Originally Posted by
indyfabz
We had cast iron radiators growing up in Philly. During cold nights my mom would get up early to raise the thermostat then go back to bed while the house heated up. Had them in my first two apartments as well.
The house where I grew up, in Southern PA, has hot water radiator heat. Originally built in 1935 with a coal-fired furnace, but they installed an NG furnace before we bought the place in 1962. What I mostly remember is the house was always warm in the winter. No hot spots or cold spots, just evenly warm, no drafts, no wind from forced air. Just nice, even heat. Pretty much silent, too.
I also remember back in the winter of 76/77, when I was in college, we had one of those energy crises that hit then, combined with one of the coldest winters on record. The Administration tried to save money/energy by turning off the heat in the classroom buildings overnight. That doesn't work well with hot water heat. The old, poorly insulated buildings got real cold - like about 50 degrees - and radiators take FOREVER to reheat a cold space. I think that initiative lasted a day, after we all showed up for our 8:00 classes - I arrived, took off my parka, sat down, put my parka back on. Put my gloves back on..... The prof came in, looked around at us shivering, and canceled class.