Not so worried about that as little hands fiddling and parents not knowing they have done so. Children seem to love little buttons and levers to fiddle with. Do you ask if there is a cover when booking, as you shouldn't really 'break in' to the cover as you may cause damage? That way, you could avoid the villas with covers over the temperature box - obviously there for a reason!!
Francine
We have a digital control unit which varies the temperture throughout the day and night automatically to enure the villa is kept to the right temperture. You can adjust the temperture up or down by 2-3f but when it hits the next time zone it will reset itself. We have done this to make inside temperture more comfortable for our guests and to ensure the A/C does not freeze over.
It is protected by a password so that the guest cannot alter the program. We have not yet had one complaint about it been either been too warm or too cold since it was installed almost 10 months ago.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Badger
It annoys me when home owners put a cover over the air conditioning controls. You may say that 74+ is comfortable but I personally find it too hot and dislike being in that climate. I prefer the temperature to be lower. I never leave doors and windows open by the way.
I have yet to find a control box cover that has beaten my attempts to infiltrate it and turn the temperature down a little. I have never had a unit freeze either, I only turn it down a couple of degrees. If they are so concerned about the electricety bill then charge a little more, don't force holiday makers to suffer high temperatures because it costs a little more.
[/quote]
Neil & Cathy
http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/1401.aspx
I am sure that most villas owners, like myself make a plea to their guests to call their Management Company if anything at all is wrong at the villa. This would include the setting of the thermostat. It is far more appropriate for someone who is familiar with the controls to make adjustments for the guest and would save any misunderstandings about blame if there were any major costs involved with broken controls.
All owners want their guests to love their villas and would want them to be comfortable, but it is not a good idea to tamper with controls which have obviously been locked.
Angela
The villas weve stayed in have all had pre set AC.I never touch the controls,if it needed adjusting I would phone the MC to check on what was o.k to do.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Badger
It annoys me when home owners put a cover over the air conditioning controls. You may say that 74+ is comfortable but I personally find it too hot and dislike being in that climate. I prefer the temperature to be lower. I never leave doors and windows open by the way.
I have yet to find a control box cover that has beaten my attempts to infiltrate it and turn the temperature down a little. I have never had a unit freeze either, I only turn it down a couple of degrees. If they are so concerned about the electricety bill then charge a little more, don't force holiday makers to suffer high temperatures because it costs a little more.
[/quote]
I would ask the owner before booking if they have a cover if its a big worry...covers are there to make sure people don't play around with the AC which can be costly to repair..if I thought any guest had tried to get passed a cover I'd not be very happy...I would expect them to talk to my MC to see if it could be turned down by someone who knows what they are doing...
We used to have a cover on one of ours but our MC kept getting call outs to go and turn the temprature up or down, so we decided to take it off. Since then we have had one problem where guests fiddled about with it and messed it up. We had to get the AC guy out to fix it and the guest was charged accordingly, as per my terms and conditions. They were not happy about it though. So you can't win.
Unless you are cleaning or doing a workout..76 is a nice temp...if not sometimes a little cool...my place is at 80 most of the time..if the house is still hot at 74 then there could be a problem with the AC..or someone in the house is going through the change...
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Badger
It annoys me when home owners put a cover over the air conditioning controls. You may say that 74+ is comfortable but I personally find it too hot and dislike being in that climate. I prefer the temperature to be lower. I never leave doors and windows open by the way.
I have yet to find a control box cover that has beaten my attempts to infiltrate it and turn the temperature down a little. I have never had a unit freeze either, I only turn it down a couple of degrees. If they are so concerned about the electricety bill then charge a little more, don't force holiday makers to suffer high temperatures because it costs a little more.
[/quote]
Owners are of course concerned about high electricity costs.... compared to the UK, electricity is probably triple the cost in the USA. As a result, owners who have covers over their AC controls to counter this problem do so to disuade guests who "fiddle" with settings, not knowing what they are doing. Let's face it how many of us in the UK have AC in our own homes ? So how many such guests are familiar with the correct mode of operation for an AC unit ?
AC units along with pool heaters are the most expensive piece of equipment in most rental homes, so it makes sense that an owner should protect their investment, by keeping temptation out of the reach of guests.
As a villa owner you have to try to accommodate the wishes of all guests, which is why we choose an average recommended temperature at which the AC is to be set. Whilst this will suit most folks, it will not suit everyone.
However, I would never condone the "infiltrating" of AC controls without the owner's or MC's permission. This sends out the wrong signal to guests, especially on an open forum.
Badger, you suggest that we should charge more to allow for fluctuations in AC temperatures and therefore additional charges. To my mind, why should I overcharge the vast majority of guests who are quite happy with the average temperature that is already set ?
If you yourself do not mind paying extra to have the villa cooler, that's great... but make your request with the owner or MC, along with your offer of additional payment.... don't please break into a control box and make adjustments yourself without permission, because by doing so, you are in fact cheating the owner out of the money that you state you would happily pay !
Chris & Peter
Hi All,
New to the forum. Information please. If I decide not to rent my house and I leave the A/C off for the months I'm not there, would this cause a problem??
Katrina
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Blue Eyes
Hi All,
New to the forum. Information please. If I decide not to rent my house and I leave the A/C off for the months I'm not there, would this cause a problem??
Katrina[/quote]Welcome to the forum.
You need to apply for access to the Public Owners' area by emailing forums@orlandovillas.com for the password so that you can ask your question there as we're not allowed to discuss home owning in the Guest areas of the forum.
blott
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