Energy efficient air conditioners

[BuddyThomas]

This has become my biggest pet peeve lately and it is not just unique to the Disney resorts. It seems like every hotel in the world has jumped on this bandwagon.

It seems like all air conditioner units are quickly being replaced by so called "energy efficient" controls, which means that there are motion sensors, and if the sensor thinks no one is in the room, the unit turns off to save energy. Fine. But when you are in bed, sleeping, what then?

Recently, every hotel I stay in, I wake up sweating to death because the unit has shut off in the middle of the night.

At our Yacht Club room this past September, we finally had to complain, and they sent an engineer to our room to do an "over-ride" so that the cool air kept flowing constantly.

Has anyone else run into this? We like our room very cold, so maybe it's just me.

 

[Hakunamatata]

A helium balloon on a string tied to a chair about ten feet from the ac vent takes care of motion sensors.

 

[luv]

Get a balloon and tie it in place so it keeps moving. Otherwise, the room warms while you're asleep.

There is also a way to bypass the sensor thing, but I forget how it works.

 

[unkadug]

Get a balloon and tie it in place so it keeps moving. Otherwise, the room warms while you're asleep.

There is also a way to bypass the sensor thing, but I forget how it works.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Thanks everyone. Awesome tips . But isn't it silly to have to figure out tricks when we are paying so much for the room? And again, it's not just Disney. This has apparently caught on everywhere. Sigh.

 

[luv]

It has nothing to do with energy efficiency and everything to do with saving money.

If it were cheaper to set the thermostat low in the summer, they'd set it at 50 degrees, lol.

 

[BuddyThomas]

It has nothing to do with energy efficiency and everything to do with saving money.

If it were cheaper to set the thermostat low in the summer, they'd set it at 50 degrees, lol.

So true. Oh boy, I just realized I am officially over the hill. Back in my 20's, I was busy winning costume contests on Halloween. Tonight, I'm posting about air conditioners.

 

[luv]

So true. Oh boy, I just realized I am officially over the hill. Back in my 20's, I was busy winning costume contests on Halloween. Tonight, I'm posting about air conditioners.

I had a group of teens come to the door. One was texting. I kid you not. I gave the other four their stuff and waited about four seconds for Texting Boy before I closed the door.

That was a new one.

I also had three teens who didn't say "Trick-or-Treat" or "Happy Halloween" or even wear a costume.

It's cute when tiny tots are too confused or nervous to say anything. For older kids, it's just rude.

I often wonder who raises these people, lol.

 

[Gabe1]

Disney cooks their guests in resort rooms to:

A Special Treat: Walt Disney World Wins Sustainability Award for “Making the Switch” to Save Electricity

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...rd-for-making-the-switch-to-save-electricity/

It's not only about saving dollars it is about awards and more PR. And these upgrades are covered by resort rate increases.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

This has become my biggest pet peeve lately and it is not just unique to the Disney resorts. It seems like every hotel in the world has jumped on this bandwagon.

It seems like all air conditioner units are quickly being replaced by so called "energy efficient" controls, which means that there are motion sensors, and if the sensor thinks no one is in the room, the unit turns off to save energy. Fine. But when you are in bed, sleeping, what then?

Recently, every hotel I stay in, I wake up sweating to death because the unit has shut off in the middle of the night.

At our Yacht Club room this past Seotember, we finally had to complain, and they sent an engineer to our room to do an "over-ride" so that the cool air kept flowing constantly.

Has anyone else run into this? We like our room very cold, so maybe it's just me.

we've had the exact same problem, particularly hate it if we want a hot shower at night after a long day in the park. we like a cold room too, like 65-68. first time we had a room with that form of sensor was in 2007 at the grand floridian and now at every disney resort we've stayed in. i get where they're coming from but the room can get sooooo warm at night especially in the summer. on top of that i hate it when housekeeping opens the curtains during the day. a moving balloon is the best fix we know of also...that and i bring a small clamp on fan and an extension cord just wish i didn't have to.

 

[olinecoach61]

Some great info in this thread, def trying the balloon idea next time I'm in a hotel!

 

[unkadug]

I had a group of teens come to the door. One was texting. I kid you not. I gave the other four their stuff and waited about four seconds for Texting Boy before I closed the door.

That was a new one.

I also had three teens who didn't say "Trick-or-Treat" or "Happy Halloween" or even wear a costume.

It's cute when tiny tots are too confused or nervous to say anything. For older kids, it's just rude.

I often wonder who raises these people, lol.

similar Halloween story here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/where-in-the-world-is-bob-saget.862692/page-665#post-5782630

 

[Master Yoda]

What's silly is the whole farse that is going green.....

Saving money and "going green" kind of go hand in hand. It is not rocket science that using less electricity saves money Switching to LED or CFL lighting get that done without any real compromises to the end user. These units however do have an impact on the end user because they simply don't work as well. The only win is for Disney.

What I would love to see is Nest Thermostats or something similar installed in the rooms. This way the system would automatically adjust to be on when you are there and off when you are not. In the end it might even be better for Disney as the energy savings could be more and you would have happy guests to boot.

 

[Hot Lava]

More incredibly useful info on this site! I tend to like a colder room when I sleep; it helps me sleep better. So this is info I would really need.

 

[ABQ]

This thread sort of has me grossed out though, thinking about how many people may be waking up after a hot night of sweating in the bed I may be renting...yuck.

 

[JerseyDad]

Disney cooks their guests in resort rooms to:

A Special Treat: Walt Disney World Wins Sustainability Award for “Making the Switch” to Save Electricity

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...rd-for-making-the-switch-to-save-electricity/

It's not only about saving dollars it is about awards and more PR. And these upgrades are covered by resort rate increases.

.....yeah ...WDW gets an "Energy Savings Award? Did anyone leak out to the award givers the room fridge fiasco ...which was ...not only didn't they work ....they also threw off a huge amount of heat. And ...THEREFORE ....the A/C had to work that much harder ....and they are NOT energy efficient A/C units ..other that the motion sensor feature on the thermostat.

 

[Gabe1]

.....the whole "green movement" ....is a big crock of dung

I live in a teeny tiny Hamlet in N. IL. Our Green town leaders bought a 3' x 3' solar panel to illuminate the flag/pole and statue in the heart of of 2 block town. So the quaint little garden has this ugly, expensive panel taking the attention of from what was once the bronze statue. Bright days it works well at night. On snowy or rainy days not so much. Did we really want a Flag flown at night without a light shining on it just to be Green?

We also went to these huge rolling garbage bins and also recycle bins, must utilize. They were proud that these new bins would replace 3-5 cans on average per household, 4 for us. With no use for the old cans everyone set theirs out to be disposed of. So our Green community tossed thousands of perfectly fine garbage cans, that is Green how? Yep this Green stuff drives me nuts but our leaders are driven like Disney to the PR and awards to make themselves look good.

Disney could save the Earth better by putting filters on their drinking fountains so guests could actually stomach the water and refill their bottles instead of tossing one every few hours. My DD at UoI has a drinking fountain in her dorm and all over campus fitted with both a drinking spout and a fill arm to refill water bottles. Disney will only be Green when it garners them dollars not when it will result in a loss of revenue. I'd love to see quality filtered water refill stations at WDW parks.

 

[matt9112]

Saving money and "going green" kind of go hand in hand. It is not rocket science that using less electricity saves money and lessens the impact on the environment making it a win win. Switching to LED or CFL lighting get that done without any real compromises to the end user. These units however do have an impact on the end user because they simply don't work as well. The only win is for Disney.

What I would love to see is Nest Thermostats or something similar installed in the rooms. This way the system would automatically adjust to be on when you are there and off when you are not. In the end it might even be better for Disney as the energy savings could be more and you would have happy guests to boot.

Nest stats are beast. And contractor cost is only about 155 or so....the same as a vision pro 8000 granted the nests learning curve might be hard to keep due to guests varying preference. Granted a user friendly guest enabled schedule can easily make us all happy....you just need to fire it up an hour or hell likely less in a normal hotel room before the guest returns ....but that requires planning and people here hate that.

 

[matt9112]

I live in a teeny tiny Hamlet in N. IL. Our Green town leaders bought a 3' x 3' solar panel to illuminate the flag/pole and statue in the heart of of 2 block town. So the quaint little garden has this ugly, expensive panel taking the attention of from what was once the bronze statue. Bright days it works well at night. On snowy or rainy days not so much. Did we really want a Flag flown at night without a light shining on it just to be Green?

We also went to these huge rolling garbage bins and also recycle bins, must utilize. They were proud that these new bins would replace 3-5 cans on average per household, 4 for us. With no use for the old cans everyone set theirs out to be disposed of. So our Green community tossed thousands of perfectly fine garbage cans, that is Green how? Yep this Green stuff drives me nuts but our leaders are driven like Disney to the PR and awards to make themselves look good.

Disney could save the Earth better by putting filters on their drinking fountains so guests could actually stomach the water and refill their bottles instead of tossing one every few hours. My DD at UoI has a drinking fountain in her dorm and all over campus fitted with both a drinking spout and a fill arm to refill water bottles. Disney will only be Green when it garners them dollars not when it will result in a loss of revenue. I'd love to see quality filtered water refill stations at WDW parks.

Those new cans you speak of suck too....you can't fit sh$t inside them.....

 

[Gabe1]

Those new cans you speak of suck too....you can't fit sh$t inside them.....

Ours are massive. I can fit 4 or 5 55gallon bags in one. Unfortunately they didn't fit where the old cans did.
You can't lift these even when empty, like the smaller cans so I build a level flagstone sidewalk next to garage just for the garbage. By the time I bought all the stones, sand, leveling stones etc it cost me the equivalent of a round trip airline ticket to accommodate rolling garbage bins. Gotta love it when government solutions are looking for a problem.