I'm renting a flat and it's cold, and it's going to get colder (I'm on a 1 year contract in the alps). Is there anything noninvasive (preferably cheap, but I'm ok to spend if it's really going to work) that I can do to warm the place up? What sort of portable space heaters give the best performance for electricity/gas? Are there any decent renter-based guides to improving insulation? [more inside]
posted by handee on Oct 14, 2009 - 26 answers

Is leaving the windows in my attic cracked beneficial for keeping my air conditioning bill low? [more inside]
posted by JFitzpatrick on Jun 22, 2009 - 4 answers

How do I keep warm this winter in an unheated apartment? [more inside]
posted by MaddyRex on Sep 23, 2008 - 42 answers

I want to seal off the staircase to the third floor of my home to save on heating bills this winter. The rooms are used for storage only now. Is bubble wrap a good insulator? I would like to let light thru but keep the heat in. My home is an old Victorian with a winding staircase.
posted by boby on Sep 1, 2008 - 8 answers

Brrr. Our rented Victorian flat is getting a bit nippy. Help us insulate it. [more inside]
posted by randomination on Oct 5, 2006 - 12 answers

Our 1200 sq. ft. partially finished basement is cold. There is insulation in the ceiling, and the windows are pretty new. Our thermostat is upstairs, so when the upstairs is comfortable, the basement is about 5-10 degrees cooler (a guess), even though there are heating vents in each room.

Can I just hook up a squirrel fan and pump warm air from the ground floor downstairs? Cut more vents in the ducts? Any other possible cheap/simple solutions?

I get the gnawing feeling that I'm stepping into a complex feedback loop problem--if I install a second thermostat, then the two thermostats duke it out until one of them wins or becomes skynet. Bonus points if you can point me to a place online where I can ask these questions and not get my head ripped off by HVAC professionals.
posted by mecran01 on Jan 22, 2005 - 15 answers