The Vent and Rant Thread

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i know some people who live in buildings with central heating, and actually i don't like it so much because they can't adjust the temperature individually, and it's always stifling hot ! at christmas i was at a friend's house and we were all wearing t-shirts !

Yea, I used to live in a third floor (what you call second floor I think) apartment and heat was included in the rent. However, there was no thermostat... it was on the first (ground) floor. Since the third floor apartment was smaller than the first floor it would get cooler then when the heat came out it would be too hot. We did have those knobs on the radiators to try and adjust it, but it just never worked right.

Oh well, those were the days, a two BR apartment including heat for $300 a month. I wish my housing expenses were like that now. Then again, I don't want to go back to the income I had then.

BOb

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Yea, I used to live in a third floor (what you call second floor I think) apartment and heat was included in the rent. However, there was no thermostat... it was on the first (ground) floor. Since the third floor apartment was smaller than the first floor it would get cooler then when the heat came out it would be too hot. We did have those knobs on the radiators to try and adjust it, but it just never worked right.

Oh well, those were the days, a two BR apartment including heat for $300 a month. I wish my housing expenses were like that now. Then again, I don't want to go back to the income I had then.

BOb

oh god, i wish *i* could go back to those days !! the cheapest rent i had was when i was a student, paying around 1000FF (+- 150€) for a huge 4-room appartment plus kitchen big enough to eat in and bathroom with a bathtub... but, there were 4 of us in that appartment.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

what is a heat pump ??

From a web page:

Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space into a warm, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house; during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors. Because they move heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can provide up to 4 times the amount of energy they consume.

They are only really good for places like Florida or the south where it doesn't get exceptionally cold.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by kazbates

From a web page:

Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space into a warm, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house; during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors. Because they move heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can provide up to 4 times the amount of energy they consume.

They are only really good for places like Florida or the south where it doesn't get exceptionally cold.

hm, i never heard of one of those. unless it just has a different name here... interesting.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

what is a heat pump ??

Yea what Kaz said. Although I always explain it as an A/C that can run backwards. Normally the coils outside get hot and the ones inside get cold. When you run the heat it works in reverse.. basically air conditioning the outside and heating the inside.

BOb

[DixieGal]

Kaz, I'm with your boys! Having always been a southerner, I have no tolerance for cold whatsoever. Last weekend at the wedding outside of Chicago, temps were in the high 70's. I nearly froze to death!

Tim, on the other hand, lived both north and south. He is never too hot or too cold.


Zelda, a heat pump is sort of shaped like an electric furnace, but it functions by moving warm air around. If the air near the thermostat on the wall is warm, it will suck it out and replace it with cold air. And vice versa. Basically, it is just a "smart" air conditioner and heater in one.

[zelda_pinwheel]

these heat pumps seem like a very mysterious thing to me. are they noisy ?

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

oh god, i wish *i* could go back to those days !! the cheapest rent i had was when i was a student, paying around 1000FF (+- 150€) for a huge 4-room appartment plus kitchen big enough to eat in and bathroom with a bathtub... but, there were 4 of us in that appartment.

When the kids started going to George Mason Univ. in Fairfax, VA (about a 45 minute drive from home with no traffic), we looked into renting them an apartment together. For a 2 bedroom apartment, we were looking at rent anywhere from $1000 - $1500 per month. It just wasn't worth it. They've both told me, though, that they liked living at home anyway. Thank goodness.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

these heat pumps seem like a very mysterious thing to me. are they noisy ?

They are exactly the same as an A/C unit. Here we have what are called "split" units. So, there is an Air Handler with a blower in the attic and the compressor part is outside. Yes, it does make noise but most is outside or in the attic so we don't hear it.

BOb

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

these heat pumps seem like a very mysterious thing to me. are they noisy ?

No noisier than the Air Conditioner.

[DixieGal]

I like the cold air that comes out of a heat pump. It seems colder than regular AC. Just don't point a vent at me, because I'll die of frostbite or somethign!

[kazbates]

My two older kids just left for a weekend at the New Jersey shore. Shannon is driving her new sports car (a Nissan 350Z) with Zack as the passenger. I get a lump in my stomach whenever they do things like this. We almost lost them both in an accident 3 years ago. They were both passengers in a car that rolled over. Shannon was blessed with only a seatbelt bruise, but Zack spent 4 days in Trauma ICU and 2 weeks in the hospital waiting for a punctured lung to inflate and then 6 weeks in a neck brace waiting for 4 vertabrae to heal. I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable when they head out on their own.

[Verencat]

Originally Posted by Verencat

OMG!!!! I'm so stupid!!!!!
Since I'm home all the time, I just don't turn my cell phone on! Now I just opened it because a friend called me home complaining she can't leave messages it's too full! And I leave my cell phone number as well as my home phone number on job applications!!!!!! I missed a call from a library last week!!!!!!!!!!
I called back and left a message, and I just hope the job is still available!!!!!!!!
How can I be so stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sigh!
The job is no longer available. But they told me they might be looking for people soon. I'll still keep on sending applications.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by Verencat

Sigh!
The job is no longer available. But they told me they might be looking for people soon. I'll still keep on sending applications.

Darn!! I was just going to send you a VM and ask. I'm so sorry but will keep my fingers crossed that something better comes along soon.

[Verencat]

Originally Posted by kazbates

My two older kids just left for a weekend at the New Jersey shore. Shannon is driving her new sports car (a Nissan 350Z) with Zack as the passenger. I get a lump in my stomach whenever they do things like this. We almost lost them both in an accident 3 years ago. They were both passengers in a car that rolled over. Shannon was blessed with only a seatbelt bruise, but Zack spent 4 days in Trauma ICU and 2 weeks in the hospital waiting for a punctured lung to inflate and then 6 weeks in a neck brace waiting for 4 vertabrae to heal. I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable when they head out on their own.

From what I can guess, you will always worry for your kids!
But you shouldn't, they'll be all right, they always will, because you are there for them!