BCV AC System - Outsmart It?

[Melrosgirl]

Having never stayed at the BCV yet, I am getting worried that the automatic sensor system is going to shut off during the night and make for uncomfortable nights.

Is there a way to outsmart the AC system at BCV? Maybe by purchasing a toy that we could set near the AC system that constantly moves (a dancing doll that stands in place for instance).

It may mean buying batteries for it, lol, but will it keep the auto system on longer?

Something I was just wondering about. What do you think?

 

[MarkRG]

There is NO way to 'fool' it. It only detects body heat in motion, so non living objects will not trigger it. Neither will anything smaller than a person. If it becomes a problem, complain and they'll get a maintainance person out that can fix it.

 

[BobH]

Never gave much thought to the A/C. Is it regulated this way in every vacation club room? How did you become aware of this?

 

[MdmMim]

I stayed at the BCV and this A/C system is my only complaint. It will not go below 68--no matter how much motion/heat is detected, which is too warm for me any time of the year. I called maintenance twice--there was nothing they could do. If I had known that the temp would not go lower than this, I would probably not have added on there--I don't like a warm room.

I don't know if it will do any good, but I'm going to send a letter off to DVC regarding this situation.

 

[RWishbone]

Bring along a nocturnal beast...racoon, oppossum, etc and allow it to roam the room while you sleep. That should do the trick..

 

[Melrosgirl]

Originally posted by RWishbone
Bring along a nocturnal beast...racoon, oppossum, etc and allow it to roam the room while you sleep. That should do the trick..

Thanks, Rich...I'll see if Al E. Gator is looking for a warm place to sleep.

 

[AEN]

How warm do the rooms get? Does the a/c go on if it gets too warm? Is the room real hot when you return during the day or if you are a heavy sleeper does it never come on?

Happy New Year everybody.

 

[cgcw]

Our expereince was that at night we would turn the air up to about 73 degrees because we had been cold the night before. Come morning, we'd wake up chilled again. By the time we were up and dressing, the villa was way to warm. The system accomplished it's mission - heating up the room, but not at the time we wanted it to be warm. I didn't even make the connection as to why until I opened this thread....guess I just wasn't thinking about the cooling system. Maybe I'll remember next trip.

 

[RobDoc]

On our two stays at BCV, we've not experienced any problem with the HVAC system.

We always turn the blower to ON (instead of auto), which serves to moderate the temp throughout the unit (and also provides a "white noise" background), and also use the ceiling fans to further augment the system. (We've always done this at all DVC resorts.)

In September, this helped to sustain a more even temp. The villa was a little warm when returning to the room, but cooled off within a few minutes. We never experienced any uncomfortable temps overnight with the ceiling fan going.

In December, there were some cool days (high in the 50's) and I did set the thermostat a little higher during those few days.

 

[Chuck S]

OKW seems to be installing a similar system, at least I noticed new ceiling mounted sensors and a new thermostat in room 3121 in December. During our stay Dec 3 to 13, the weather was very changable. Warm/Cool/Wet. We had no problems with the system, I hope this holds true in the warm/hot weather for our June trip. MdmMim, do the new thermostats not allow a temp setting below 68 for a/c, or do the units just not actually cool below 68? Either way, it does seem odd. I like my room on the warm side, (about 73) so I know I wouldn't be happy if they don't HEAT above 68 in cold weather. It was nice meeting you at MGM

 

[Barb]

I found the room to be that "stuffy" warm upon first entering. I did stop at the front desk to ask about by-passing the system. (they will do this for you at the Universal resorts) She made the cursory call to maintenance in front of me and told me someone would be up to look at it soon. Well, to the best of my knowledge no one ever showed up, as the themostat was stuck at 68° the whole trip. I could not manually adjust the thermostat any lower either. My only other solution is to bring along a table fan to move air throughout the room. Although, I don't believe I should have to do that to be comfortable in my room. My DH likes the room frosty cold at night. This will not go over well at all.

 

[Claudia1]

I also put the fan on "on" during our stay but kept finding that it reverted to "auto" on its own. I really don't know how long it stayed "on" but is was only for a few hours.

Does anybody know why the change? What is the advantage to this system? I don't like coming into a warm room during the 90+ degree July days.

 

[Dean]

Marriott's Grande Ocean in HH has the same type of system and it wasn't a problem for the week we were there in 2001. We have 2 units this year for one week and will see how it goes.

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by Claudia1
Does anybody know why the change? What is the advantage to this system? I don't like coming into a warm room during the 90+ degree July days.

While I'd assume the main reason was to try to save energy, once at OKW - before the new systems - there was a maintenance guy in our room. He said that a lot folks turned the A/C down to cold - even when they were out for the day - and the humidity/condensation in Florida would clog/freeze or otherwise overwhelm the drain in the unit - causing a backup of water to eventually drip inside the condos.

 

[MarkRG]

The advantage? The a/c or heat doesn't run as much when the room is unoccupied so the room consumes less utilities, at least in theory. That's not much of a benefit to us, more like one for Disney.

I have a programmable thermostat. It take a great deal longer for the furnace to warm/cool the house for every degree of 'swing' I program into the thermostat. I currently only run mine 3 degrees of difference between the times we're home vs when we're not. the kind of swings(I noticed about 8-10 degrees on the ones at Carribean Beach) they're putting in these may save money on totally unoccupied rooms, but I'm sure they're not getting much of a savings on an occupied room that operates in this manner, as each time the guest arrives, it then has to run a great deal longer to get the room back to 'normal'.

 

[bethsg]

Funny thing on our recent trip to BC... we kept changing our thermostate to 70 , and it would reset itself back to 64. Finally dh after setting it to 70 draped a paper towel over the motion sensor, (looks just like the motion sensor for a security system) to keep the air from detecting motion, and going on... seemed to work.

 

[wdeversole]

--- That's not much of a benefit to us, more like one for Disney. ---

Well, since the BCV utilities are paid out of our dues, it really IS a benefit to us.

When we stayed at BCV in early Dec, we also turned our fan to ON from AUTO during our stay, which seemed to help.

We also stayed in a studio, so it may have cooled off quicker upon our return from the parks than a one or two bedroom would have.

 

[MaryJ]

What about people like those in our family who are cold-natured? We like to set the thermostat at 75 or even a little warmer in the warm months. Is there a way to do that?

 

[Chuck S]

MaryJ -
If all the thermostats are like the electronic thermostat we had at OKW last month - it shouldn't be a problem. Ours was set that high most of the time - until it got to be so humid we had to tun it down to dry out the air a little. That's the first time we had an electronic thermostat at OKW.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Just curious,how many of us turn our own A/C temps up in the morning when we know were going to be gone all day ? I know I do and I know that it means when I walk into my house that evening the temp may be a little higher then I prefer,but when my electric bill comes due I sure don't mind the savings.

Now,knowing human nature as we all do, do you think it's possible people staying at WDW turn their A/C temp down as cold as it will go when they leave for the day so that they can enjoy that great "AHHHH" feeling when they step back into their room, (which is shortly followed by turning the stat up a few degrees because it really is too cold in the room). Of course not,things like that don't happen. And no one smokes in non-smoking units and the reason place mats aren't in OKW suites anymore is because Disney is cheap and not because people took them.

Westgate,Marriott and I'm certain others have gone to this type A/C system.We just stayed at BCV & VWL, the room temp was never an issue. And since my dues are paying the electric bills, I'm glad for the investment in the new system.