I started by getting to know an HVAC expert, at least because their knowledge of the systems was superior to what I was learning from questions and answers on social media
I was incredibly intrigued when I first laid foot on radiant floors. The temperatures remained the same, so I was unable to learn how they operated or whether they would burn us. I didn’t have heating in my childhood home because we didn’t need it, and the only time I had one was in the college residence hall, where it was a boiler that required ongoing maintenance. Unsatisfactory encounter. I never bothered to call for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning service in my first apartment because the building manager took care of it. I had no interest in the HVAC industry as long as my apartment stayed warm, and the HVAC repairman was just a woman I saw in the heating dealership van that made periodic rounds of the property. When I first noticed the heated floors, which I had been told was a result of the home’s hydronic heating, I was hoping to eventually buy an apartment. As a backup in case heater service failed or repair took too long and they had customers, the owner informed me that they also had a hybrid boiler with a heater and a heat pump. That started my quest to learn more about maintaining an apartment’s comfort because I was fascinated by the entire system and how they were operating it. I wanted radiant floors, but I also did a lot of reading about them and how they might be either too expensive to maintain or ineffective at keeping the entire apartment warm. I started by getting to know an HVAC expert, at least because their knowledge of the systems was superior to what I was learning from questions and answers on social media. The cost has been the process’s biggest deterrent, but I’ll keep saving until I can afford heated floors.