Steamed Over Too Much Condo Heat in Fairfield

M.C. from Fairfield County, Connecticut writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

My unit is located directly above the boiler room in my small condo building. The heat loss into my condo is ridiculous. The temperature often reaches in excess of 90 degrees!!Where can I find the most up to date regulations for condo boiler rooms in Connecticut?

Mister Condo replies:

M.C., that sounds like an incredibly unpleasant living condition you are experiencing. While the problem is in a condo, it doesn’t sound like a condo-specific problem to me. Living in sweltering heat would be a problem for anyone in any home. I checked with several State of Connecticut websites but could find nothing about too much heat. It would appear most of the laws are designed to protect people from not getting enough heat, which is just the opposite of the problem you are facing. Here are a few suggestions.

Explain the problem in a letter to the Board of the condo. Point out that in addition to making you very uncomfortable, the association is wasting money by not properly conserving heat energy. Insulation might help as would regulating the hours that the boiler operates. These two options could help you and may save your condo association significant energy costs. You might also suggest that the Board contact an Energy Consulting firm for their expert opinion.

I did find several articles about similar situations in apartment buildings where too much heat was ruining people’s living experiences. By and large, the solution has been to get air circulating through the living area using fans and open windows. That hardly seems a good solution to me but people swear it works so you might want to give it a try. Best wishes and keep cool!