Energy efficient windows

A basic rule of apartment living is that you can't expect the place to be energy efficient if you, the tenant, are paying for the heat.

The places I have lived where I had to pay the heating bill were old, drafty apartments with windows that rattled in the breeze. Since tenants paid the heating bills, the landlords had no incentive to invest in making these buildings more energy efficient. Such investments would have saved tenants money in the long term, but as renters we were, by definition, not interested in the long term. And in any case, we did not own the buildings and had no authority to make such investments.

This is a text-book example of perverse incentives. Literally — my Econ 101 text book in college used exactly this example to illustrate the meaning of perverse incentives.

The result of this is thousands of buildings across the country where there exists no financial motive for investing in energy conservation. This seems to me an obvious place where government can and should play a role by creating incentives (both carrots and sticks) where the market fails to do so, thereby encouraging the landlords of these heat-not-included properties to make the investments that will save us all energy and money in the long haul.

My current apartment is better insulated and far more energy efficient than the last place I lived. Here, of course, the landlord pays for the heat.

This is also why my apartment looks a bit strange today. I have followed the instructions from our building's management to:

Move all furniture, plants, household items, etc., away from the door and windows to provide clearance along the entire outside walls of the living room and bedroom where needed. Remove all treasured items, valuables and breakables to a safe place. Make sure there are adequate walkways to each door or window area.

We're getting new, more energy efficient windows and sliding glass patio doors. Work was supposed to begin today here on the fifth floor, but the weather hasn't cooperated so they'll start tomorrow.

"Work starts at 7:30 a.m.," we are told. I work nights, but the construction guys will be working days. Here, in my apartment. Hmmm.

I'm not sure what sleep deprivation and the presence of a construction crew will mean for regular blogging this week, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning at 7:30.