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I'm talking about people who turn the thermostat up to maximum in the winter and when it gets too hot they open the windows to regulate the temperature instead of turning down the thermostat.
I used to think it's because they don't pay for energy. But even the tenants I have that pay for their own utilities some of them do this as well. Then they complain to me about high utility bills. They also have everything on all the time. Even when they are not home.
I'm just trying to understand the reasons or thought process behind such behavior.
I was always taught to conserve when I was growing up so I am having a hard time understanding this behavior.
I don't know why they do it, but they certainly do it. Those that don't pay for their utilities do it and maybe their kids grow up that way and have learned to live that way and continue to do it even when they are paying the utilities.
It's hard for me to understand how their thought process goes. I just know that they do it, and then complain bitterly about the cost of their utilities and insist that it is the fault of the landlord, or the building, or faulty heating equipment.
Are there actually thermostats in their units? Or are they the old-style radiators, which can be regulated but not everyone knows how. And if they are radiators and you furnish the heat, you can control it yourself.
Are there actually thermostats in their units? Or are they the old-style radiators, which can be regulated but not everyone knows how. And if they are radiators and you furnish the heat, you can control it yourself.
Actual thermostats. Some are gas furnaces and some are electric baseboard heaters.
The behavior is the same whether I pay for utilities or they do. The thermostats I use goes up to about 85. And they crank it up to 85. They keep some windows open because it gets too hot.
I have tried to tell them to just put it at 70 or 75 if they want. And they always say ok but whenever I visit them I always catch the thermostat at maximum and a window or 2 open to keep the temperature from getting too high.
Not all low income families do this. But enough of them do it to make me think this behavior is more than just a fluke.
And they act so casually when they do it, too. One time I was going to meet up with them at the house for certain things. They had just gotten home from dinner out. We all entered the house together and it felt like an oven. The daughter complained it was too hot. The mom and dad started casually opened the windows. I walked over to the thermostat and saw that it was cranked up all the way.
Then they complained to me that the gas and electric bills are too high.
I have since evicted them. Another young couple are living there now and their bills are about $200 for winter. So this proves that there was nothing wrong with the house or the furnace.
I know it sounds unbelievable because most of us don't do this. But I'm telling you, I've been a landlord long enough to see enough low income people do this that it is more than just 1 or 2 flukes. It is a consistent enough behavior.
A relative who lived in a snowy climate claimed she never had to turn on her apartment heat including in the winter. Apparently the neighboring residences kept hers warm. If it got too warm she just opened the door to the balcony a little.
So maybe these types of tenants were used to something like that. They just set and forget the heater then if it became too hot someone opened some windows. Experience sometimes misleads us.
Is the temperature uneven from room to room? I feel like I’ve yet to live in a place where all rooms heat/cool evenly. I own my house now but the ducting seems to be from the early period of forced heat and is not particularly good. The bedrooms are a good 8-10 degrees colder than the thermostat in the winter.
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