# air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
# air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
(OP)
How many air changes are typical in an apt building in NYC?
I live in a 12-story, 88 unit apartment building that has many of its radiators broken (can't be shut off), resulting in many apts being overheated. Therefore, the apts with the broken radiators keep their windows partially open. There are some apts whose radiators don't put out enough heat, and the [steam] boiler setpoint was obviously chosen to provide those under-heated apts with sufficient heat, thereby overheating ther others. I am trying to determine the energy savings by fixing the radiators, with the intent that people will keep their windows closed if it isn't too hot.
Pesy
I live in a 12-story, 88 unit apartment building that has many of its radiators broken (can't be shut off), resulting in many apts being overheated. Therefore, the apts with the broken radiators keep their windows partially open. There are some apts whose radiators don't put out enough heat, and the [steam] boiler setpoint was obviously chosen to provide those under-heated apts with sufficient heat, thereby overheating ther others. I am trying to determine the energy savings by fixing the radiators, with the intent that people will keep their windows closed if it isn't too hot.
Pesy





RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
I guess we all realize that when tenants do not pay for utilities, they will be wasteful; so I would attempt to have the tenants who open their windows in the winters pay a penalty fee or implement an energy conservation police to control this type of waste.
You will see such wasteful behavior in subsidized housing and to me it seems to me that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT would want to control such waste but instead people like Kerry would rather increase taxes to pay for such waste.
RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
I would guess that 10ac per hour would easily be achieved at the higher floors.
Friar Tuck of Sherwood
RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
I attended a seminar by Dan Holohan some years ago. He said that older steam heated buildings were designed such that they would provide sufficient heating with the windows open.
The boiler doesn't really have a "setpoint" in this case, it should just be a matter of fixing/replacing the controls on the radiators and any defective steam traps. The radiator control may just be a handwheel valve such that the heat is on or off.
RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
The radiators have valves to close them off--but many of them are broken. I am proposing that we fix them and the fuel savings from reducing the air changes will offset the cost of the repairs. This is especially magnified since the boiler is ancient and we're lucky if we get 75% efficiency.
RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
This would rein in the profligates and provide you with what you need.
TTFN
RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
RE: # air changes per hour to heat in an apt building
His book is well worth the forty bucks.
Some seminars coming up as well.
http://www.heatinghelp.com/