The good the bad the ugly of OKW renovations (update pg 13)

[RCaroll]

Thanks for sharing. I was hoping things would be nicer.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Again, I have the three photos - but no idea how to attach or post them.

You need to upload the photos to an online photo sharing website (such as photobucket). Once you have done that there will be links associated to the photo for sharing. Copy that link and select the insert image icon that shows on the reply posting (the square yellow one with 2 mountains). Paste the link and the photo will appear in the thread.

 

[dcamdad]

The top of the page mentions a WDDC thermostat; the name on the back of the unit is Onity Wireless.

Again, I have the three photos - but no idea how to attach or post them.

The Onity wireless are actually a division of United Technologies and are at least a better quality and reliable if set up correctly. My concern is if the PMS (property management system) had beed added. If so all control could be out of the occupants hands and controled remotely.

 

[MoonPet]

You need to upload the photos to an online photo sharing website (such as photobucket). Once you have done that there will be links associated to the photo for sharing. Copy that link and select the insert image icon that shows on the reply posting (the square yellow one with 2 mountains). Paste the link and the photo will appear in the thread.

Thanks. Working on that now.

 

[MoonPet]

This is the back of the thermostat. We were in building 24. As you can see, it just slides off the wall.

 

[MoonPet]

This is a screen shot (literally) of the different settings and options from the instruction manual.

 

[MoonPet]

Finally, these were the settings we decided on. This allowed us to have full manual control and disabled the motion sensors. Like many others, the unit kept switching from heat to ac, which is what prompted the google search in the first place.

I hope that others will find this helpful. We were careful to revert the switches back to their original settings before we checked out.

 

[Supermom3]

Thanks. That is very helpful information. So can I assume that building 24 was renovated already? Do the studios have the same type of thermostat?

 

[MoonPet]

Thanks. That is very helpful information. So can I assume that building 24 was renovated already? Do the studios have the same type of thermostat?

Yes, we were there in December and we stayed in a renovated 1BR in building 24. I can't comment on the thermostat in the studios, but I expect it will be the same.

 

[Chuck S]

But, if I'm reading the swtiches correctly, the only switch you changed was switch #2, from off to on. This would not give you full control. It only allows you to manually turn the fan on and off...so the auto switching between heat and cold would still be there, and I didn't see any setting for that.

 

[dianeschlicht]

But, if I'm reading the swtiches correctly, the only switch you changed was switch #2, from off to on. This would not give you full control. It only allows you to manually turn the fan on and off...so the auto switching between heat and cold would still be there, and I didn't see any setting for that.

That is the crux of the issue too. We had issues with it being too hot in the master and too cold in the living room. This was an issue both in the 1 bedroom villa and in the GV. It actually was worse in the GV because the heat would come on downstairs, and the air would come on upstairs. This made the living room even colder at night. We tried turning on the ceiling fan, but it didn't solve the problem at all.

 

[Shadeaux]

But, if I'm reading the swtiches correctly, the only switch you changed was switch #2, from off to on. This would not give you full control. It only allows you to manually turn the fan on and off...so the auto switching between heat and cold would still be there, and I didn't see any setting for that.

I was waiting for someone else to mention this; I didn't see anything in the instructions that shows how to stop the auto switching between heat & air conditioning. I thought possibly I was reading it wrong.

In all the years we've been staying at OKW, we never had a problem with the air or heat. We were always able to keep the one or two bedroom units a consistent temperature. Why the heck did they change something that worked??!!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

In all the years we've been staying at OKW, we never had a problem with the air or heat. We were always able to keep the one or two bedroom units a consistent temperature. Why the heck did they change something that worked??!!!

I'm wondering the same thing. I wish they would have replaced the cabinet doors instead!

LOL, well, I'm sure they probably felt the thermostats needed replacing, but why move them too?

 

[DenLo]

I was waiting for someone else to mention this; I didn't see anything in the instructions that shows how to stop the auto switching between heat & air conditioning. I thought possibly I was reading it wrong.

In all the years we've been staying at OKW, we never had a problem with the air or heat. We were always able to keep the one or two bedroom units a consistent temperature. Why the heck did they change something that worked??!!!

To lower the heating and air conditioning bills? Or maybe so Disney can be called a "green" company.

 

[dianeschlicht]

To lower the heating and air conditioning bills? Or maybe so Disney can be called a "green" company.

It can't be very "green" if people are constantly turning from heat to air. The thermostat does that for you most of the time, and is definitely using more energy because of it.

 

[dcamdad]

To lower the heating and air conditioning bills? Or maybe so Disney can be called a "green" company.

If they really wanted to save on the heat/cool bills some of the refurb money should have gone for higher efficiency heat pumps. Being in the HVAC business when our stat problems occured I tracked down which heat pump served our villa, imagine my surprise when the unit was a Bryant that was manufactured in 1998 with a SEER rating of 10. The minimum SEER produced is now 13 which is about a 15% savings on electricity. I would have thought DVC would have had enough foresite to replace the systems that are that aged during the refurb considering all new heat pumps use a differant refrigerant and if the linesets need replaced as recommended (probably meaning drywall cutting or removal) wouldn't it have been wise to do this while the villas are already out of service.

 

[dcamdad]

I was waiting for someone else to mention this; I didn't see anything in the instructions that shows how to stop the auto switching between heat & air conditioning. I thought possibly I was reading it wrong.

In all the years we've been staying at OKW, we never had a problem with the air or heat. We were always able to keep the one or two bedroom units a consistent temperature. Why the heck did they change something that worked??!!!

Changing the dip switch positions on the back of the stat do not override the auto chageover feature or any other main programmed options, the dip switches only allow display and fan operation chages. The thermostats are auto changeover only (no manual option), the temperature perameters along with deadband (temp swing before changeover) must be programmed at the main setup menu. As I posted earlier I found the deadband set at 2 degrees causing the unit to constantly change from heat to cool in a matter of minutes until I reprogrammed it.

 

[MELSMICE]

We did not have any problems with the thermostat when we were there that everyone is talking about. We were there from Dec. 19 through Dec. 24 & didn't have issues.

When it was hot we turned temp down. When it was too cold, we turned the temp up. The entire 2BR was a consistent temp throughout.

 

[dcamdad]

We did not have any problems with the thermostat when we were there that everyone is talking about. We were there from Dec. 19 through Dec. 24 & didn't have issues.

When it was hot we turned temp down. When it was too cold, we turned the temp up. The entire 2BR was a consistent temp throughout.

Were you in a villa that had been refurbished? If so what #?

 

[Shadeaux]

We did not have any problems with the thermostat when we were there that everyone is talking about. We were there from Dec. 19 through Dec. 24 & didn't have issues.

When it was hot we turned temp down. When it was too cold, we turned the temp up. The entire 2BR was a consistent temp throughout.

I think the problem is going to be more evident during times of the year when it's hot during the day and cold at night. When we first got to our 1BR, the thermostat was set much colder than we like, so I turned it up a few degrees. Rather than go off, the unit switched to heat. It took awhile for us to figure out why it was getting so hot in the room!