3 ms·
> Many prewar buildings in NYC were constructed with 'overpowered' radiators by the windows with the idea that people would in winter have the windows slightly
by pivo 3y ago
> Many prewar buildings in NYC were constructed with 'overpowered' radiators by the windows with the idea that people would in winter have the windows slightly ajar to bring in clean air.
Wow, thank you! I've always wondered why the heat seemed so unnecessarily overwhelming in radiator buildings I grew up in. We'd keep the windows open because there was no way to control the heat and I'd always thought it was such a waste of energy. Not sure how clean the outside air was at the time, but I did really miss the mix of cold and warm air in the winter when I moved to a more modern building.
- blamazon 3y agoOne explanation for this phenomenon is that the initial rapid proliferation of 'modern' radiators in NYC happened around the same time as the 1918 influenza pandemic. It was understood that fresh air was something of an antidote. Tangentially, people wore masks as well during that global pandemic [1] and there were even anti-mask groups. [2] It makes me wonder what a pandemic a hundred years from now would be like and what physical manifestations of 2020 will remain. [1]: https://twitter.com/georgiatech/status/1307410628470956032 https://twitter.com/georgiatech/status/1307410628470956032 [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Francisco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_San_Franci...