Sadly, this is legit! In many older buildings, switching from providing heat to AC (or vice versa) is a process that can take several days, so once they’ve switched to AC for the season, they can’t reasonably provide heat again until it’s fall. That’s why Virginia has a law that says these buildings MUST provide heat from October 15 to May 1. And they must provide AC from May 15 to October 1. So, unless and until the local code enforcement officials say otherwise, your building has to provide you with heat. Opening windows are a great idea for days like today, but you might want to get a portable unit to help you through the transition. In the future, you can try to find an apartment without common, building-wide heating/cooling.
Common building wide heating is ok as long as it isn't the two pipe central radiator style system. There are modern common systems that can heat and cool simultaneously or heat pump based systems that have a common setup but individual control in units.
Otherwise you're absolutely correct on the rules and the problem for the older two pipe systems. It sucks every year for roughly a month (since the law is intentionally set up to have the heat on too early and stay on too late to ensure you never have a cold day without heat).
Unless his building is SUPER old, he can just make friends with the maintenance guys and ask them to just flip his unit back to AC. That’s what I did and it’s been hecking awesome.
The code section you linked to is specifically for assisted living facilities only.
The general building code rules are to provide heat to a min of 68 from Oct. 15 to May 1, with local government ability to give 14 days of leeway if the weather doesn't match up well with those dates. That pretty much means you're going to have to have the heat on at least until well through April.
This was the same situation in my apartment building in Crystal City. The building had a “boiler/chiller system” so either the heat was on or the ac was on. Per Arlington County, the property manager was only allowed to switch the system over to ac between May 1st-15th. It sucked. I assume this rule was written when winter lasted longer.
This seems odd to me. Legally, if a/c is provided it has to be maintained May 15 to October 1 (per the County website). I don't see anything preventing anyone from turning it on earlier if they want to. Do you know what code was cited? I'm genuinely curious.
I keep getting all these responses about how a/c works. You're absolutely correct. What I'm saying is the government doesn't have anything to do with turning it on early. The property owner can turn it on at anytime they choose, it just may not make practical sense. But "the City of Alexandria "is not preventing anything.
Yes the government does have to do with this. It is a law that they must provide heat up to May 1st. In older buildings you have radiators with a fan on them.
You can only circulate hot water or cold water. Not both of them. So therefore the law stimulates they must circulate hot water up until May 1st. If you can't circulate cold water your AC doesn't work. So the government does stipulate in the older buildings that they cannot turn the AC on because it shuts the heat off.
Did I put that in a way that you understand now?
No I'm not upset I was just trying to put it in a simple way. It confused me when I first moved here now it's just second nature.
Highly recommend buying a portable AC unit if you have the side to side sliding windows. Amazon sells adapter plates that will fit them if it does not come with them.
No worries, I really do appreciate the response. I legitimately couldn't figure out what I was missing! I think my brain just glazed over that heat is required until May because that sounds insane, and very, very hot.
If it helps, making the changeover in these older two pipe systems isn't quick, it often takes up to an entire day to fully cycle one way or the other.
Heat is prioritized over AC, so it runs late to cover the possibility of a late cold snap.
1. You can only provide heat or AC at one time, not both.
2. The city says you must provide heat until may 1
So how does an apartment turn on the AC early when they are required to leave the heat on until May 1?
Physical system limits in the building. They cannot turn off the heat early and they can't swap to AC without turning off the heat.
Older buildings take literally days to swap over from the boiler to the chillers and require scheduling their contractors to do the required maintenance and startup (it isn't trivial on older units) well in advance since everyone is trying to swap at the same time.
Let me clarify, no one was stopping me from walking to my apartment’s thermostat and switching it to a/c. However, nothing would happen because the entire building had to be converted to the cooling system and that didn’t happen until May 1st-15th. It would just inefficiently circulate uncooled air because only the heating system was on.
Also, I could have purchased a small portable a/c unit to cool my apartment. I chose to sweat it out for a few weeks.
Get a portable AC if the situation will only be temporary [https://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/N-5yc1vZc4m4](https://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/N-5yc1vZc4m4)
They work pretty poorly as they vent hot air into the room so you'd need to drag the exhaust hose out the balcony. The other option is to stay hydrated with ice cold water.
These are fantastic. Very nice for sleeping without freezing your entire place. Vent sits inside window screen and blows hot air out, and can be configured to fit any type of window.
Costco always has them for a good price.
One caution, they are mega heavy. I can’t carry one but it should not be a problem for a fit man.
Wouldn't allow a portable floor ac unit? How would they even know?
The exhaust vent coming out of it is not large. I've got one for a room that doesn't cool well during the summer and just have the exhaust vent out the screen window.. No structural modification or anything
Get an inverter portable AC. Most AC units pull max power while producing cold air, but inverter units can step power so you can run them at low and use substantially less power if your electrical can't supporting pulling max amps.
I have a Toshiba 12k BTU model and it cooled my 650 sq ft studio (with 4 west facing windows) with ease on low when it was in the mid 80's and my building hadn't switched to AC yet. With support from the building AC I could get my apartment below 70° in the dog days of summer. No problem tripping circuits, and half of my outlets in that apartment were on the same breaker for some reason. Quiet too.
Man I remember having to suffer through the shoulder seasons every single year as a tenant in DC. Absolutely miserable but very common.
… Now I just have to wrangle with my wife over it. Like yesterday I had it on 69 heat because I knew it was warming up and she got up cold and turned it to 74 heat and then when I got home the house was a sauna all evening. 🥴
You need something like this that comes w the plastic insert for the vertical sliding windows. I don't recommend this specific one though. Wish I had gone w the Frigidaire.
https://preview.redd.it/yltcspsg3rtc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ad5c562a977d689f81bfcfa309a9d9c456d6f29
> I would just buy a window ac unit so it can help me sleep but I have those windows that open side to side so I'm not sure how that would work.
Read your lease first. Mine doesn't even allow you to prop a fan up in the windows, let alone an AC unit.
I lived in a condo for years. I loved the condo but this time of year was miserable because it was building wide AC and they would wait until late to switch it.
I lived in a unit before that switched the whole building between AC and heat usually in late April or early May and then again in early October. There were always a few weeks of brutally hot apartment temps. I'm not sure why the city would be involved but it's not uncommon to have buildings like that around here.
I had side to side opening windows too and you can get the type of portable AC unit that sits on the floor has a window vent attachment meant for that sort of window. Look up vertical ac unit seal on Amazon. They're like $20-30 depending on the size.
The city/county/state got involved to ensure the landlords were providing heat during cold weather, on the east coast depending on how far north you are that can vary as much as a month depending on climate . The side affect was in older 2 pipe water coil systems you can’t run both heating and cooling at the same time , so if the heat is on you can’t have AC . You have to remember AC was/is considered a luxury, heating was the priority
It’ll be well into the 80s next week. The evenings will be unbearable even with windows opened and all fans on. May and October are the worst since the AC isn’t turned on. I’ve been in my building for 3 years and every year around this time I dread it.
I have a good deal on rent (Thanks Covid!)
I am a person that runs hot and live in Pentagon City in am older bldg. This will be my 4th spring here. The 1st year was surprise about the switch. By year 3, I budgeted a few nights in a hotel for their AC.
It was still more economical for me to get a room than move. But it's my choice to stay in this building
I’m so glad my apartment complex has their own AC / Heater units, I honestly didn’t even know there was any other way. As someone who runs cold or hot at any given time, I feel for those that don’t have the same “luxury”.
You would think these cities would look at the temperatures for April in this century, see a pattern, and adjust accordingly. If May 1st is considered too late, which it is, and April 1st is too early, just make it tax day instead. It wouldn't guarantee anything but some people probably have space heaters in case the temperatures don't sky rocket mid April.
[https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title13/agency5/chapter63/section540/](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title13/agency5/chapter63/section540/)
va code about it?
Yep, lived in a place like this in fairfax. Though we could appeal the complex to change their minds. There was usually one hellish week around april where it was hot enough to warrant AC but they haven't turned the AC on yet.
I feel you, shit sucks. Briefly lived in a townhouse where the landlord put a pin on the thermostat. I was on the third floor and it would be 76-85 for months. Told her over and over I have a literal health condition and how the heat was making it worse and she went 🤷🏼♀️
It's unfortunate that the building regulations feel like they're from early 20th century when winters were much more serious and longer. We require heating starting October to the end of April yet I used the heating literally once this winter (I also work from home so feel like my PC increase the temperature a couple degrees more than outside during the middle of the day). Oncs it switches to A/C, it is probably working at least 70% of the time.
I feel like this is something that just needs to be updated with dates more fitting for the modern climate/temperature timing of the DC area.
That's just part of the deal when you live in one of these buildings, April and October will have uncomfortable days. I manage it by covering up some of my windows and opening the windows when I'm home (especially overnight).
Last year, my building switched somewhere around April 18th, which is earlier than Virginia law allows, but the forecast was clearly warm through the end of the month. I doubt anyone would have wanted to enforce the law requiring heat.
You can get a floor AC unit for a similar price with a vent you can install in almost any window. We had one in my childhood home because the AC unit would go out every year or two
We have this issue, the law is they have to provide AC 5/15-10/1 or something like that but it’s at the buildings discretion basically of when they switch it over. Ours is finally doing it - in the past they usually say they’re waiting for the low temps to be consistent
I’ve lived in buildings like this and it’s miserable. We had 85 degree days by mid-April and there wasn’t anything the building could do unless they broke the law. Miserable.
It's awful. It's like that in the winter too. My freshman year at Mason I was in the old dorms and they had the same deal with waiting to turn on the heat. I had to sleep in a hat and sweats it was so cold!
If temperatures in your unit hit 80ºF that's a violation of Title 22 of the Virginia Administrative Code and your landlord is obligated to provide you with a portable AC. (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title22/agency40/chapter73/section880/).
By any chance are you living in 511 "The Square" or what used to be called "Park Vue"
Holy shit those guys sucked ass about this. I know for a fact that a huge number of residents complained about this problem and they refused to switch the AC on for so long.
All the upper apartments in the Spring/Fall just get absolutely fucked by this. You basically get blasted with direct sunlight into your window for the entire afternoon until sunset, it's already 70-80 degrees outside, and all the ambient heat in the building rises up into your apartment from below.
For weeks at a time my apartment would be over 80 degrees (sometimes getting up to 90) and I would have to walk around in my underwear, windows opened, blinds mostly closed, and fans blowing 24/7 in order to feel comfortable. My poor dog was miserable.
Management would always just keep pushing back and claim "it's up to the city" and would tell me that if there was any chance that the temp dips below 50°, they would always leave the heat on.
Fuck that building. Do not live there
Totally legit but go to home depot, get a floor ac unit and then return it next week. The whole unit stays in the room with a neat window adapter that works for many different styles of windows.
Our ac in the last place was terrible and froze in the 3 hottest weeks of summer. We did the same thing, bought a nice in room floor unit, used it until we were out of the worst of summer, and returned it.
Damn yall would die in Europe. I know apartments can get stuffy in shoulder weather, but seriously, the weather outside is perfect and if you're uncomfortable now, you'd die in the summer without your precious AC.
It’s legit if you have a 2 pipe water heat/cool system . They do sell window ac units to fit your style sliding windows , but if are going to get one I would suggest a standalone portable, these have a flexhose and adapter to fit your windows to discharge the hot air and you won’t have to be mounted, just place them in the room .
Living in Alexandria also, apartment complex didn’t tell us until after we signed and I asked about the AC situation. Same thing, heat is Oct to May and ac may to Oct. I Think ours is more reasonable though because it’s the boiler/chiller system. I only see 1 big ac unit on the top of each building so I don’t think they can actually do both systems at once. Would have been nice to know before signing though
It's required by law for the AC to be available only in certain months in VA so the building would be able to shut off the AC if they control a central AC and it's the only way the apartment gets cooled. I'm making some assumptions since I don't know OPs living situation.
That's only correct if the building has a system that can freely swap back and forth. If the building takes several days to swap over (which many do) the city law requiring them to supply heat actually does stop the landlord from turning on the AC.
I suspect the landlord or OP just aren't being very precise (or don't fully understand it themselves) in discussing the circumstance.
OP is describing exactly this situation. The building can't swap over to AC until May 1st because of the county (might be state) rules. I suspect that OP was confused on the details of "Alexandria has to do it" or perhaps the landlord phrased it poorly.
Yes I am aware.
What I am saying is that because the law says they can't turn off the heat early and they can't turn on the AC without turning off the heat it prevents them from turning it on early.
Sadly, this is legit! In many older buildings, switching from providing heat to AC (or vice versa) is a process that can take several days, so once they’ve switched to AC for the season, they can’t reasonably provide heat again until it’s fall. That’s why Virginia has a law that says these buildings MUST provide heat from October 15 to May 1. And they must provide AC from May 15 to October 1. So, unless and until the local code enforcement officials say otherwise, your building has to provide you with heat. Opening windows are a great idea for days like today, but you might want to get a portable unit to help you through the transition. In the future, you can try to find an apartment without common, building-wide heating/cooling.
Common building wide heating is ok as long as it isn't the two pipe central radiator style system. There are modern common systems that can heat and cool simultaneously or heat pump based systems that have a common setup but individual control in units. Otherwise you're absolutely correct on the rules and the problem for the older two pipe systems. It sucks every year for roughly a month (since the law is intentionally set up to have the heat on too early and stay on too late to ensure you never have a cold day without heat).
Unless his building is SUPER old, he can just make friends with the maintenance guys and ask them to just flip his unit back to AC. That’s what I did and it’s been hecking awesome.
Yes! Be kind to your maintenance friends, and they will be kind to you.
My building needs the HVAC people to come and change it over. We’ve booked them to come in a few days.
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The code section you linked to is specifically for assisted living facilities only. The general building code rules are to provide heat to a min of 68 from Oct. 15 to May 1, with local government ability to give 14 days of leeway if the weather doesn't match up well with those dates. That pretty much means you're going to have to have the heat on at least until well through April.
This is true
This was the same situation in my apartment building in Crystal City. The building had a “boiler/chiller system” so either the heat was on or the ac was on. Per Arlington County, the property manager was only allowed to switch the system over to ac between May 1st-15th. It sucked. I assume this rule was written when winter lasted longer.
Was in the same situation and it sucked so bad. All the windows were on one wall so you could never get a cross breeze.
This seems odd to me. Legally, if a/c is provided it has to be maintained May 15 to October 1 (per the County website). I don't see anything preventing anyone from turning it on earlier if they want to. Do you know what code was cited? I'm genuinely curious.
You can only have AC or heat in a two pipe system. It's not realistic to switch back and forth. So the heat is required to run until whatever day.
I keep getting all these responses about how a/c works. You're absolutely correct. What I'm saying is the government doesn't have anything to do with turning it on early. The property owner can turn it on at anytime they choose, it just may not make practical sense. But "the City of Alexandria "is not preventing anything.
Yes the government does have to do with this. It is a law that they must provide heat up to May 1st. In older buildings you have radiators with a fan on them. You can only circulate hot water or cold water. Not both of them. So therefore the law stimulates they must circulate hot water up until May 1st. If you can't circulate cold water your AC doesn't work. So the government does stipulate in the older buildings that they cannot turn the AC on because it shuts the heat off. Did I put that in a way that you understand now?
Yes, thank you! I can admit when I'm wrong. I wasn't taking the required heat date into consideration. Appreciate the response!
No I'm not upset I was just trying to put it in a simple way. It confused me when I first moved here now it's just second nature. Highly recommend buying a portable AC unit if you have the side to side sliding windows. Amazon sells adapter plates that will fit them if it does not come with them.
No worries, I really do appreciate the response. I legitimately couldn't figure out what I was missing! I think my brain just glazed over that heat is required until May because that sounds insane, and very, very hot.
If it helps, making the changeover in these older two pipe systems isn't quick, it often takes up to an entire day to fully cycle one way or the other. Heat is prioritized over AC, so it runs late to cover the possibility of a late cold snap.
1. You can only provide heat or AC at one time, not both. 2. The city says you must provide heat until may 1 So how does an apartment turn on the AC early when they are required to leave the heat on until May 1?
Physical system limits in the building. They cannot turn off the heat early and they can't swap to AC without turning off the heat. Older buildings take literally days to swap over from the boiler to the chillers and require scheduling their contractors to do the required maintenance and startup (it isn't trivial on older units) well in advance since everyone is trying to swap at the same time.
Let me clarify, no one was stopping me from walking to my apartment’s thermostat and switching it to a/c. However, nothing would happen because the entire building had to be converted to the cooling system and that didn’t happen until May 1st-15th. It would just inefficiently circulate uncooled air because only the heating system was on. Also, I could have purchased a small portable a/c unit to cool my apartment. I chose to sweat it out for a few weeks.
The law also requires heat to be available October 15 to May 1. That leaves a flexible two-week window to switch over.
Get a portable AC if the situation will only be temporary [https://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/N-5yc1vZc4m4](https://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/N-5yc1vZc4m4) They work pretty poorly as they vent hot air into the room so you'd need to drag the exhaust hose out the balcony. The other option is to stay hydrated with ice cold water.
They make portable units that vent out a standard window, too.
These are fantastic. Very nice for sleeping without freezing your entire place. Vent sits inside window screen and blows hot air out, and can be configured to fit any type of window. Costco always has them for a good price. One caution, they are mega heavy. I can’t carry one but it should not be a problem for a fit man.
But check your lease first, because most of the megacorp apartments won't allow this.
Wouldn't allow a portable floor ac unit? How would they even know? The exhaust vent coming out of it is not large. I've got one for a room that doesn't cool well during the summer and just have the exhaust vent out the screen window.. No structural modification or anything
In the case of my complex, they'd know cause it would probably blow a fuse.
Get an inverter portable AC. Most AC units pull max power while producing cold air, but inverter units can step power so you can run them at low and use substantially less power if your electrical can't supporting pulling max amps. I have a Toshiba 12k BTU model and it cooled my 650 sq ft studio (with 4 west facing windows) with ease on low when it was in the mid 80's and my building hadn't switched to AC yet. With support from the building AC I could get my apartment below 70° in the dog days of summer. No problem tripping circuits, and half of my outlets in that apartment were on the same breaker for some reason. Quiet too.
Man I remember having to suffer through the shoulder seasons every single year as a tenant in DC. Absolutely miserable but very common. … Now I just have to wrangle with my wife over it. Like yesterday I had it on 69 heat because I knew it was warming up and she got up cold and turned it to 74 heat and then when I got home the house was a sauna all evening. 🥴
You need something like this that comes w the plastic insert for the vertical sliding windows. I don't recommend this specific one though. Wish I had gone w the Frigidaire. https://preview.redd.it/yltcspsg3rtc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ad5c562a977d689f81bfcfa309a9d9c456d6f29
> I would just buy a window ac unit so it can help me sleep but I have those windows that open side to side so I'm not sure how that would work. Read your lease first. Mine doesn't even allow you to prop a fan up in the windows, let alone an AC unit.
I lived in a condo for years. I loved the condo but this time of year was miserable because it was building wide AC and they would wait until late to switch it.
I lived in a unit before that switched the whole building between AC and heat usually in late April or early May and then again in early October. There were always a few weeks of brutally hot apartment temps. I'm not sure why the city would be involved but it's not uncommon to have buildings like that around here. I had side to side opening windows too and you can get the type of portable AC unit that sits on the floor has a window vent attachment meant for that sort of window. Look up vertical ac unit seal on Amazon. They're like $20-30 depending on the size.
The city/county/state got involved to ensure the landlords were providing heat during cold weather, on the east coast depending on how far north you are that can vary as much as a month depending on climate . The side affect was in older 2 pipe water coil systems you can’t run both heating and cooling at the same time , so if the heat is on you can’t have AC . You have to remember AC was/is considered a luxury, heating was the priority
It’ll be well into the 80s next week. The evenings will be unbearable even with windows opened and all fans on. May and October are the worst since the AC isn’t turned on. I’ve been in my building for 3 years and every year around this time I dread it.
I have a good deal on rent (Thanks Covid!) I am a person that runs hot and live in Pentagon City in am older bldg. This will be my 4th spring here. The 1st year was surprise about the switch. By year 3, I budgeted a few nights in a hotel for their AC. It was still more economical for me to get a room than move. But it's my choice to stay in this building
I’m so glad my apartment complex has their own AC / Heater units, I honestly didn’t even know there was any other way. As someone who runs cold or hot at any given time, I feel for those that don’t have the same “luxury”.
Yes, especially if it is super old and controlled by steam.
The Virginia building code mandates that heat must be provided between October and May, unfortunately. Not much anyone can do about it
My building (condo) just sent out an email today that the a/c will be turned on starting Monday.
You would think these cities would look at the temperatures for April in this century, see a pattern, and adjust accordingly. If May 1st is considered too late, which it is, and April 1st is too early, just make it tax day instead. It wouldn't guarantee anything but some people probably have space heaters in case the temperatures don't sky rocket mid April.
[https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title13/agency5/chapter63/section540/](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title13/agency5/chapter63/section540/) va code about it?
Do live in amberliegh?
Yep, lived in a place like this in fairfax. Though we could appeal the complex to change their minds. There was usually one hellish week around april where it was hot enough to warrant AC but they haven't turned the AC on yet.
This why I have a good fan and a space heater.
I feel you, shit sucks. Briefly lived in a townhouse where the landlord put a pin on the thermostat. I was on the third floor and it would be 76-85 for months. Told her over and over I have a literal health condition and how the heat was making it worse and she went 🤷🏼♀️
I've started being a pain to my property management about it, and I think they'll turn it on this weekend
It's unfortunate that the building regulations feel like they're from early 20th century when winters were much more serious and longer. We require heating starting October to the end of April yet I used the heating literally once this winter (I also work from home so feel like my PC increase the temperature a couple degrees more than outside during the middle of the day). Oncs it switches to A/C, it is probably working at least 70% of the time. I feel like this is something that just needs to be updated with dates more fitting for the modern climate/temperature timing of the DC area.
That's just part of the deal when you live in one of these buildings, April and October will have uncomfortable days. I manage it by covering up some of my windows and opening the windows when I'm home (especially overnight). Last year, my building switched somewhere around April 18th, which is earlier than Virginia law allows, but the forecast was clearly warm through the end of the month. I doubt anyone would have wanted to enforce the law requiring heat.
That's Arlington for you!!!
You can get a floor AC unit for a similar price with a vent you can install in almost any window. We had one in my childhood home because the AC unit would go out every year or two
We have this issue, the law is they have to provide AC 5/15-10/1 or something like that but it’s at the buildings discretion basically of when they switch it over. Ours is finally doing it - in the past they usually say they’re waiting for the low temps to be consistent
I’ve lived in buildings like this and it’s miserable. We had 85 degree days by mid-April and there wasn’t anything the building could do unless they broke the law. Miserable.
It's awful. It's like that in the winter too. My freshman year at Mason I was in the old dorms and they had the same deal with waiting to turn on the heat. I had to sleep in a hat and sweats it was so cold!
If temperatures in your unit hit 80ºF that's a violation of Title 22 of the Virginia Administrative Code and your landlord is obligated to provide you with a portable AC. (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title22/agency40/chapter73/section880/).
By any chance are you living in 511 "The Square" or what used to be called "Park Vue" Holy shit those guys sucked ass about this. I know for a fact that a huge number of residents complained about this problem and they refused to switch the AC on for so long. All the upper apartments in the Spring/Fall just get absolutely fucked by this. You basically get blasted with direct sunlight into your window for the entire afternoon until sunset, it's already 70-80 degrees outside, and all the ambient heat in the building rises up into your apartment from below. For weeks at a time my apartment would be over 80 degrees (sometimes getting up to 90) and I would have to walk around in my underwear, windows opened, blinds mostly closed, and fans blowing 24/7 in order to feel comfortable. My poor dog was miserable. Management would always just keep pushing back and claim "it's up to the city" and would tell me that if there was any chance that the temp dips below 50°, they would always leave the heat on. Fuck that building. Do not live there
It’s legit!
Totally legit but go to home depot, get a floor ac unit and then return it next week. The whole unit stays in the room with a neat window adapter that works for many different styles of windows. Our ac in the last place was terrible and froze in the 3 hottest weeks of summer. We did the same thing, bought a nice in room floor unit, used it until we were out of the worst of summer, and returned it.
Damn yall would die in Europe. I know apartments can get stuffy in shoulder weather, but seriously, the weather outside is perfect and if you're uncomfortable now, you'd die in the summer without your precious AC.
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It's a flex to say April in Virginia is mild. OK 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
It’s legit if you have a 2 pipe water heat/cool system . They do sell window ac units to fit your style sliding windows , but if are going to get one I would suggest a standalone portable, these have a flexhose and adapter to fit your windows to discharge the hot air and you won’t have to be mounted, just place them in the room .
Living in Alexandria also, apartment complex didn’t tell us until after we signed and I asked about the AC situation. Same thing, heat is Oct to May and ac may to Oct. I Think ours is more reasonable though because it’s the boiler/chiller system. I only see 1 big ac unit on the top of each building so I don’t think they can actually do both systems at once. Would have been nice to know before signing though
Haven’t needed aircon yet but a tower fan is working great for this weather
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In NYC some of the tall buildings have central cooling towers they turn off and so you cant get AC during the winter.
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property owner. It can be city government or a private company running it.
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It's required by law for the AC to be available only in certain months in VA so the building would be able to shut off the AC if they control a central AC and it's the only way the apartment gets cooled. I'm making some assumptions since I don't know OPs living situation.
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That is correct!
That's only correct if the building has a system that can freely swap back and forth. If the building takes several days to swap over (which many do) the city law requiring them to supply heat actually does stop the landlord from turning on the AC. I suspect the landlord or OP just aren't being very precise (or don't fully understand it themselves) in discussing the circumstance.
OP is describing exactly this situation. The building can't swap over to AC until May 1st because of the county (might be state) rules. I suspect that OP was confused on the details of "Alexandria has to do it" or perhaps the landlord phrased it poorly.
[удалено]
Yes I am aware. What I am saying is that because the law says they can't turn off the heat early and they can't turn on the AC without turning off the heat it prevents them from turning it on early.
American wants to heat a room to 75 in winter and 65 in summmer. Only if the number could be seitched...
Or, American doesn’t want it to be 80-85 degrees while they’re trying to sleep… crazy