How we work

 

For the 2019-2020 winter, Heat Seek is making sensors available to New Yorkers in three ways:

Buy

This is our self-serve option. Purchase a sensor and gain access to our web app and all of your data. Install the sensor yourself, and choose which actions you'd like to take to get your heat restored. A percentage of each sale goes toward providing a sensor free of charge for a tenant in need (see below).

Qualify

Tenants who qualify for free legal services in NYC can apply to receive a sensor from Heat Seek at no cost. Sensors are not guaranteed, and are given on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last. Sensors must be returned to Heat Seek at the end of the heat season. If you receive a sensor, Heat Seek will recommend a series of steps to take to get your heat restored, and in cases of chronic heat abuse, may make a referral to a Community Based Organization (CBO) and/or pro bono Legal Service Provider (LSP) for additional support.

Refer

Tenant organizers and legal service providers can request to have Heat Seek sensors installed in order to support a building-wide campaign or group HP Action. If you work for a CBO or LSP, reach out to Heat Seek directly at info@heatseek.org to request that Heat Seek perform an install in the building. 

 

For all but our self-serve option, Heat Seek staff and volunteers come to install temperature sensors at the beginning of heat season (Oct 1 - May 31), and the sensors remain in place throughout the winter. The temperature sensors monitor the temperature by taking a reading once per hour. Readings are transmitted via wifi or 2G cellular data to our web app, where they are recorded in the tenant’s account. The web app incorporates the outdoor temperature, the time of day, and time of year in order to identify whether or not a building is in violation of NYC housing code. Tenants and their advocates can access our web app at any time to view their readings and can download heat logs for use in tenant-landlord negotiations and/or housing court. At the end of the winter season, Heat Seek staff remove the sensors for maintenance and re-use next year.

Featured
CONNECT
CONNECT

Concerned tenants can have a small Heat Seek NYC temperature sensor installed in a discreet location in their apartment.

Each sensor wirelessly transmits temperature readings. Tenants do not need an internet connection to use a Heat Seek sensor.

ANALYZE
ANALYZE

Heat Seek NYC compares sensor data against outdoor temperatures and the minimum temperature requirements according to the NYC heating code in order to identify violations 24/7.

Tenants and advocates can review their temperature data by logging into Heat Seek NYC’s powerful web app.

IDENTIFY
IDENTIFY

 Heat Seek NYC reveals heating code violations as they occur.

We track patterns of abuse, and we also work with responsible landlords to diagnose problems with their buildings’ heating systems.

ACT
ACT

Heat Seek NYC’s temperature data provides the objective evidence needed in landlord-tenant negotiations or housing court.

By making Heat Seek NYC a common presence in apartments across NYC, we aim to deter heating code violations altogether.