jessica
hi.
i've got a point form
conclusion at the end. this'll be the last time i bug you about this. i
just want to get my final conclusions across.
so, it
looks like the worst of it is probably passed. i started off saying the
walls were badly insulated, then backtracked a little when i plugged the
doors and noticed a difference and am now going back to where i
started, with the shift in tone to the unusual nature of the current
extreme cold. they're not badly insulated relative to the expected
climate, but they can't handle this weather, either..
it
really seems to depend on what the temperature in the unheated part of
the basement is. i think i tricked myself into thinking the walls were
better insulated than they were; it seems like the temperature in the
basement had risen, at the time, to something more reasonable, which
slowed the heat flow out. so, it seemed well insulated when it was
really just not a large enough temperature difference for serious
leakage.
as the temperature has fallen over the last
week and stayed low, the leakage has increased. it has reversed during
brief warm-ups. i still think weatherproofing the doors are a good idea,
but the temperature difference appears to be a basic, irresolvable
problem from inside the unit. that is to say that this unit is heating
the entire basement through convection, and so long as that is true and
it is very cold then it will be expensive.
it wasn't
quite as cold overnight tonight, and it was very stable around -16/-17,
so i tried to turn the heat down a little. it took about four hours to
go from being a little warm in here to feeling the cold radiating off
the walls (which is actually the heat radiating out). so, the
temperature outside is not the dominant factor in being able to reduce
the heat. the basement temperature has to also increase before the unit
temperature can come down.
it's a temperature
*difference* thing, of course. if it wasn't so cold, there wouldn't be
so much flow. judging from the fact that i didn't really have to turn
the heat up until the temperature got below -20, i think that, under a
normal winter, and with normal heat sources, ambient heating may even be
sufficient. it's just that it's been so unusually cold...
i'm
coming from ottawa, where it is often much colder than we've seen this
year and last year. these are my first two years here. it seems badly
insulated.....relative to what i'd expect for ottawa. and i'll say that
if we start getting cold like we've seen the last two years here
regularly, this is going to be structurally expensive. i'd argue that
you'd have no real choice but to heat the unfinished part of the
basement to a basic point (5, 10 degrees, something like that) in order
to stop the flow out of here.
but, all factors
considered, the walls seem to be able to keep the heat in so long as the
temperature outside is not below -15 or so for a significant period of
time. once it gets that cold, the walls leak hard - because the basement
is unheated. heating the basement with a cheaper source would reverse
the issue. but that seems to be rare here.
so, yeah - i
started off saying the walls were badly insulated. it's more like they
can't handle this weather, but are ok under regular circumstances.
so, final point form suggestions on ways to reduce leakage:
(1)
there are big gaps in the doors, and blocking them helped a lot, so
weather-proofing the doors would likely make a big difference.
(2)
there appears to be a missing plastic strip around the outside of the
bedrooms that would likely reduce a low-lying draft if replaced.
(3)
the walls are unable to stop leakage when it is very cold, which is the
result of a big temperature difference between the inside of the unit
(heated) and the unfinished part of the basement (unheated). this
appears to be structural, but (once the doors are blocked) is only
noticeable when it is unusually cold.
the landlord
I
am working on putting a new furnace into the unit next to Paul's unit. I
have dropped the temp in that unit since it is vacant and this also
affecting the temperature in the basement below. Hopefully within 7 days
we will have the new furnace heating with cheaper heat that I can
afford. I plan to put a new front and back door with good seals when I
can. If you are cold let me know and I will jack the heat up in the unit
above the open basement. Please be patient, money and time are
available at a slower pace. I have one vacancy also.
jessica
i'm not cold, i'm just trying to get you information regarding the unit from inside of it.
the landlord
Thanks
