Publisher Posts - Saving Money in a Cold Maine Apartment

Saving Money in a Cold Maine Apartment
Published January 11, 2010

I recently updated our Apartments section to include a statutory change, effective September 2009, that allows Maine landlords and tenants to agree to provide heat as low as 62 degrees Fahrenheit in return for a reasonable rent reduction.

While I acknowledge the energy-saving & greenhouse gas reducing intentions of this statute, its potential consequences are worrisome. I fear that those living on the edge will be tempted if not forced to take whatever savings are offered. And since "reasonable" rent reduction does mean "equivalence," there is no assurance that landlords will credit back, to tenants, all of the energy savings that their tenants are effectively "buying" as they shiver through winter in Maine. Indeed, this statute seems to me to shift the greenhouse gas reduction burden to folks at the very lowest end of the income scale, as by necessity they cut back on their heat. It may not seem like much, but 62 degrees - give or take a few degrees given imperfect household thermostats - can be pretty darn cold.

Will the energy savings be exceeded by additional expenditures for health care & hospitalizations due to colds, influenza, pneumonia and hypothermia? What analysis was performed as to safe winter temperature levels in apartments? And for what ages? Why is 62 degrees unacceptable for a 4-year old, but not for a 5-year old? And why is it safe for a 64-year old? Indeed, the statute's 62 degree acceptable lower limit violates findings posted by New York Presbyterian Hospital in a news release dated Dec. 7, 2009 and reposted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The release stated that "[k]eeping the thermostat set to 65 degrees Fahrenheit" can help prevent the approximately 600 annual hypothermia deaths in America, half of those over 65 and, therefore, half under.

One Vermonter by the name of Bob reported to the NIH that he had turned his heat down to 62 to save money (both the temperature limit and the intended tenant-benefit are the same under Maine's new statute). When Bob's son came to visit he found that his father was "speaking slowly, shivering, and having trouble walking." 911 was called. Hypothermia was diagnosed. A thermostat setting of at least 68 degrees was recommended. See National Institute on Aging: Stay Safe in Cold Weather. Beyond the elderly, hypothermia can strike children, people with mental impairments, and those with a variety of medical conditions like severe arthritis, stroke, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, burns, diabetes, any condition affecting the normal flow of blood and those taking certain medications. Mayo Clinic. Nothing in the Maine statute offers any protection to at-risk individuals between the ages of 5 through 64.

What do you think of this law?

Your comments to this post are welcome. Just email your thoughts to contact@maine.info.