so, i like it to be cool in the house. i live upstairs in a house that gets lots of sunlight, and it gets retardedly hot during the day. in my own house, i'd prefer the temperature to be between 68 and 70, but my roommates like it around 75. upstairs, 75 is more like 85, and that's too goddamn hot for me to deal with.

i change it on my own, leave notes, have talked about it with them.. i've pretty much done everything i can think of.

also, they don't pay rent here. someone in their family owns it and i'm the only one renting a room. what i pay contributes to the bills of the house. they don't pay anything.

i'm sweating as i write this.

grounds to leave or not? reasoning with them doesn't appear to be an option anymore.

[Edited on September 5, 2006 at 8:45 PM. Reason : bills]

9/5/2006 8:24:27 PM

grounds to put in a attic fan.
grounds to close half the downstairs vents.

9/5/2006 8:26:34 PM

in regards to the attic fan, money is a huge concern here, especially since this isn't my property.

[Edited on September 5, 2006 at 8:29 PM. Reason : ]

9/5/2006 8:28:26 PM

I'd be fine with you doing that if you'd be fine with paying the difference in cooling costs between 78 and 68.

And yeah, I do keep it at 78, and it's pretty comfy in here right now with the fan on.

9/5/2006 8:29:05 PM

close and cover tthe downstair vents

9/5/2006 8:29:37 PM

my old suitemate would come home drunk during the winter and cut the heat off

i remember waking up freezing and laying in bed watching my breath

9/5/2006 8:38:15 PM

buy a window unit - recover some of the costs by selling it later on craigslist

9/5/2006 8:43:49 PM

just lounge around naked until he is compelled to cut the a/c on

9/5/2006 8:45:50 PM

^ best idea yet. totally doing that.

9/5/2006 8:46:29 PM

^ thats the plan

9/5/2006 8:46:36 PM

Buy a window unit like Omar suggested. I was upstairs in my parents house for several years ... you sweat a little more in the summer, get over it. I had a desk fan for my face and an oscillating fan blowing on me most of the time.

And out of curiosity, do you pay your own bills at your house? Or was the house well-built and EXTREMELY efficient on energy? Reason I ask, your bills would be ridiculous at 68 all summer.

9/5/2006 9:24:40 PM

close all the downstairs AC vents

problem solved

9/5/2006 9:25:06 PM

Running the AC at a normal temp does not cost that much more than changing it all the time.

9/5/2006 9:30:55 PM

I had a similar problem like this several years ago, except she kept is frigid and I was always cold. I just bought a small space heater and we were both happy.

I would probably just get a window unit with a thermostat that you only leave on while you're there. That way it shouldn't impact the power bill too terribly much and everyone can be happy. A window unit for a bedroom shouldn't be too expensive and it's easily resold if you no longer need it (though I would probably keep it because you never know when the AC in your house may go out and that is absolute heck).

^^ If the temperature sensor is downstairs, then the AC will run CONSTANTLY because the downstairs isn't being cooled like the upstairs. That can get expensive and possibly freeze him out upstairs. Houses should always have separate upstairs and downstairs thermostats. It makes so much more sense.

[Edited on September 5, 2006 at 11:17 PM. Reason : ^]

9/5/2006 11:15:24 PM

i had the same problem when i lived in falcon ridge

my roommate on the back side of the house's room was like 10 degrees cooler than my room

and it didn't help that i had a teeny tiny room, so i was hot AND cluttered in (both of which put me in a foul mood)

i just kept my windows open and bought a floor fan... but it was still hot

9/5/2006 11:20:20 PM

hi_biscus: Hate to tell you, but your roomates are in the right here. 68 degrees is fucking COLD and will cost an arm and a leg to keep the inside temp at.

75 is pretty darn standard inside summer temperature everywhere. My company office, my friend's office, my gym and my house are all set in the 73-77 range.

9/5/2006 11:28:43 PM

Quote :

"but your roomates are in the right here. 68 degrees is fucking COLD "

that makes no sense

this is a matter of opinion, there is no right or wrong

9/5/2006 11:34:46 PM

personal preferences are wrong?

i didn't say that i keep it at 68, i just said that if i could choose, i'd keep it cool. when i change it myself i usually set it between 70 and 72. keep in mind that that still feels about 77 upstairs, and that's warm for me. add in the heat given off by lights, computers, and extra bodies being here in both mine and my roommate's upstairs room, and the fact that this house holds in heat like a motherfucker... at its coolest my room feels like it's around 85 degrees.

i had a talk with my female roommate who shares the upstairs with me, and we agreed to close the downstairs vents and set it around 70 until it cools down.

thanks for your help everybody

9/5/2006 11:38:03 PM

oh how I've been there.

no longer a problem for me though, as we don't have central air where I live now. Just 4 window AC units.

9/5/2006 11:42:49 PM

damn 68 is pretty cold...that bill will add up.

9/5/2006 11:49:56 PM

So glad I don't have to deal with this bullshit ever again!!

9/6/2006 12:05:31 AM

^^^ haha I just saw this and I was like 'i bet pat posted in here'...

9/6/2006 12:06:31 AM

We keep our apartment at 68 degrees and the bills aren't bad at all. Besides, if you're cold, you can always put clothes on, but at 85, even if you're naked with a fan on, you can still be sweating. In my opinion, it's better to air on the side of cold.

9/6/2006 10:09:19 AM

hot weather's almost over, you can stick it out for a little while

9/6/2006 10:10:27 AM

i say stick it out . . . especially if the rents cheap. i mean n.carolina summer is almost over.

9/6/2006 10:16:00 AM

Quote :

"also, they don't pay rent here. someone in their family owns it and i'm the only one renting a room. what i pay contributes to the bills of the house. they don't pay anything."

well someone had to pay for it, even if it wasnt them. would it make a difference if their parents payed for a non-family owned room?

at least try to justify your position a little better than this.

9/6/2006 10:18:33 AM

my roomate in the upstairs room's policy is: if i can deal with it, you can too. so we never use the AC and it gets to 87 in the house sometimes. and its damn hot in his room. but being on the middle floor, i have to deal with it since he can too. .... and i've gotten used to it. 82 now seems cold

9/6/2006 10:20:18 AM

At one point my roomates had a similar drama with cleaning the kitchen. I always got stuck cleaning up after them, so I went on strike. I told them all since they saw fit not to clean up after themselves, I would do likewise.

Our trashcan was overflowing, every single dish in the place was dirty and piled all over the sink and counters, it smelled and there were flies, but I broke them and one of them cleaned it up (although it wasn't the messiest one so I felt a little bad about that). Sometimes you have to do something drastic to prove a point.

9/6/2006 10:22:32 AM

if sunlight heats up your room, why don't you just put in curtains to block the light out?

9/6/2006 10:26:02 AM

i keep my condo between 69-71 during the summer. i live in an all-glass building, and the part of the condo that face the edge of the buiding are about 70% glass. in the summer, the AC runs quite a bit to keep it cool, but in the winter, the sun keeps the place warm most of the time, so heating is minimal. The lower bills in the winter help even out the extra costs during the summer.

but for you, cover the vents, see how that does, and if not, get a window unit.

9/6/2006 10:37:39 AM

i'm cold blooded, my apt is set btw 75-77 and my room is usually about 5 deg warmer. 80 feels just nice

9/6/2006 10:38:51 AM

It's 70 out right now.

9/6/2006 11:24:01 AM

most offices are 70-72 degrees. I keep it at 70 in my apartment.

Try this

1) Close the vents downstairs. It's obvious not enough cold air is getting upstairs. This happens in my room. Close all of the vents. It will still get cool down there but it will balance out

2) Set it to 70, remove the temperature level. They can bitch all they want. But try #1 first.

3) do NOT get a window AC unit. You're electric bill will be astronomical. They are energy HOGS. Expect your bill to go up 50% and in some cases 100%.

9/6/2006 11:37:55 AM

Quote :

"at least try to justify your position a little better than this."

i don't think you understand.. my portion of the rent covers the bills. what i pay covers the hot water and the electricity. if it goes up, my rent will go up, and that's ok with me as long as i stop waking up sweating in the middle of the night.

also, i have heavy curtains in my room, and blinds. it's still bright and sunny in other areas of the house, especially upstairs. just like my roommates can't control my preferences for air conditioning, i can't control their preferences to cover up their windows.

it's hot in here again, closing the vents helped last night but i think someone changed the thermostat again.

9/6/2006 1:13:25 PM

Quote :

"grounds to close half the downstairs vents."

I understand.. its like that in my townhouse... its way cooler down there than it is upstairs...

you guys need to compromise... or maybe live with guys cause they're more willing ot compromise ( I love my roommates )

Quote :

"i think someone changed the thermostat again. 9/"

You guys continuing to change the thermostat will just get on eachothers nerves and an internal frustration will continue to build up... Just talk to them and say, look we need ot come up with a compromise here



[Edited on September 6, 2006 at 1:22 PM. Reason : dfg]

9/6/2006 1:18:11 PM

I was in that situation and I had my chins to look out for as well. Basically, never rent from a two story house that does not have a separate AC for each level.

9/6/2006 1:21:26 PM

get used to it

odds are your wife and you are going to have different tastes in comfort

and she will get her way


i freeze in my own house every night. girfriend leaves, the ac gets turned off and the windows fly open

9/6/2006 1:23:24 PM

hi_biscus I have an empty room if you are single and hot....

9/6/2006 3:16:10 PM

Quote :

"At one point my roomates had a similar drama with cleaning the kitchen. I always got stuck cleaning up after them, so I went on strike. I told them all since they saw fit not to clean up after themselves, I would do likewise. Our trashcan was overflowing, every single dish in the place was dirty and piled all over the sink and counters, it smelled and there were flies, but I broke them and one of them cleaned it up (although it wasn't the messiest one so I felt a little bad about that). Sometimes you have to do something drastic to prove a point."

ahahahahahahaha lemme guess who... David?

9/6/2006 3:17:57 PM

do you have a ceiling fan? those are key

9/6/2006 3:19:02 PM

this happened at my house but reverse

and dont worry, come winter time your positions will be reversed

during the summer, everyone was good b/c i lived downstairs and like it cold and they lived upstairs so they had to have it cold to cool down the hotter upper level. but in the winter, the downstairs got barely any heat so i was fucked b/c i like it cold, but not below 70 cold.

9/6/2006 3:31:00 PM

I keep it at 68 in my apartment. The bill is not bad at all. Not much increase over keeping it at 74 like I used to to "save" some money.

9/6/2006 3:56:40 PM

Nevermind somebody already posted that.

can't you restrict the flow in the downstairs vents and open them all the way upstairs? that way it will take longer to cool the downstairs, where the thermostat is, while cooling the upstairs more.




[Edited on September 6, 2006 at 4:04 PM. Reason : .]

9/6/2006 4:03:30 PM

One of these days you'll have to learn how to handle these issues like an adult.

Also, while I agree that it is ridiculous and wasteful to keep the house at 68 in the summer (I barely keep apartments/houses I've lived in that in the winter), bumping the temperature up and down will be much more costly than the difference between setting the thermostat and 75 vs 68 and leaving it there. Quit playing games and talk to your roommates.

9/6/2006 4:34:00 PM

Quote :

"while I agree that it is ridiculous and wasteful to keep the house at 68 in the summer"

how is it ridiculous and wasteful?? if you cant feel comfortable at other temps than it is perfectly logical and worthwhile.

just because you are more temperature tolerant and/or cheap than others doesnt make their preference "ridiculous and wasteful"

9/6/2006 4:56:34 PM

Why is it ridiculous and wasteful to keep your thermostat at 68? I keep mine at 68 in the day and about 65 at night. Its a personal preference.. and its only wasteful of the money that I chose to pay for it.. I don't see it as a waste.

[Edited on September 6, 2006 at 4:58 PM. Reason : I type very slowly with one hand.]

9/6/2006 4:58:13 PM

Barring a medical condition, it is absolutely silly for you to be uncomfortable at an air-conditioned (dehumidified) low 70s in North Carolina in the summer. If you wear sweaters around in the summer, perhaps you should make an alternate choice of apparel. If not, you should probably be a bit more acclimated to where you live.

Believe it or not, the human body is pretty adaptable. If you can't stand any warmer than 68 degrees, you are refusing to adapt.

9/6/2006 5:17:15 PM

i had this problem with my sister

she liked it around 76 and i liked it around 70


it sucked

then i went to college

9/6/2006 5:20:10 PM

Quote :

"We keep our apartment at 68 degrees and the bills aren't bad at all. Besides, if you're cold, you can always put clothes on, but at 85, even if you're naked with a fan on, you can still be sweating. In my opinion, it's better to air on the side of cold."

Agreed. I was talking to my sister about this the other day and she was glad she doesn't keep it that cold since my bill was $30 higher than her's but I'd say the extra $1 a day is well worth it. My roommate used to keep it on 90 year round and to compensate I'd just turn it down to 50 whenever he left. Also, I'm pretty sure scientists say the best temperature while sleeping is like mid sixties so you could always try bringing up that point with your roommates.

9/6/2006 5:28:09 PM

There is value in not being balls sweaty all the time.

9/6/2006 5:32:53 PM