When the heat is gone

I've lived in this nursing home for over six years. And the heating is really strange. It is either really hot or way to cold. There seems to be no in between.

In March the weather in this part of the state gets warmer quicker than the southeastern part where I used to live. When the temperature gets up in the 50s and 60s, any heat that comes out of the ceiling vents here makes it feel sweltering in this building.

Last Friday it was 77°. The nursing home staff looked wilted. We residents did as well. I know I had to put my air conditioning on. I felt kind of stupid doing that when I felt the heat coming down from the ceiling vent. But there is little I can do about the heat. I just know it's too hot and I need to be more comfortable.

At some point this week, the heat in here seemed less impressive. The weather was in the 50s and then got much cooler. This morning temperature was 16°. This building was frigid. The back dining room was so cold, I had a blanket on my lap and a shawl around my shoulders.

I realize turning the heat off and back on may not be possible into building this size. Once the maintenance man turns it down, or off, we live with that setting. Today most of the residents were complaining that they were too cold. After breakfast many went to their rooms and curled up in bed to get warm.

It is not too bad for me since I have a desktop PC for daytime warmth, and on chilly days my laptop, I use in the afternoons and evenings, provides needed warmth on chilly days. But they also can provide too much warmth on a hot day. Maybe this year I will get one of those cooling fans to see if it will make a difference during the warm summer months..

Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 50s. With the heat in the building right now, tomorrow should be much more comfortable inside for everyone. The outdoors will also seem more inviting.

It's hard to believe we are getting close to spring. They heat is turned down our off similarly each and fall. Like I said in an earlier blog, I got used to a heater/air conditioner under the window in my previous nursing home. That made it more like a motel where you can easily change between heat and air conditioning.

I wonder they will ever retrofit these older nursing homes with more modern under the window/through the wall heating and air conditioning units. To me, it cannot come soon enough.

We could probably live with cooler common areas if we knew our rooms would be warm enough.