FARK.com: (7424028) Public housing boss expected elderly residents "would accustom themselves to lower, energy-saving thermostat settings"

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		Public housing boss expected elderly residents "would accustom themselves to lower, energy-saving thermostat settings" (bostonherald.com)		37
		More: Unlikely, public housing, East Boston, thermostats, energy saving

• • •

5378 clicks; posted to Main » on 08 Nov 2012 at 12:35 PM | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

http://fark.com/go/7424028

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

Voting Results (Smartest)

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh voting results (Smartest or Funniest) or Return to comments

Archived thread

cig-mkr		2012-11-08 12:53:24 PM

6 votes:

Place an ice pack around the thermostat, the thermostat will think it's colder then it really is and kick on the heat.
Worked 3rd shift where the company had a programmable thermostat set to 55 for overnight.

Contents Under Pressure		2012-11-08 12:54:11 PM

4 votes:

Old people get cold. They're arthritic and don't move around a lot. They need to be kept warm. These people are literally leaving granny out on an ice floe.

I'm one of those women who is cold all the time. Maybe it's because I'm relatively thin. I went out and ordered double paned windows and cranked the heat up. I used to have the house at 66. Now it's at 70 and my heating bill is the same as it was when I had the heat at 66.

So, if you want your girlfriend to walk around half naked, get new windows and have the insulation checked at the house...or go out with someone who has a nice seal-like layer of blubber.

liam76		2012-11-08 12:55:27 PM

3 votes:

Ice pack on the thermostat.

KrispyKritter		2012-11-08 12:45:24 PM

3 votes:

The Angry Hand of God: 74 degrees is way too hot if you ask me.

If this is true, "State code bans landlords from heating apartments higher than 78 degrees, he said. The minimum is 68 degrees and 163 tests showed the complex met that code, he said." I don't see what the problem is.

my guess is you're not a really old person with poor blood circulation that is cold most all the time.

empathy: Empathy is the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by another sentient or semi-sentient (in fiction writing) being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by Edward B. Titchener as an attempt to translate the German word "Einfühlungsvermögen", a new phenomenon explored at the end of 19th century mainly by Theodor Lipps. It was later re-translated into the German language (Germanized) as "Empathie", and is still in use there. (wikipedia)

The One True TheDavid		2012-11-08 12:44:58 PM

3 votes:

I don't set the thermostat higher than 65, and it's often lower than that. Usually I'll put another blanket in the bed and turn the furnace off at night. But then I'm paying my own bills on a small fixed income and don't have to sit around naked in the middle of winter.

Bundle up like they did before 1900. It's much cheaper so there's more left for booze. By the way, Black Grouse isn't very much like a "regular" blended Scotch and might throw you at first but then it's easy to like a lot. Not bad for $25 a fifth. Now excuse me while I get my jacket.

The Angry Hand of God		2012-11-08 12:40:41 PM

3 votes:

74 degrees is way too hot if you ask me.

If this is true, "State code bans landlords from heating apartments higher than 78 degrees, he said. The minimum is 68 degrees and 163 tests showed the complex met that code, he said." I don't see what the problem is.

Ambitwistor		2012-11-08 12:40:23 PM

3 votes:

Just put on a sweater.

Firethorn		2012-11-08 02:01:15 PM

2 votes:

newtekie1: I can't believe these idiotic old people are complaining about 74 being too cold...

Old people often have circulatory problems; one of the ways the body keeps all it's parts at the proper temperature. Without that boost, they can have trouble keeping their hands and feet sufficiently warm. A slowing metabolism doesn't help.

Especially if you add in arthritis pain that's exasperated by chillier temperatures, it can be cheaper to simply turn the heat up than to try to treat them in other ways.

penthesilea		2012-11-08 01:05:12 PM

2 votes:

Old people are cold blooded like lizards. They need the heat to be higher.

Everyone of my great-grandparents, grandparents, and other elderly relatives typically had their thermostats set at 80 in the winter. And they *still* had put on sweaters, lap blankets and/or small dogs to keep them warm on top of the heat.

Old is cold.

Nana's Vibrator		2012-11-08 12:58:59 PM

2 votes:

Make sure you come back to the link and read the Herald commenters. Those working class Herald readers (white, racist, not working, collecting unemployment and spending it on cigarettes and TV's and fellating Howie Carr) will be sure to tell us that the thermostat should be set to whatever a hard working white man's tax dollars say it should be set to.

Koodz		2012-11-08 12:57:48 PM

2 votes:

When I moved to Japan I had a typical poorly insulated apartment so I cranked the heater up all night and paid what it cost. After that first winter I was talking with Japanese coworkers who were horrified that I left the heater on at night. I told them I got colds in the winter but who doesn't?

Next winter I left the heater off. I felt astoundingly better every morning all winter long.

Too much climate control in America

chookbillion		2012-11-08 12:50:50 PM

2 votes:

Smackledorfer: cgraves67: What about women in general? I don't know a single woman who will accustom herself to lower, energy-saving thermostat settings in the winter.

This.

I gave my last gf two options:
1. It is my house and my thermostat-dress accordingly.
2. I'll set it at 85 but you walk around at minimum half naked.

She put on a sweater.

And moved out as soon as she could, no doubt.

CapeFearCadaver		2012-11-08 12:43:53 PM

2 votes:

cgraves67: What about women in general? I don't know a single woman who will accustom herself to lower, energy-saving thermostat settings in the winter.

shiat son, I keep mine at 59.

cgraves67		2012-11-08 12:38:38 PM

2 votes:

What about women in general? I don't know a single woman who will accustom herself to lower, energy-saving thermostat settings in the winter.

stevetherobot		2012-11-08 03:23:42 PM

1 votes:

Firethorn: Koodz: Too much climate control in America

I find I sleep much better when I drop the thermostat to below 60 about 2 hours before bedtime. Need to get automatic electronic thermostats to replace the mercury switch ones my new house has, but the form factor is wierd and the first set I bought don't fit, haven't found a suitable set yet.

When I do, I'll be woken up by the warming house, put to bed by the cooling. It just works for me.

Makes sense. I was flipping through a book about sleep last night and read that your body temperature lowers while you are sleeping. It said that doing something to lower your body temperature can help you sleep better.

Nana's Vibrator		2012-11-08 03:08:59 PM

1 votes:

Smackledorfer: maxgatorfan: The best part of this thread is knowing all you people complaining about old people will one day be OLD.

Yes, but I'll be an old male, and I have the money to move to florida. Also baseboard heating :D

Sure you don't want to live in a Housing Authority dwelling in East Boston? It's kind of like Detroit. Except people still live there.

maxgatorfan		2012-11-08 02:54:59 PM

1 votes:

The best part of this thread is knowing all you people complaining about old people will one day be OLD.

liam76		2012-11-08 02:40:49 PM

1 votes:

Koodz: Yep. I'm not going to bring up anything being "unnatural" or anything like that but it appears to be stressful on the body to be unnaturally hot in the winter and unnaturally food in the summer.

I don't know if it is so much stressful as it is harder for the body to acclimate.

Koodz		2012-11-08 02:33:52 PM

1 votes:

liam76: Koodz: When I moved to Japan I had a typical poorly insulated apartment so I cranked the heater up all night and paid what it cost. After that first winter I was talking with Japanese coworkers who were horrified that I left the heater on at night. I told them I got colds in the winter but who doesn't?

Next winter I left the heater off. I felt astoundingly better every morning all winter long.

Too much climate control in America

Same with AC.

Yep. I'm not going to bring up anything being "unnatural" or anything like that but it appears to be stressful on the body to be unnaturally hot in the winter and unnaturally food in the summer.

/not old

MaudlinMutantMollusk		2012-11-08 02:21:22 PM

1 votes:

The only time old people are satisfied with room temperature is when they assume it

liam76		2012-11-08 02:18:26 PM

1 votes:

Koodz: When I moved to Japan I had a typical poorly insulated apartment so I cranked the heater up all night and paid what it cost. After that first winter I was talking with Japanese coworkers who were horrified that I left the heater on at night. I told them I got colds in the winter but who doesn't?

Next winter I left the heater off. I felt astoundingly better every morning all winter long.

Too much climate control in America

Same with AC.

Scoop84		2012-11-08 01:45:19 PM

1 votes:

Sultan Of Herf: shes too stupid to turn it up before opening the door.

And you were stupid enough to let her live with you?

Scoop84		2012-11-08 01:44:11 PM

1 votes:

liam76: Ice pack on the thermostat.

Even a damp hand towel will work, evaporative cooling

Hot Carl To Go		2012-11-08 01:24:09 PM

1 votes:

The One True TheDavid: penthesilea:

Old is cold.

I'm torn between recommending the solutions found in Logan's Run or Soylent Green.

Logan's Run. Do you want to eat a wafer that tastes like Werther's, menthol, and used tissues?

The One True TheDavid		2012-11-08 01:15:42 PM

1 votes:

The My Little Pony Killer:

While being chilly when you change your clothing is a far cry from actually freezing, turn up the damn heat already!

I like having a space heater in the bathroom. I turn it on while I'm brushing my teeth, them turn it off while I'm drying off after my shower. Then I bundle up and come out here where its always 65 or under, especially when I'm in bed under several blankets.

The ex keeps her place at 72 even while she's at work because she doesn't like coming home to a cold house. The dogs, ferrets & cat don't seem to mind, though they'd be fine at 60. But on her salary she can afford to be silly with her money, instead of buying me good scotch like a sensible person.

Firethorn		2012-11-08 01:12:31 PM

1 votes:

Koodz: Too much climate control in America

I find I sleep much better when I drop the thermostat to below 60 about 2 hours before bedtime. Need to get automatic electronic thermostats to replace the mercury switch ones my new house has, but the form factor is wierd and the first set I bought don't fit, haven't found a suitable set yet.

When I do, I'll be woken up by the warming house, put to bed by the cooling. It just works for me.

cig-mkr		2012-11-08 01:08:34 PM

1 votes:

Contents Under Pressure: Old people get cold. They're arthritic and don't move around a lot. They need to be kept warm. These people are literally leaving granny out on an ice floe.

I'm one of those women who is cold all the time. Maybe it's because I'm relatively thin. I went out and ordered double paned windows and cranked the heat up. I used to have the house at 66. Now it's at 70 and my heating bill is the same as it was when I had the heat at 66.

So, if you want your girlfriend to walk around half naked, get new windows and have the insulation checked at the house...or go out with someone who has a nice seal-like layer of blubber.

We did the same thing a few years back, I'd say that the windows paid for themselves already.
/ just in nudity alone

cig-mkr		2012-11-08 01:06:36 PM

1 votes:

Jon iz teh kewl: cig-mkr: Place an ice pack around the thermostat, the thermostat will think it's colder then it really is and kick on the heat.
Worked 3rd shift where the company had a programmable thermostat set to 55 for overnight.

what happens if the ice drips into the electronics and shorts everything out
then NO HEAT FOR U

[cdn.ebaumsworld.com image 650x520]

We had it in a zip lock bag, never leaked enough to worry about.

the801		2012-11-08 01:01:38 PM

1 votes:

wondering how much i could pay myself as founder and CEO of the Give Old People Blankets and Sweaters and Stuff charity.

every $20 you send to my PO box will buy one old person a blanket or sweater or something from a thrift shop. help save an old person today!

Oznog		2012-11-08 12:51:45 PM

1 votes:

Let's just say they will learn to be satisfied... with less.

The My Little Pony Killer		2012-11-08 12:49:22 PM

1 votes:

While being chilly when you change your clothing is a far cry from actually freezing, turn up the damn heat already!

get real		2012-11-08 12:46:18 PM

1 votes:

Damn I read the article, I live in this badass frozen state. Give these people heat and a/c.

get real		2012-11-08 12:44:10 PM

1 votes:

Old people have very thin skin, why aren't they in Florida? Otherwise turn the farking heat up.

iheartscotch		2012-11-08 12:43:23 PM

1 votes:

Ok; get a thermometer and measure it 7 times randomly on days you don't tell the landlord you are coming.

Smackledorfer		2012-11-08 12:43:10 PM

1 votes:

cgraves67: What about women in general? I don't know a single woman who will accustom herself to lower, energy-saving thermostat settings in the winter.

This.

I gave my last gf two options:
1. It is my house and my thermostat-dress accordingly.
2. I'll set it at 85 but you walk around at minimum half naked.

She put on a sweater.