Any suggestions on cooling down a home?

So, I purchased a co-op a little over a year ago. I am directly above the boiler room.. and it gets HOT in my unit. My floors are literally heated and my home gets up to 85 degrees, hotter in winter months. Middle of January, I have the AC on! My neighbor who is on the opposite side of me and is also above the boiler room has complained of the same. It is worse in the winter when the boiler is in high gear.

I've had people come in to make sure my heat is turned OFF, and nothing of my fault that's causing the heat- it is the boiler room and it's out of my control at the moment.

I've already spoken to the board members about finding ways to cool down the boiler room. they're going to look into it and get quote and estimates. Clearly this is going to take some time

I've suggested to them to insulate the boiler room, and put fans in the windows to direct the heat out of the building. Not sure if they are thinking of other ideas.

In the mean time, any ideas on how I can cool down my unit that's safe and not costly? It's too hot for my cats, myself and my poor gecko who can't take the heat.

I can't leave windows open when I am not home- and it doesn't always help, unless it's like 20 degrees and windy out.

I hate to leave my AC on.. my bills jacked up a ridiculous amount! (This I did complain to the board about too, and they agree it's nuts). When I know its going to be too hot, I'd leave it on fan setting under electric saving mode when I am not home.

Ceiling fans only push down the heat, no matter which direction it goes in. Regular osculating fans does help move the air, but does not really cool down the place.

For the gecko, I have ice pack on top of his cage to cool him down. Temporary fix, but does the trick. Cats are managing fine, finding places to cool down, but they seem to like the heated bathroom floor, ugh

any ideas? I am sick of living in 80 degree temps!

Omg, that sounds like hell to me! Literally. I hate hot weather, and I especially hate it being hot in the house. My advice would have been to open the windows, but if that's not an option, not sure what else to do. No one should have to be running the A/C in the winter though, that's for sure.

We've got some 0 degree weather coming up, hopefully it will make it to you and that might help?

I am looking forward to cold weathers! People think I am nuts that I am complaining about the warm weather we have been having so far!

Today is somewhere in the mid 50s- but it is humid rainy weather . That just makes it worse.

This might be a temporary fix until they can do something with the boiler room...

Get a small 'tornado fan' (they are really powerful) and place it on your stove or nearby counter and direct it toward the exhaust fan on your stove. Turn your exhaust fan on HI and, hopefully, it will draw the hot air out. It would most likely cost less than running your A/C all the time.

You can get a small tornado fan for under $20 and if you DO run your A/C they really help distribute the air and you can set your A/C on low. 

I had just posted in the 'What are you doing' thread about how unbearably hot it is in my apartment. The elderly lady who lives below me cranks her heat up SO high it takes your breath away when you walk into her place! Right now, it is 31F outside and I have my heat OFF and the living room window cracked open about 6 inches (fortunately, I am on the third floor and can leave my windows open 24/7 if necessary). The cats are crammed on the window sill enjoying the cool air! 

You might want to get a small thermometer and take pics of the readings to show how hot it gets in your place. Also, make copies of your electric/heating bills and have the board members do a comparison with other co-ops and determine a fair reduction or refund to you to off set the cost. Give them the bill for the tornado fan too! 

If you happen to have asthma or other respiratory or medical condition, get a statement from your doctor. That might expedite getting the problem solved. In the meantime, call around to some HVAC companies and explain your dilemma and ask if they have an suggestions on lowering the temp in the boiler room. If you present options (and prices?) to the board members, they might take you more seriously - especially if it saves them time and money. 

If THAT doesn't work, give me their phone number and I will give them a call! LOL 

I hope it gets resolved soon because I know how uncomfortable and frustrating it can be to have to live in a furnace!

We had a similar situation in our apartment building, but our apartment is always the coldest. The apartment above the boiler room was always crazy hot, up to 25C sometimes while we're at 18C. Fortunately the boiler was really old and a gas guzzler, so the landlord wanted to change it out. They just put a new one in (waited till the cold snap at the start of winter to do it ) and it's way more efficient. There's still uneven heat distribution through the building though - just the way it was built, no insulation and the water pipes are configured weirdly. It's still 18-20C in our apartment and we're often a bit cold, but I'd rather deal with that. The other apartments near the boiler room are at a reasonable temperature now, so they're happier.
It sounds like your building really needs to fix this situation, it's not reasonable at all. Plus, it's stated very clearly in the code that there must be adequate venting in the boiler room. Our boiler room is always cold because there's a permanently open window, as well as the exhaust pipes, and this new boiler doesn't actually heat up the room. It heats up what it's supposed to - the water in the pipes.
As an argument for replacing the boiler, the bills for gas are way better than they were. This new boiler is 95% efficient, a huge difference.
Good luck in getting this sorted out. It's an issue that needs to be addressed for sure.

I think my co-op manager wants to change out the boiler.. he's always looking to save money in the long run. I am not sure how much money we have in the bank to support this.. he needs to figure all this out!

I don't have a vent /exhaust fant above my stove, though that's a great idea! (my kitchen has a wall vent, doesn't do much at all). I've heard good things about the tornado fans.. that's something I will look into!

I'm so jealous. It's freezing cold here.

Draco, another temporary fix is one of those new air conditioners you just hang on the wall. They are about two feet long and 8-10 inches high. I have no idea how much they cost, but I've seen them used in some of the makeovers on HGTV. My insurance agent has one, and it's quite effective.

Hope some of the cold air we have here has gotten to you now. Look forward to below zero. Outside, anyway.