[cfallin]

This is apparently an artifact of the 1918 flu pandemic: building architects / heating engineers intended for windows to be kept open to ventilate spaces in the winter, and so steam heating systems were over-provisioned. A number of friends in old apartments in Pittsburgh had the same issue with building heat.

(Relatedly, I wonder what effect the current pandemic will have on the modern trend of well-sealed homes...)

[Tiksi]

Huh, I always assumed it was due to minimum temp laws, where it was cheaper to just heat everything full blast and never have to worry about a 1st floor or basement apartment not getting enough heat, and cheaper than installing valves or thermostats in every unit.

Every apartment I've lived in around NY and North NJ was like this. All had steam radiator heaters, and the heating was so hot, especially in the fall and spring, that you controlled the temp by opening or closing the window over the radiator. All but one also had single pipe radiators[0], so you couldn't turn them down with the valve or you'd end up filling the radiator with water and breaking the system.

However parts of NYC do still have steam heating powered by a central plant (mostly ConEd iirc) so in the end it might actually end up more efficient with the windows open than having a per unit heater.

Edit: Wikipedia link on NYC's system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_steam_system

I guess it's just Manhattan that has central steam, but it also provides cooling via absorption chillers and steam for disinfection. Also much of this steam is basically a waste product of electricity generation, so the actual efficiency may be even higher.

Edit 2: I also found and article in NY Times that supports the spanish flu as the reason for this, and also describes 1 vs 2 pipe systems.

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/realestate/radiators-stea...

[cfallin]

Overprovisioning to ensure demand is met in the worst case also sounds like a very early-20th-century sort of design decision; that could be part of it!

Here's an interesting article about Spanish flu and radiators: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-17/our-indis...

"engineering manuals from the 1920s dictated that radiators and boilers be manufactured large enough for 'the coldest day of the year, with the wind blowing, and the windows open.'" (!)

[perl4ever]

>Overprovisioning to ensure demand is met in the worst case also sounds like a very early-20th-century sort of design decision

We're building 600 hp electric cars these days.