Alright, so I know this might be a weird question considering it isn’t even close to winter yet, but I was wondering if you guys think it’d be worth bringing a portable heater to my dorm.
For some background on my situation, I currently go to school in MA and the temperature here fluctuates quite a lot. It can be 80 during the day and 40 during the night. Because of this, the school refuses to turn on the heat until late into Nov. (normally after thanksgiving break). However, during the past week or so, it’s been so cold at night that I would have to sleep in a hoodie. Feeling that this was a bit strange, I decided to bring a thermostat from home up to my dorm to see how cold it was really getting. Over the past couple of days, it seems that my room averages in the mid 50s at night, which is way below what I’m used to living with (around low 70s). I tried talking to my RA who then got me in contact with the head of maintenance, and he ended up explaining to me why they won’t do it. Assuming they do wait till thanksgiving break to turn on the heat, my room is probably gonna get a lot colder at night than it is now though.
Anyways, it’s getting annoying that I’m gonna be constantly cold in my own room at night while doing homework or sleeping and they’re not gonna do anything about it. I actually have a portable oil heater with a thermostat at home that I could bring up and solve this problem right away, however, I do remember that space heaters are banned in the dorms because they pose a fire hazard. I was wondering if you guys would think it’d be worth taking the risk and bringing it anyways or if I should tough it out until they decide to turn on the heat?
P.S: Also, before you guys recommend a heated blanket, those are also banned. Plus, I don’t feel like doing my homework while wrapped in a blanket if it does get any colder than it is.
Don’t bring a banned item like a heater aND then get in trouble forhaving it… Put more blankets on your bed, wear warm pajamas, socks, a sweatshirt, whatever. You may find that the dorm is overly warm once they do turn the heat on. It is an adjustment learning to live in a colder climate.
I grew up in Maine and we didn’t have heat on the second floor. Your post made me hear my mother’s frequent winter words, “if you are cold, put a sweater on.”
Mid 50’s is quite chilly - I woke up with a bad sore throat one time when my house got down to 60 one night. Personally, I would go above the maintenance guy in the school chain of command and file a written complaint.
A lot of the circuitry in dorms isn’t built for adding a space heater, which has a large draw. In my own home, we blow a fuse if a space heather is on a circuit with other fixtures. (I had one plug warp. Oops.)
Do they allow a heated mattress pad? They use less than half the energy of an electric blanket. Kids will often take a light down comforter (some are heavy, others are all season and less expensive. Feather or down alternative.) Some will take a warm shower before bed.
If it’s ok might I suggest an electric blanket. Also I would contact the head of residence life for more information on the situation. I feel like they wouldn’t let you use a space heater. In college I lived in a room with little heat. I did use a space heater but only when I was awake. I even turned off the electric blanket once it was warm.
Space heaters are almost universally banned in dorms. They can start fires, either from overloading old circuits or from the absolutely normal teen habit of using them as a landing space for clothes. Don’t do it. You would never be able to live with yourself if your choice to stay warmer led to the deaths of other kids or adults. And, yes, dorm fires do kill. http://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/14/archives/7-are-killed-dormitory-fire-at-providence-college.html
Spend the money you were willing to invest on that heater for warm clothes-- take a look at LL Bean or Land’s End. Both have clothing specifically made for cold temperatures. Invest in a rug for your floor-- it will help keep you warmer. Moccasins will keep your feet warm before you go to bed. (Minnetonka makes good, reasonably priced ones.) Even tapestries on the wall will help insulate-- you can get a fleece blanket from your favorite sports team and hang it.
Again, skip the space heater. It will get you in trouble. And it’s banned for a very good reason.
@lookingforward is right about oil filled radiators. I have blown fuses many times using them. This sitaution seems unfair. Aretn other kids complaining about being cold? A room in the 50s is indeed chilly. I would ask other kids if they are cold and then ask to meet with the res life Dean. If I were your parent, this would really annoy me. Sleeping with extra blankets is totally doable, but you should not be expected to bundle up under a blanket to do homework. If the school won’t budge, get the extra blanket, and study in the library or somewhere warmer.
That’s pretty chilly. I would keep complaining. Is there some kind of student group that advocates for the students? In the mean time -I love an old school hot water bottle.
@Lindagaf Your suggestion of getting other kids to complain actually reminds me of something similar happening last year. After we came back from winter break in Jan., apparently the heating in our building had blown out and we were stuck without heat during the dead of Winter. They sent out an email saying that they would fix it asap. Fast forward 3 weeks later, we still didn’t have heat. And since we’re in MA, most nights were sub-zero outside and our rooms were probably in the mid 20s to low 30s. At that point, half of my floor brought space heaters and heated blankets even though the school told us we still couldn’t because, by then, most of us would rather break a rule than freeze in our own rooms. There were a couple of petitions that my RA got our floor to sign, but nothing got done. It wasn’t until one guy on my floor threatened to sue if he got hypothermia that the heat “magically” got fixed the next day. Anyways, point is, these guys don’t care at all about comfort unless it gets to the point that it’s life threatening or if someone is about to sue. @bjkmom I actually already have an oil heater at home, so no need to invest in one. Also, my room’s carpeted, 1/2 of my walls have things hanging on them already, and I never leave my room without my trusty moccasins when it’s cold. It’s just that I have a corner room, so my room is always colder than the rest of the building for some reason. It was great when it was 90 out 3 weeks ago, when my friends were sweating through their sheets and it was nice and cool in my room. But now that the temps are dropping, my room is going from cool to cold. @Defensor I’m gonna see if I can go talk to the res life director about it. Only problem is, from what the head maintenance guy told me, that the heating system isn’t temperature controlled. It needs to be manually turned on and off. And if you turn it on and it’s like 80 out during the day, then it’ll be miserable. So I doubt they’ll do anything about it. @lookingforward I’m not sure about the electric mattress pad, but I’ll go and ask them about it later. I’m assuming it’s gonna be the same as the heated blanket. @veruca Yeah, there’s a student group, but I doubt they’ll be able to do anything. Hmm…I actually have never heard of the water bottle thing. But I’ll look it up along with what @stradmom suggested. @NorthernMom61 But you know, it’s like I’m paying over 10k a year just for housing alone (which is actually more expensive than most apartments in the area). I should at least deserve to be comfortable in my room and not have to bundle up.
I don’t think anyone disagrees-- 50 degrees is NOT what you’re paying for. You, then your parents (who presumably are paying good money for that dorm room) need to be that proverbial “Squeaky wheel.”
But the heater isn’t a good idea. You need a fix, just a different one.
You know, this isn’t quite fair. I keep my AC blasting spring through autumn and my heat around 60 in the winter (in MA) and I’m the first person to say “wear slippers, a sweatshirt, and a blanket if you’re cold,” but 50 is TOO cold. It’s not reasonable, and it’s cold enough to make your fingers stiff and interfere with studying.
This needs to be escalated. Portable heaters are dangerous, electric blankets/mattress pads/etc are probably banned.
You might want to get a rated sleeping bag and wear a hat. Your head needs to be covered if it is that co!d. It’s like spring camping. Mid or low 60s at night would be a reasonable expectations for MA. Hot water bottle or those cuddly heatable rice bags which are on sale at Marshalls now. Is your window drafty? You can deal it.
Even a cheap sleeping bag is a great idea. (None if ours is rated for serious outdoor camping, but they work. The default is about 40 drgrees.) I know the real issue is the college not offering better temps. But we don’t know what institutional isues make this difficult for them.
So a quick update on the situation. I talked to the housing association and they ended up saying no as well. Anyways, last Thursday, the temps outside dropped down to the mid 30s and my room fell down to low 50s. Seeing this as completely ridiculous, I had called up my uncle who’s a lawyer to see if there was anything that I could do to get this fixed. Apparently there was. Also, since I had the thermostat in my room, I had hard evidence if I were to bring the case to court.
Anyways, on Friday, I ended up meeting with the head of the housing association. I threatened them with a lawsuit for breaking 105 CMR 410: Section 410.201, an MA housing code from the Department of Health to protect tenants from inadequate heating (basically anything under 64°F). Since I’m paying for the room, I’m protected under this code. The second that I mentioned it, they went to look it up and the head lady came back later and said she would talk to housing and disability services to see if they could help me with my situation. Fast forward to Sunday, ironically enough, someone from housing brought down an oil heater (yes, the very ones that are banned) for my room. Only catch was that they made me put it right under the sprinkler system in the room.
So I guess for now, my situation is fixed. But I find it absurd that I would have to go to the extent to threaten them with a lawsuit for them to actually do something about it.
It’s just that I have a corner room, so my room is always colder than the rest of the building for some reason. It was great when it was 90 out 3 weeks ago, when my friends were sweating through their sheets and it was nice and cool in my room. But now that the temps are dropping, my room is going from cool to cold.