Our dog stays at home while we're out working. She does fine and has people walking her on most days, but with the generally unreliable nature of electric power on hot Virginia days, I worry that the house may lose power and heat up to an uncomfortable temperature while my wife and I are at work.
Does anyone have any experience with an inexpensive, easy-to-setup way for me to get an e-mail alert if the power goes out or the temperature gets to a certain point?
This looks neat, but if the house loses power it won't do me much good.
posted by laze
on Jul 26, 2005 -
17 answers
BTUFilter II: I'm looking for any input on replacing a steam boiler, which is cracked, with a hot water unit.
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posted by beagle
on Jun 9, 2005 -
3 answers
Owning a home is fun! Our latest adventure in homemaking involves our heating and cooling system, so we're having to make some long-term decisions with very little first-hand experience.
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posted by grabbingsand
on Apr 22, 2005 -
3 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
How much oil is left in my 300 gallon underground home heating oil tank? I stuck the measuring stick in, and it came up wet from 15" on down. Assuming a standard, what is the general rule(r) of thumb?
posted by ValveAnnex
on Dec 13, 2004 -
7 answers
Another heating question!
We just moved to another apartment. It turns out this landlord has the furnace set up oddly: usually the filter goes between the burner/blower and the ductwork to the rooms, but here he's put it on the incoming vent before the furnace. Does that make sense?
Generally, my experience with forced air makes me really miss radiators. I don't like the idea of having dust mite poo blown up my nose, for one thing. Is it that radiators are more efficient and/or cheaper than forced air, or is it that gas furnaces seem more "modern"?
posted by davy
on Dec 13, 2004 -
10 answers
Why are radiators (the things connected to your hot water system that heat a room) usually painted white, when white is the worst colour for heat radiation?
posted by Mwongozi
on Dec 13, 2004 -
19 answers
For all of you who live in Northern states/areas that get very cold in the winter--what temperature do you leave your house or apartment at in the wintertime when you're home (I don't mean during the day when you go to work and turn it down, etc.)? I'm having an argument with someone who thinks that "normal people leave the thermostat at 65 degrees in the winter."
posted by fabesfaves
on Dec 13, 2004 -
76 answers
RadiatorFilter. I live in a student flat in the UK built in the last two years, that has a radiator with a large turning knob and a small dial on the end of the knob. How am I supposed to set it?
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posted by grouse
on Dec 2, 2004 -
11 answers
Heating question. I have a new home. It has a forced air furnace. I generally keep the thermostat set at 69 degrees. My roommate keeps bumping it to 72. Will this make a dramatic increase in the cost of the heating bill?
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posted by benjh
on Nov 30, 2004 -
23 answers
"Winter is icumen in, lhude sing 'Goddamm' ...
Was thinking of augmenting my rickety ol' furnace by getting a portable kerosene space heater for inside the house. Bad idea or unfairly maligned by price-gouging gas & electric companies?
posted by RavinDave
on Oct 31, 2004 -
5 answers
What is a good, small, inexpensive, energy-efficient space heater? Living in a leaky old house, we're starting to dread the approach of our first winter here. All we have is one crappy gas wall heater, this electricity-sucking system on the roof that pumps down solar-heated air, and a fireplace in the bedroom. We need more. (We're already going to seal the windows with plastic where we can.)
posted by gottabefunky
on Sep 23, 2004 -
8 answers
Storm Windows. I need to replace my home storm windows to save on heating costs but want to avoid toxic
vinyl windows which seem to be what everyone says is "good". Any recommendations for good storm windows that are not vinyl?
posted by stbalbach
on May 26, 2004 -
4 answers
Are there any programmable or automatic thermostats that can keep a house within a certain temperature range, and not just at a certain point? For example, I don't want to set the temperature at 72°F, but have the air conditioner come on at 73°F and the heater come on at 71°F. I'd prefer a range of six degrees or so, so that the air conditioner comes on if the temperature rises above 74°F, and the heater if it falls below 68°F, or something like that. I don't pay enough attention to it now, so the temperature swings too much and it's bad for items in the house. Can't some technology do this for me?
posted by mdeatherage
on Apr 1, 2004 -
9 answers
Which direction should I point the louvres from my heating/ac vents?
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posted by crawl
on Feb 8, 2004 -
4 answers
What's the best way to warm up inside your house? My roommate keeps the temp. far too low in my apartment to the point that my space heater has little effect on clearing out the cold. Any advice to stay warm?
posted by drezdn
on Jan 22, 2004 -
30 answers
