How to control the heat using the thermostat?

[Questions1]

I don't know if the heat in my room is controlled by the condo association. I use window AC to cool in summer.I am in a 2 bedroom condo and the heat is the baseboard heat. When I lived in a rented multi unit apartment , the heat is run by the building manager and janitor so we have no control of the heat. In my condo living room wall, I see a thermostat (Thermostat is white-Rodgers 156-0399G) on the wall near my living room door. I moved the level underneath to right to increase the number but the heat I have in my living room doesn't change. I am getting some heat but I want bit more heat as it is getting colder by the day. . Pls tell me how do I increase the heat in my room? My bedrooms also have the baseboards but I can't find any thermostat there so how do I increase the heat in my bedrooms? Thank you

So, how do I control, what do I have to do to increase the heat in my living room and also my bedrooms? The thermostat is only in living room.
If the old thermostat doesn't work, how much would it cost to replace it with a newer one, cost, and install charge?
If the heat is controlled by the association, then playing with the current thermostat or replacing with new one won't help right?

 

[Reach4]

Try moving that lever on the bottom of the thermostat to the right. Does that answer your question?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Questions1]

Try moving that lever on the bottom of the thermostat to the right. Does that answer your question?

I moved the lever to 80, the max is 90 and been 10 mins and see no difference. What is the number on the upper part? I don't see lever or anything to control the number on the upper part.

Also what about the heat in my bedrooms? they are also baseboards but I see no thermostat in bedroom.

 

[Reach4]

I moved the lever to 80, the max is 90 and been 10 mins and see no difference. What is the number on the upper part? I don't see lever or anything to control the number on the upper part.

That red black needle should point to a number on the scale to represent the current room temperature.

Also what about the heat in my bedrooms? they are also baseboards but I see no thermostat in bedroom.

If you are renting, I think you want to ask the landlord about getting the heat working.

 

[Questions1]

I am in condo on mortgage not renting . When I push the lever right or left the red needle moves.it was always on 50. If you look at the pic it the number is from 50 to 90. Looks like the lever is not for controlling the room temperature. There is another set of numbers above it and that one is always on 70.

 

[Reach4]

Replacing a thermostat is not so hard usually. If the current one is not working well, I would change it out. You can even get one that is connects to WiFi for not a lot of money. You may have to repaint around the thermostat if the new one does not cover the same area. However with cold weather coming, first worry about function.

See if you can pry the cover off, and take a picture of the terminals that the wires are connected to.

Also, do you have a multimeter? If not, it is time to buy one. You may pay under $20.

Edit: the two pictures may not be related. That thermostat is not what I would expect to control that plug-in heater that your other photo shows. Yet they could be related. Not sure. Does that white cord plug into a regular outlet? What does the other end of that cord look like -- is there a control there maybe? Is that cord even related to the heating system>

I would have a chat with some neighbors with similar condos. If they have similar setups, they will know how they should work.

 

[rjbphd]

The heating zone for your unit may be partial air bounded.. seen it many times with improperly piped boiler. Make sure your association is using a real hydronic heating company, not just some plumber know just piping nor forced air hvac company just because it's heating system.

 

[Questions1]

Replacing a thermostat is not so hard usually. If the current one is not working well, I would change it out. You can even get one that is connects to WiFi for not a lot of money. You may have to repaint around the thermostat if the new one does not cover the same area. However with cold weather coming, first worry about function.

See if you can pry the cover off, and take a picture of the terminals that the wires are connected to.

Also, do you have a multimeter? If not, it is time to buy one. You may pay under $20.

Edit: the two pictures may not be related. That thermostat is not what I would expect to control that plug-in heater that your other photo shows. Yet they could be related. Not sure. Does that white cord plug into a regular outlet? What does the other end of that cord look like -- is there a control there maybe? Is that cord even related to the heating system>

I would have a chat with some neighbors with similar condos. If they have similar setups, they will know how they should work.

i attached pic of the old thermostat. the other pic is not related. i just wanted to say it is a baseboard where the heat comes. the white cable is just my window AC cable. It is not any plug in heat. I don't even know who turned on the very little heat since few days ago. But the heat is not enough against the cold.

Who controls the heat? the association or the thermostat in my living room?

Who can turn the heat up or down? By the condo association in the basement or me using the thermostat in my living room?

Looks like the thermostat in my living room is just for a show cos I play with the lever right and left and it is not turning the heat up or down. My bedroom also has the baseboard for heat but I can't find any thermostat there.

 

[Dana]

Got a model number on the old thermostat?

Does your unit have it's own separate hot water heater and space heating boiler? (There's no way for some random person on the internet to figure that out, but it should have been spelled out in the property description &/or the condo association documents.)

If it's a hydronic (= pumped hot water system) and not electric baseboard, if there is air in the system you may have inadequate flow for getting the baseboards sufficiently hot. There are usually air bleeder valves under the end cap on one or more of the baseboards to aid in purging air.

If it's a temperature balance issue, where some rooms are much warmer than others, the louver in the middl of the horizontal slot on the baseboard is usually adjustable. Open it up so there is as much free air flow as possible on the cold rooms (and vacuum out all the dust bunnies, dog treats and 8 year old candy wrappers while you're at it) , and close them down a bit in the room with thermostat.

 

[Reach4]

If he pulled the cover off of that thermostat and found he had R and W terminals that never have voltage between them, he could be pretty sure that thermostat is not doing anything.

If he found they have 24 VAC between them at times, then the thermostat could be active but modified to disconnect the lever from actually changing the setting.

 

[Questions1]

Th model number is already in my first post.

 

[Questions1]

So I contacted the association president and this is the reply. pls tell me what they mean by valve this and that. and your best advice. thanks


This is my email to them:

I have some questions about the heat in our living room and bedrooms.

Who has control over the heat? I have little bit of heat coming from
the baseboard but it is not enough for the colder weather. There is
one old Thermostat (Thermostat is white-Rodgers 156-0399G) on the
wall of my living room near the door but I think it doesn't work. The
number I see is always same and when I push the lever to right or
left, the heat doesn't increase or decrease.
Should I have control of the heat like turning on and off and increase
or decrease or it is all in full control of the association?

Below is their response:

Hi *********:

You have control over the heat in your unit, you can make it as hot or as cold as you would like in your unit.
I had problems for a few years where it was always very hot in my unit and the heat would not turn off, even after
I had purchased a new thermostat and turned it off. The problem that I finally discovered is that everyone has a valve
in their front coat closet which the thermostat controls. The thermostat basically opens and closes this valve once the
desired temperature has been reached in your unit. The valve in my closet was broken and always staying in the open
position, meaning that my place always had the heat running at 100% all winter long.

Like with everything else, if your problem is something that involves this valve, your thermostat, or something
that only impacts your unit, then you are most likely responsible for getting it repaired yourself, as I did a few years ago
when I had to buy a new valve for my closet. If the problem is affecting other units, such as the hot water supply from the
boiler, then the Association would be responsible for the repair. Although, the heat in my unit has been fine lately and I
am further away from the boiler, being one floor above you.

I would suggest contacting any good HVAC company and making an appointment for a technician to come and see how
you can fix your problem. Please let us know the analysis and we will certainly step in if ends up involving the association.

 

[Reach4]

You have control over the heat in your unit, you can make it as hot or as cold as you would like in your unit.

You got a helpful and useful reply.

Get a multimeter.
Pull cover off of thermostat.
Take photo of terminals, or at least find letters labeling the wires including R and W if they exist. That may only be for a low voltage system. But check. The wire wired to R may be red, and the wire wired to W may be white. However the wires could be a different color.

Or call an HVAC guy if you are not up to DIY.

 

[Questions1]

You got a helpful and useful reply.

Get a multimeter.
Pull cover off of thermostat.
Take photo of terminals, or at least find letters labeling the wires including R and W if they exist. That may only be for a low voltage system. But check. The wire wired to R may be red, and the wire wired to W may be white. However the wires could be a different color.

Or call an HVAC guy if you are not up to DIY.

I am not any DIY. I wish I was.

The reply said "VALVE" something and it could be bad. Don't know what it is. Now I have to spend money for HVAC techician. check on thumtech or homeadvisor? Hope it is not costly.
Also, what do you call that type of heat? central heat, electric heat, baseboard heat?

 

[WorthFlorida]

Questions1 from Illinois! Is this your first winter in this condo? Regardless of the cause of the problem, have the thermostat changed out to a digital one. They are far more accurate, much easier to set the temperature and read. You have a very reliable type of thermostat that was produced by the millions but it is a mercury bulb type and due to dust and corrosion of the bi-metal they will go out of tolerance.

The last paragraph from your association makes the suggestion, and others here also, time to call a heating company. I do not mean to get nasty but many people on forums are looking for the answers they want by asking the same question many different ways. Usually, they do not have the means to pay someone or just afraid that someone will get one over them.

As others stated above it is probably air bound or as the letter stated a bad valve. If you do not know how the prime the system or what it means it's time to call a heating company. There is a slight chance that you so not have 24 volts AC to operate the valve but it is doubtful.

It does seem that there is a central heating system that every one uses, and this valve (as you stated) in each unit controls the heat flow, that is, causing hot water to circulate throught your radiators. I bet this "condo" is a converted apartment building. That is why there is a common heating system since most apartments in the past the landlords paid for the heat. It also suggest that it is fairly old building and parts will fail as they age.

So you want to be a homeowner. Education is never free.

 

[Reach4]

I am not any DIY. I wish I was.

The reply said "VALVE" something and it could be bad. Don't know what it is. Now I have to spend money for HVAC techician. check on thumtech or homeadvisor? Hope it is not costly.
Also, what do you call that type of heat? central heat, electric heat, baseboard heat?

You can call it hydronic baseboard heat or hot water baseboard heat.

The deal is that the thermostat would sense the temperature being above or below the setpoint. That turns into an electrical signal that controls the valve.

If you post a photo of the valve, somebody might recognize it and give you some good info. I understand thermostats, but I don't have any experience with that kind of valve. So I was thinking that if you posted a picture of the inside of your thermostat, I would ask you what the voltage between two screws is. But paying somebody is going to be faster and more sure.

For choosing an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) service person, I would tend to lean toward a person or small group rather than a big company. A person is not going to have an office staff taking phone calls, so expect to leave a message. The person who sent you that reply has experience with one place, and that place has experience with your system. So you might ask the association president who he would recommend.

 

[Questions1]

I opened the door of the closet near the door and I find no valve. I wonder if my monthly association fee pays for the heat or I am paying for the heat myself with my monthly Comed electic bill?

I know a guy a plumber thru the association, and he has done works in my condo like handymen job like installing shower curtains, installing mircrowave, faucets, installing window/wall AC and also recently done work in my kitchen and bathroom drainage problem.

Will be be able to look at the thermostat or valve or whatever it is and fix the heating issue in my 2 bedroom condo? Or I should look only for HVAC technician?

 

[WorthFlorida]

Your handyman might be able to find the valve, probably could change a thermostat and maybe even purge the system of air, if it is a hot water system, but anything having to due with the heating system and if there is a valve will require licensed or certified tech. You're in a commercial environment and heating systems can be very large and complicated. If a valve has to be changed and there is no shut off valve to your unit, that means shutting down the system, letting is cool, shutting the water off, etc. It could affect the whole building. it not a handy mans job. My father was in NYPD Emergency Services and he seen people after they been killed by commercial heating systems. Not very pretty.

 

[Reach4]

I opened the door of the closet near the door and I find no valve. I wonder if my monthly association fee pays for the heat or I am paying for the heat myself with my monthly Comed electic bill?

I expect it is in the association fee.

 

[Questions1]

Okay so I came to know that the heat I am getting in my 2 bedroom unit of 18 unit condo is called" RADIATOR" from the condo association manager. The only thing I know is heat is supposed to come from the baseboard heat.
I found a guy with some decent review on yelp and explained and told me he charges $89 just for coming and checking and told me IF it is a problem with my thermostat and I need a digital one, he charges $125 for it and asked him what brand or model, told me he has no time to look for model numbers but they are white rodgers or Honey well brand. Told me he charges more for service if I shop my own.

By looking at the pic and model number I gave in my first post, mine is not a digital one right?
And any other opinions,advice?

Thanks