Does heat from a first-floor apartment help keep the 2nd floor apartment warm?

Question

I have a two family apartment. The second floor is heated by a ventless gas heater. The people on the first floor, who use a steam furnace believe their high heat bill is because the heat is rising through the floors. The second floor is wall to wall carpeted and the first floor has drop ceilings. Is this really making a big difference to the first floor heating bills.

Answer 1

I use to live on the fourth and top floor of our building. It was warm in the winter (I live in Vermont) and hot in the summer.

Answer 2

The heat you put in you home, (no matter where it come from) follows the 2nd Law of thermodynamics. Basically the warm air wants to heat up the cold air. The amount of heat it takes to keep your home warm depends on the temperature inside, the temperature outside, the resistance to this heat moving from the hot side to the cold side (called R-factor in insulation) and the area the heat has to travel across. Because you have a heated floor which is the roof of the first floor your heat will not want to escape through the floor so there will be no loss. This benefits the first floor as well, (assuming there are not any major holes) as you are providing insulation for the first floor roof. If you had an apartment above you, you would act as insulation to the third floor floor, and they would provide insulation for your ceiling. . As this is not the case you will loose heat through the roof, so I would actually expect the second floor heating needs to be higher than the first floor. All of the apartments will loose heat through their walls. Assuming the first floor is actually on the ground there is not a great deal of heat loss through the ground, but more than the second floor will loose (assuming same temperature setting).

Answer 3

First Floor Apartment

Answer 4

the heat rising from the first floor will help the second floor the heat is being trapped between the drop ceiling and will to some extent help but is not why they have a high heating bill the first floor has to look at the insulation in there outside walls and there windows so the answer is NO

Answer 5

I think it may be possible. My mother in law lives on the 2nd floor of a building and when the kids spend the night with her she says they just love sleeping on the floor because the heat from the downstairs apartments warms her carpet. But it doesn't actually heat her entire room,just the floor. Surely it shouldn't be too outrageous to dramatically raise the lower floor's heating bills. This is all I know on the subject, hope I helped a little!

Answer 6

Heat does rise, so I guess that theory is possible. It sounds like a large apartment, so the heat bill could simply be running higher than the tenant was expecting.

If it is insanely high, it would be a good idea to contact a heat specialist and have them come look at the system. It is possible that the heat is escaping somewhere within the walls, and that would definitely run up the bill.

Answer 7

I wouldn't worry about steam radiator heat that is heating exterior walls below you. Yes heat rises, We live in a 2nd floor apartment with concrete and steel above and below us. We don't pay the heat above or below and appreciate the fact that all three are heated by electric hot air or accumulators (electric radiators).
Their heat bill is high because it's cold, (their thermostat is set too high), or defective, or [they're looking for something to cry about]. There is nothing you can do about it yourself.
They can call and pay for a heating engineer to check their system for defects/efficiency and recommend a solution which you will not be involved with anyhow.
Good luck, keep warm and don't worry (unless you own the building) and everyone has to pay their own way [course you can raise the rent for a heat revision]. That is the only way you might have to pay (your share only in your living space).

Answer 8

It depends cause if the building was not made by a slum lord and the building isn't super old then there should be insulation in between the walls. I reckon there should be some around the ceiling even if there isn't supposed 2 be any there heat rises cause my neighbors wore old peeps and even when it was 50 degrees and I would be hot cause they would have the heat on 98 and i would have to run the fan on low and I live in florida.

Answer 9

It would make sense that if the lower floor is warm that the warm air would come up to the second floor. But, if there is no heat above and no insulation, then it won't help much.

Answer 10

Not your worry.....Some heat has to have some effect on the second floor. That's just the way things are. Heat stratifies, hot up, cold down...

Answer 11

im sure it is . heat rises. but the first floor is gonna have heat anyway. so the upper apt gets a warm floor.