Heat


 

Short URL = https://lordessex.com/heat

SEE ALSO: Winter & Snow
SEE ALSO: Weather: Montclair

When is the heat on?

The heat system in the boiler room is on 24/7.

The heat in your apartment, whether it is on (recirculating) or off (not recirculating), is controlled by the thermostat in your apartment.

How does it work?

All heating and pumping happens in the boiler room, and that heated water is recirculated through all baseboard heaters throughout Lord Essex.

If your thermostat tells your zone valve to turn off the heat in your apartment, then you will not get any new re-heated water in your heaters. The hot water in them will cool down.

Everything in the boiler room is controlled by a heat system computer which has sensors for the temperature outside, water inside, and uses a large number of settings to automatically handle starting and stopping boilers and pumps as needed to make it as warm as it needs to be.

Why don't the heaters feel hot?

If it is 60, 70, 80 °F outside, the heat system is still "on" but the heaters will not feel hot because the water in them is close to the temperature of the room that you are in. If it was 50, 40, 30 °F outside then the water in them would be hotter and the heater would feel warm.

If the heaters were at maximum heating 24/7 regardless of the temperature outside, you would be profusely sweating all the time, to the point where you would become dehydrated and need medical attention.

When the temperature outside becomes cool enough, the boilers will fire up automatically and pumps will recirculate the newly heated water all around Lord Essex.

SEE ALSO: What should I do when it is too cold?

Do the heaters use steam?

No.

Radiators can be used for steam heat or hot water (hydronic) heat, but in general you only get steam with a tradional looking radiator. The boiler(s) must be a steam boiler, operating very differently from one that uses hot water.

[ radiator ]   [ radiator ]

The Resident Managers have handled apartment complexes with many different types of heat. Baseboard hot water, radiator hot water, radiator steam, non-baseboard convector, ...

SEE ALSO: What type of heaters are they?

Do the heaters blow air out?

No.

That only happens with a furnace and air registers.

SEE ALSO: What type of heaters are they?

Can I control the temperature?

You can not directly control the temperature of the heat, but the thermostat can try to maintain your set room temperature by turning the heat on and off in your apartment automatically.

Make sure your windows are closed and locked, top and bottom.
Then if you set the thermostat to 68 °F, it will turn off the heat when it is warmer than that. and it will turn on the heat when it is colder than that.

You can not control the boilers and pumps and everything outside of your apartment. Aisde from being able to turn it on and off, everyone gets the same level of heat. It is automatically computed based on the current outside temperature and other factors.

You would only be able to directly control the temperature of the heat if you actually had a furnace inside your apartment, taking away at least one closet and giving you a high gas bill. Or if you had electric baseboard heaters, and a much, much higher electric bill.

SEE ALSO: What does the thermostat do?

What does the thermostat do?

The thermostat operates like a light switch, but for heat. It turns it on or off in your apartment by controlling a "zone valve".

If you set it to 72° it will try to maintain that temperature by turning the heat on when it is cooler than that in your apartment, or turning it off when it is warmer than that in your apartment.

[ picture of thermostat ]

What should I do when it is too hot?

If you want as little heat as possible, you are more comfortable at 66° than you are at 72 °, turn it down to a lower temperature, or even all the way to the lowest and see how it goes.

Once the heaters cool down, if it is still too warm, open windows. Close all blinds so no sunlight comes in.

What should I do when it is too cold?

If you want as much heat as possible, because you're taking blood thinners, or because you grew up somewhere on the equator, turn it up all the way to the highest temperature and leave it there. Leaving it turned all the way up means that you will get whatever heat that is coming out of the boiler room.

Check every window in your apartment by actually trying to raise it up, even if it appears to be closed. Both window locks should be turned to the left to be locked. If you are able to lift the window sash when the locks are locked, then the top sash is probably down a little - you're letting in cold air at the top.

Open blinds to allow sunlight in. Depending on what might be blocking the sun, trees, other buildings, etc. - windows that face east will get direct sunlight in the morning, windows that face west will get direct sunlight in the afternoon. The sun will do a great job at warming up your apartment more.

What type of heaters are they?

Apartments and common-area entrance stairwell heaters are hydronic baseboard heaters.
Though they do radiate heat, these heaters are not a radiator, they are a convector.
This is a very efficient type of heat commonly used for an apartment complex, school, hospital, etc., and some houses may use it as well with a small boiler in the basement.

The baseboard heaters that are in the apartment have a pipe with fins going through every heater. That pipe is filled with pressurized hot water. And the fins cause the heat in the pipe to spread out.
Cool air sinks, so that will be down at the floor below the heater.
Once the cool air heats up, hot air rises, so it will slowly radiate out of the top opening in the heater and head up toward your ceiling.

[ baseboard heater ]

The boilers in the boiler room re-heat the water as needed as it is recirculated around Lord Essex.

What is a zone valve?

The zone valve is what the thermostat "talks to" to turn on the heat in your apartment, or turn off the heat in your apartment. It is a motorized valve usually located at one end of the baseboard heater in your living room. It opens to allow the heat hot-water to flow through your heaters, or it closes to stop the hot-water flow which eventually causes the heaters to cool down.
(if the water in the heater pipe is not recirculating through the boiler room, it will cool down just like a bowl of hot water will become cold after a while)

If you ever see some insulated wires hanging down below the heater in this area, that is normal. Do not move or touch or do anything to those wires.

Do not open the zone valve flip-up cover. That is for Resident Managers and HVAC contractors. The zone valve itself is located under the cover.

[ zone valve image ]

Does the laundry room have a heater?

No. Due to the heat pipes and dryer vent pipes in there, the laundry room does not need any baseboard heaters. If the windows are opened in there and you are cold, feel free to close them.

Who determines how hot the heat needs to be?

State government decides minimum temperatures. Some towns/cities add additional requirements or guidelines to that.

Affiliated Management approves what work is done.

HVAC contractors - heat, ventilation, and air conditioning experts with a multi-decade contract provide the information and set it up.

Who checks everything?

A Resident Manager checks the boiler room regularly, usually at least once every work day during the colder months, and every time they are in there for any other reason. If there is a problem, the Resident Manager takes care of it or contacts the appropriate parties.

Heat-specific repairs and maintenance in the boiler room and in apartments, are handled by HVAC contractors with a multi-decade contract with Affiliated Management who do work in their managed apartment complexes all over the state. (there are some in NY and PA also, but they don't operate there)

Everything is periodically inspected by multiple types of inspectors for the State of NJ and by Essex County.

What if I have trouble with heat?

Contact the Resident Managers.

If there is a problem in the boiler room, effecting all apartments, the Resident Managers will handle it or contact whoever else is necessary.

If there is not a problem in the boiler room, this would require a Resident Manager entering your apartment, checking that all of your windows are closed and locked and do not need repair, and checking the temperature of your heaters and ambient temperature of the room. And when the cause is determined, the appropriate contractors - HVAC, electricians, "regular" plumbers, etc. would handle the actual repair. Most often, the issue is that tenants had windows opened or misunderstood the way things work, so Resident Managers will be happy to provide additional information.

 

Last updated: December 29, 2024