Motion sensored A/C

[poppop]

I remember hearing something about the A/C being activated by motion sensors at the new BCVs. Is this the case and has it caused any problems?

 

[TDC Nala]

I have been reading a thread on the resort board about these motion sensors at the Grand Floridian. The problem with them seems to be that when one is asleep, one does not engage in a range of motion sufficient to keep the air conditioner running, so if you want the AC on all during the night, you may be out of luck. I haven't read anything about how they work at BCV, though.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

I am staying at the BCV later this month, and am concerned about this too.

I had a room with one of these in Las Vegas, and HATED it, although I can certainly understand the value of it for the resort, I bet it saves them thousands and thousands in electricity.

However, it was really irksome to come in from the hot outdoors to a warm room.....I always loved the sensation of a blast of cold air when I'm overheated. I did not notice it being a problem at night in this room, however, I did stay in a hotel in MA that had this, too, and it was a problem at night, especially since I sleep the best in a cold room. The room would become uncomfortably warm, which would wake me up, I'd toss the bedcovers off of me, which would activate the AC, which would then make me cold, so I'd pull up the covers and fall back asleep, which would deactivate the AC, I'd get uncomfortably warm again, fling off the blankets....and, well, you get the picture. LOL

 

[ez]

We are going to bcv in a few weeks and I am concerned too. Something I have always loved about vacationing is to crank the air and not worry about the electric bill....coming back to an icecold room after a day in the park. I do have an idea, though. My daughter has a little annoying battery operated raccoon type thing attached to a ball that goes all over the room. Do you think if I brought that it would activate the motion sensor, or is it too low? How about an oscilating fan? Just some thoughts-

 

[jbzx99]

i travel with children all the time and i usually have to buy them at least one disney balloon. balloons set off burglar alarms, so i figure it would set off the motion detector.. i would put a balloon near the sensor and hope its movement would keep the a/c on.. that way you have a cold room.. dont know if it will work but its a idea............

 

[sgtdisney]

We were at OKW last month and I did notice that they had new thermostats there. It was a digital set up and almost looked like it had some alarm type features. I wonder if this was set up to motion sensors in some way.. All I know is I could never get the temperature in the room regulated the way I wanted to. I set it at 73 when we were in the room and it seemed freezing, other times I had to set to 78 and it was cool. I am certain it wasn't really 78 in the room.

Whatever it was I didn't like that thermostat at all. It seemed be like I was constantly changing it because we were either way too hot or it got way too cold. If it was hooked up to sensors in some way it would explain it better, I suppose...

 

[WDWCRAZY32]

The baloon idea works great. Have put a baloon in front of the thermostat/sensor in the CR numerous times and the air stays on as long as the maid doesn't move it.

 

[DebbieB]

When we were at OKW in May in a 1 bedroom I was constantly playing with the thermostat too, seemed like I couldn't get it set right. If I turned it down, it would get too cold, so I turn it up and it would get too warm. It was 95 outside and one time I turned it off at night because it was too cold and forgot to turn it back on in the morning, the room was really warm when we got back.

 

[WDWCRAZY32]

I forgot but there are also switches on the sliding glass doors and the like, if you open a glass door the A/C will also turn off after a few minutes.

 

[Shadeaux]

Do all the units at OKW have the sensors? It sure would explain why I about froze to death at night while we were there in June. I am a very restless sleeper & kept waking up shivering. I guess all my movement kept the air running too much. At home, we leave the thermostat alone; set it at the beginning of summer, or at the beginning of winter & forget about it. I drove my husband crazy with my constant fiddling with the thermostat at OKW. If OKW does have the sensors, it explains why the air was turned to the ON position rather than AUTO when we checked it. I guess someone got tired of having to mess with the thermostat & turned it to the always on position so it would never shut off. It was FREEZING in the unit when we first got there.

 

[pumba's mom]

I just returned from BCV and the motion sensor thermostat was TERRIBLE! The temperature in the room does not go below 68 degrees and the air conditioner turns on until it hits 68 and then turns off. After coming in from the parks the room would be 72 degrees and would take a while to feel cool (68?). The first night was the worse. We had maintenance come and take a look. Apparantly there is a way to override it but only one person knows the trick and he called in sick. Somehow we just got used to it, but it definitely wasn't good!

 

[Mary Ellen]

Uh - don't WE pay the utilities with our annual dues??? It would have been NICE if DVC at least mentioned to the members what they were planning on doing - particularly if they said how much this change ws going to cost (and I'm sure we paid for it) and what the projected savings could be.

DVC says they can't change from what we originally bought, and I'm pretty sure we bought a place that would keep us cool (without having to keep waving our arms around).

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

From the posts in this thread, I see that they have these new thermostats now at the CR, BCV, GF, and OKW. Does anyone know if they plan to install these at ALL of the hotels?

 

[BIERMUGG]

The Motion Detectors only detect motion of a moving body or mass that contains heat. If you stand in front of it the little red light on the detector will light and after a preset time will go out if you move a bit the detector senses a change in motion and will be set off.

In BCV one bedroom there was a sensor in the bedroom and one on the thermostat. It does not shut off the AC when no movement but lets the temperature rise several degrees to a programmed setting.

George

 

[chris1gill]

Well, looks like I'll be buying a helium balloon when we get there!! I'll plant the balloon directly in front of the motion sensor!! Thanks to those who mentioned it as a solution!

 

[dvc guy]

Have stayed at OKW many times and could never set the temp to be comfortable, it was always to hot or cold.

Sensors are supposed to work that body motion even when sleeping is enough to keep the unit working. I guess like everything else it has to be set correctly.


I agree that there is no way to have the room cool when you get back after a hot day.

As an owner, am I the only person who made to room warmer before I left, as not to waste power. We all pay for high costs.

 

[Stinson]

We stayed at the Beach Club Villas in a 2 bedroom last month. The sensor is located in the master bedroom above the bed. I was always comfortable; however, I found it distracting to be lying in bed in the dark and have the red sensor light go on if I moved my arm. Also, I thought I could hear a clicking. Maybe it was my imagination. The red light is magnified in the dark. All the same, I was never uncomfortable.

 

[Granny]

Not trying to start a debate here (believe me I'm not), but we stayed at DVC accommodations twice this summer, in very hot conditions. We did notice that the room was not cool when we returned from the parks. But it wasn't stifling hot either, so there must be some sort of "minimum air condition" that the system maintains.

But I agree that we do end up paying for the bills in our dues. I'm not sure I'm in favor of suggestions on how to "trick" the system that was set up to reduce all of our costs!

Of course, I could always stay somewhere besides my home resort so it wouldn't drive up *my* bills!

That last comment was a joke, but it seems that DVD installed some systems to help us keep our costs down and unless it's unbearable (which we didn't find it to be), it seems like we should let the systems do their job.

Just my two cents.

 

[zulaya]

I haven't stayed at a room yet with these systems, but I am taking my family to a 2 BR next year and am wondering how this affects people sleeping on the slofa bed in the living area. Is the sensor only in the Master Bedroom?

Just hypothetically speaking here, but if you have a long day at the parks, you potentially be so exhausted that you don't toss and turn all night long - or at least move enough to make the sensor turn on.

I am all for economizing, but I also want to be comfortable. I am not asking for frigid AC, just a cool comforting environment when I come in for a break.

It makes me wonder if they spent all this money on fancy motion sensors, why they can't allow it to be programmed to be a certain temperature at night, when people are asleep? Or for that matter, just have a prgrammable thermostat - I have one at my house - and program it to only a certain temperature range so at least it is within the realm of comfort, not that it turns completely off.

I think the problem for me is that I don't know why exactly this was done, how easy a problem it *may* be to fix, if it's a problem for me, or what.

Sorry for the long, out-loud thought process.

 

[GrammieMame]

As a person who hates hot weather and loves AC, I really don't like this idea at all. I guess it's a done deal, but I am concerned for our future trip to BCV in October. It's like there's some mystery machine trying to make me uncomfortable enough to move around and then will cool me off just a little bit, and then wait for me to get uncomfortable again. I would love to know the maximum temperature allowed by the sensor; in other words, how hot will it allow the temperature to get with no motion going on in the room. That would seem to be what will greet you when you come home hot and tired.