Downstairs apartment needs separate HVAC
My mom recently had a very interesting idea when she decided to separate her house into two separate living spaces.
She wasn’t occupying the entire to level home, so she decided to transform the basement level into a separate apartment. I totally agreed with this plan because she could definitely use some extra income from a tenant down there and she wouldn’t even miss this extra space. Besides, it gave her something to do. She quickly transformed the basement into an awesome little apartment unit and rented it out with no problem. However, the trouble came later on. All summer she and the tenant got along great. When the outdoor climate began to change and it slipped into a chilly fall season, the troubles started. Suddenly, her tenant realized that it was quite cold in the basement. All summer long, it had been a godsend that the basement was so naturally chilly, so she didn’t need any additional air conditioning to be comfortable down there. However, when winter was knocking on her door the space was less than ideal. She was connected to the central heating system, but it wasn’t off setting the inherently cold nature of the basement. She started increasing the thermostat little by little. My mom realized that it seemed quite warm upstairs and when she received the next energy bill she understood why. Her tenant had been increasing the temperature so high that her electricity was quadruple the usual amount. Now, my mom and her tenant are at odds over the heating and costly electricity. To me, the solution seems simple. Install a separate HVAC system or live alone.