticed that all the wifi ones require a dedicated "C" line (whatever the hell that is) for power, and my current thermostat has two AA batteries under the cover, so I presume (but can't check) that there's no power leading to it. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 05:27
|
|
|
Ciaphas posted:Noted. There's only $25 or so in it between programmable and wifi, though, but we'll see what I find. The C line is simply a constant 24v feed from your AC system, used to power the stat's display and wifi radio. Some wifi stats will allow you to plug them in via a wall wart. Some will take batteries, but they won't last long.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 10:49
|
|
|
cheerfullydrab posted:My real question is, what kind of things can I use to fill in the space that my window unit's awful sidepieces don't cover? There are real gaps between the unit on the bottom and the sides, big enough that I can see outside and bugs can enter. We just bought an AC, and it came with some strips of foam like you use for weather-stripping. It was actually intended to plug the gap between the window panels when installing, but we had plenty left over and I don't see why you couldn't use that to fill any gaps. Although I think that a properly fitted and installed unit shouldn't leave any gaps at all (ours doesn't). Are you planning on leaving the unit in place? Or pulling it at the end of summer? If you're going to be pulling it out, anything more serious than foam-stuffing is probably not worth it.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 14:22
|
|
|
cheerfullydrab posted:I was in Brooklyn last week and I've been thinking a lot about window AC units. All the ones I saw there and have seen on previous visits seem to be tiny and underpowered. Is that just a normal NYC thing? It's not normal to rely on your AC's wings (but it's also not normal for those wings to have huge gaps, I suspect poor installation). Go to Home Depot and look at all the stuff in their AC area other than AC units. There are plenty of foam snakes, squares, wings, you name it. If hot air is getting through, let alone bugs, something is wrong for sure.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2013 15:59
|
|
i like nice words
|
Holy poo poo, I just got an electric bill for 163$ for my tiny apartment. This is very obviously a mistake, but I couldn't find a math flaw anywhere on the bill. I'm assuming they misread the meter. I'm going to poke around the boiler room in my basement and see if I can find my meter. Has anyone had this poo poo happen to them? Theres no way in hell I'm using that much electricity by myself, regardless of how Hot it is. My electric company is Nstar if that is relevant. I sent them an angry email, and if they dont respond by the end of the day I'm just calling them because this is absurd.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 12:42
|
|
|
Jet Set Jettison posted:Holy poo poo, I just got an electric bill for 163$ for my tiny apartment. This is very obviously a mistake, but I couldn't find a math flaw anywhere on the bill. I'm assuming they misread the meter. I'm going to poke around the boiler room in my basement and see if I can find my meter. Is that $163 for the quarter? Doesn't sound too outrageous to me, but rates might be a bit higher where I am and I'm stuck with an electric stove/oven. (My bill normally comes in at 200-250) VVV Well poo poo, for the month then yeah you've definitely got some issues! I've always been billed quarterly for power. VodeAndreas fucked around with this message at 13:28 on Jul 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 13:18
|
|
|
VodeAndreas posted:Is that $163 for the quarter? Doesn't sound too outrageous to me, but rates might be a bit higher where I am and I'm stuck with an electric stove/oven. For the month, specifically 32 days.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 13:26
|
|
|
Where are you located? Different places have different rates. I'm in NYC and gas+electric for my small apartment is $90-130/month. It's bullshit (especially compared to the bill for my last place) but ConEd won't send anyone to investigate.
Anne Whateley fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Jul 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 14:22
|
|
|
Jet Set Jettison posted:For the month, specifically 32 days. Is your AC running constantly?
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 14:23
|
|
|
That's what my bill was this month but I have two window ac units running and a dehumidifier in the basement running 24/7... Speaking of the dehumidifier, it's my landlords and he hasn't offered to reimburse me for the electrical bill on it. What's a reasonable amount to ask for? Not sure how much those things cost to run per month.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 14:39
|
|
|
You're in Mass, right? We have NStar as well, and it usually runs $40-50 for a 2+ bd in an oldass building. I'm expecting the next bill to be higher because we got an AC to stave off the heat at the moment. Is this your first bill for the place? Or have you had previous bills that were fine and then this was out of control? If it's your first bill, it's possible that the meter is right and there is something crazy going on with your apartment (or that they decided to tack on some outstanding charges for the address and hope you would pay it)
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 14:45
|
|
|
Ashcans posted:You're in Mass, right? We have NStar as well, and it usually runs $40-50 for a 2+ bd in an oldass building. I'm expecting the next bill to be higher because we got an AC to stave off the heat at the moment. My first bill was 29$ for 12 days, so at the same daily usage rate for 32 days it would have cost 77$. This bill is just out of control. I do have the AC running a lot, but probably only one or two of the days did I have everything run 24/7. This week's heat wave is making me concerned for future bills 
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 14:58
|
|
|
Do you know if your utility charges extra for using more than the previous month?
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 17:00
|
|
|
Keep in mind that electric rates go up with increased usage. Which is to say that the first kilowatt hour you use is usually much, much cheaper than the last kilowatt hour you use. So, if you double your usage (entirely possible during a heat wave if you're running the AC a lot), you can easily triple or quadruple your bill. Some power companies also adjust rates based on time of usage (i.e. electricity used during the hottest part of the day costs more than electricity used in the middle of the night).
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 17:10
|
|
|
Thanatosian posted:Keep in mind that electric rates go up with increased usage. Looking at my bill (also NSTAR) I don't see any increase in rates for use and I've been using a lot over the last few months because of the heat (I like cold)
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2013 23:19
|
|
|
Jet Set Jettison posted:Holy poo poo, I just got an electric bill for 163$ for my tiny apartment. This is very obviously a mistake, but I couldn't find a math flaw anywhere on the bill. I'm assuming they misread the meter. I'm going to poke around the boiler room in my basement and see if I can find my meter. It very well could be real, I've paid around $130 a month forever. Ciaphas posted:Might be moot though, since I just noticed that all the wifi ones require a dedicated "C" line (whatever the hell that is) for power, and my current thermostat has two AA batteries under the cover, so I presume (but can't check) that there's no power leading to it. A lot of thermostats have batteries they don't need for systems that don't have a c line or don't use the c line for power. Mine takes batteries but has been happily running without them for like 7 years.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 00:20
|
|
|
The maintenance guy went in today and tried to hook up the new thermostat and couldn't find a common line at all, so I'll probably have to return that one tonight and get one that doesn't require it. I'll take a look for myself though since according to Honeywell the "G" line can be used instead if available. Electricity is loving weird, I feel so stupid trying to look at this stuff (which is why I asked the maintenance guy to do it even though it's only like four or five goddamn wires). Also I just checked my running electricity total and I'm at $85 of use 12 days into the billing cycle in a 1000 sqft apartment
Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Jul 20, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 00:29
|
|
|
I'm moving out of my apartment over the next week and I was thinking about leaving my couch there because I don't have room to bring it back (not worth renting a truck for either). There's nothing in my lease about left furniture. Do I have to worry about the landlord taking money out of my deposit if I do this? The couch is in good condition and isn't a piece of junk.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 00:32
|
|
|
I don't know where you are, but in general a landlord is allowed to draw against your deposit to bring the apartment back to the state in which you rented it, minus regular wear and tear. This would usually include removal of trash or abandoned items you have left behind. If you just left behind a trash bag or something, that would be one thing, but it's entirely reasonable for the landlord to get rid of your lovely old couch before someone else moves in (would you move into a place with a leftover couch hanging around?) For a couch it's very likely they would need to hire someone to do it, and it would be fair to bill you for it. Just find out what the trash policies are for your area and drop it on the curb to get hauled away.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 01:41
|
|
|
DanManIt posted:I'm moving out of my apartment over the next week and I was thinking about leaving my couch there because I don't have room to bring it back (not worth renting a truck for either). There's nothing in my lease about left furniture. Do I have to worry about the landlord taking money out of my deposit if I do this? The couch is in good condition and isn't a piece of junk. A lot of charities offer pick up services. Or just sell it on Craigslist and tell the buyer they are responsible to take it with them. List it for free if you really don't care.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 01:49
|
|
|
Ciaphas posted:Also I just checked my running electricity total and I'm at $85 of use 12 days into the billing cycle in a 1000 sqft apartment When you said small I thought you meant like a studio/500-600 sqft place, 1000 sqft is a good sized apartment, that's the size of like a normal middle class two bedroom house. That's like a completely average bill for an apartment that size, maybe on the low end with this heat wave. I pay $130 a month for my 1000 sqft place and that doesn't include air conditioning, in my last place my bill would easily go into the $200s in the summer. Where are you getting your expected charges from, the apartment? They lie, they lie bad on electric costs, take whatever number they tell you and double it and then add some. Edit: Crossed your post with someone else but my point still stands, that is completely normal for an apartment that size. Three Olives fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Jul 20, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 01:51
|
|
|
Might be. Last year I lived in an apartment of similar size and the bill would have been closer to $160 instead of the $250 I'm facing. Then again last year it was a little cooler here (I'm in Las Vegas) so maybe I'm overthinking it. Incidentally since you asked, I checked the current expenditure on the NVenergy web site. We have smart meters so it gives me the straight answer, near as I've been able to tell. I took a look and I can in fact wire the thermostat I've currently got using the "G" wire (independent fan control) instead of the "C" wire into the C terminal. I lose the ability to switch the fan on without turning on the heat/cooling, but I have never used that ever, so no great loss. I mean at least it's not usually humid here, but still, 117 degrees a couple weeks ago. Eesh. Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Jul 20, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 03:43
|
|
|
Yeah I regularly pay $110 a month for a 660 square foot apartment. Your bill seems normal.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2013 17:36
|
|
|
Anyone have any advice for apartment hunting while in the US for Europe? Specifically the Netherlands? How do I not get screwed out of a deposit with someone? What is a reputable site to use? Any tips in general for this sort of thing ?
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2013 08:22
|
|
|
Just checking, but if I'm renting a townhome and the complex sends somebody unannounced to enter my unit, they're supposed to notify me first, right? Luckily I was home, but someone knocked on the door, I looked through the peephole, didn't recognize him, and just went back into my room (we get a lot of solicitors). A few seconds later the man unlocked the door, and came in despite my dog barking and growling his fool head off. I know for a fact you can hear the barking clear as day from across the street let alone on the other side of the door. I came out of my room like "um, HELLO?" when I heard the door open, and there's the guy standing in my doorway looking like a deer in headlights and my dog out on the sidewalk staring at him with hair on end growling. The man says "sorry he got out but I didn't want him to bite me." I grabbed my dog, mumbled something about no one notified me of anyone coming, and I dragged my dog into the back yard. Apparently the man was here to measure for new countertops. My lease isn't up for another 3 1/2 weeks, and no one has said a word about coming into my apartment for renovation planning or whatever. I've made several maintenance requests while living here (1.5 years) and each time I've requested that they let me know ahead of time when they are coming because I need to make arrangements for my very territorial dog. I've been bitten by him just trying to answer the door for the FedEx man, and we are working on training, but he's not ready for random strangers to enter the house like that. I'm just so upset that if I wasn't home, at best case my dog would have been lost out of the apartment, and worst case he would have bitten the man and whatever consequences come from that. Ugh.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2013 20:47
|
|
|
Basically, the only time that the landlord can allow people (including themselves) to enter your unit without notice is if there is a pressing emergency - like your pipes have burst, it's on fire, they believe there is a child trapped in your furnace, etc. Anything else requires them to notify you. In most places, if a landlord provides someone with access to your unit, the landlord becomes equally liable for any damage or harm caused - meaning that if they give a builder a key and that person steals your poo poo/trashes your stuff, you can pursue both the person AND your landlord for damages. This is an incentive for them to ensure they are respecting the security of tenants. I would recommend that you double-check to make sure this is true in your area. If it is, you should let your landlord know that you are pissed about this and intend to hold them to the letter of the law (for instance, suing them if some rear end in a top hat lets your dog out and it gets hurt). Given that you have a dog, you should probably tell the landlord that you explicitly do not want anyone visiting when you are not there to ensure the safe handling and treatment of your animal, as this person was clearly and willfully incompetent about it. You're only there for another month, going balls-out can't hurt you too much. Just make sure you document your leaving for security deposit reasons, as that's always the last-gasp of landlord pissiness.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2013 20:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 22, 2024 17:58 |
|
|
drat Bananas posted:Just checking, but if I'm renting a townhome and the complex sends somebody unannounced to enter my unit, they're supposed to notify me first, right? Luckily I was home, but someone knocked on the door, I looked through the peephole, didn't recognize him, and just went back into my room (we get a lot of solicitors). A few seconds later the man unlocked the door, and came in despite my dog barking and growling his fool head off. I know for a fact you can hear the barking clear as day from across the street let alone on the other side of the door. I came out of my room like "um, HELLO?" when I heard the door open, and there's the guy standing in my doorway ling like a deer in headlights and my dog out on the sidewalk staring at him with hair on end growling. The man says "sorry he got out but I didn't want him to bite me." I grabbed my dog, mumbled something about no one notified me of anyone coming, and I dragged my dog into the back yard. Apparently the man was here to measure for new countertops. My lease isn't up for another 3 1/2 weeks, and no one has said a word about coming into my apartment for renovation planning or whatever. Yes, that is highly illegal and they can (and should) get into big trouble for that.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2013 20:57
|
|
