The Dreaded A/C's in guest rooms

[nkeeprs]

Well it looks like it is that time of the year . Putting those a/c's in the guest room windows. Any one have any suggestions on how to tell a guest " That the a/c's will work much better if you keep the windows closed" I cant tell you how many times I would be in the yard working and look up and see the a/c blasting away and the other windows are wide open. I just want to scream SHUT YOUR WINDOWS LOL

 

[EmptyNest]

I know we all hate the "dreaded signs"...but maybe just a small note taped by the controls on the air conditioner...
i.e..."Please keep all windows closed when running the air conditioner." or " To cool effieciently, all windows must be closed."

 

[JBloggs]

Can I explain from my point of view? I have never in my life except once at one B&B I visited used those window a/c units, so a note WOULD be helpful for some (like me).

 

[Arks]

We vacationed did business research in Tuscany last year and noticed that every place we stayed had it rigged up where the AC will not run if a window is open. They just had switches on the windows similar to burglar alarm magnets, I think. AC won't work unless all the switches are closed.
I'm sure the cost of the installation would pay for itself in AC savings (and your peace of mind) fairly quickly.
Of course, you'd still need a little sign explaining about it, else you'll have frequent calls to "fix" the AC.

 

[Country Girl]

My DH is installing the AC units as I write this.

 

[Morticia]

I think the problem lies in the window A/C units being a particularly 'Northern' thing. Other people just have whole house A/C, like we have heat. It just runs all the time and no one thinks about the windows being opened or closed because they all closed their windows somewhat permanently in April! What lunatic would have a window open in 'cooling' season?
I don't have signs, but you are making me think how to present the A/C units to guests.
I had guests last night who slept with their door open because it was 'hot' in the room. I'm not getting this. They had 2 windows with a great cross breeze and an A/C unit, which I know they found because I heard it running. Unless, like you said, they tried both at the same time. And, with the door open, lost the benefit of all of them.
We put our units in a couple of weeks ago but this is definitely the weekend to have them in by.

 

[muirford]

I think the problem lies in the window A/C units being a particularly 'Northern' thing. Other people just have whole house A/C, like we have heat. It just runs all the time and no one thinks about the windows being opened or closed because they all closed their windows somewhat permanently in April! What lunatic would have a window open in 'cooling' season?
I don't have signs, but you are making me think how to present the A/C units to guests.
I had guests last night who slept with their door open because it was 'hot' in the room. I'm not getting this. They had 2 windows with a great cross breeze and an A/C unit, which I know they found because I heard it running. Unless, like you said, they tried both at the same time. And, with the door open, lost the benefit of all of them.
We put our units in a couple of weeks ago but this is definitely the weekend to have them in by..

Unless, like you said, they tried both at the same time. And, with the door open, lost the benefit of all of them.

We had a PITA guest (here with a group) who kept all four windows in his room open during a heat/humindity wave, then sent his mother (!!) to ask us why the air conditioning wasn't working in his room. I asked his mother if her room right next door was cool enough (it was) and explained that it's the same air conditioning. I went up to his room - he was too busy gabbing on his cell phone to speak to me the entire time he was here - and shut all the windows while he watched me. If you need fresh air, but the air is 90 degrees and 50% humidity, you're not going to get cool air - no A/C on the planet can make up for that.

 

[JBloggs]

Right now a guest is out on the porch and said "I will make sure I keep the front door closed for the a/c." It is not super hot, but it did rain last night and this morning so it is damp and humid out, we need the a/c to circulate the air.
The other thing I never saw in my life before moving here was storm windows. In the new house we built you don't use them, but this old beast you do, and our guests will open their room windows and leave all the storm windows closed. We always just laugh at this. I prob would do this if I didn't know better...now.

 

[muirford]

Right now a guest is out on the porch and said "I will make sure I keep the front door closed for the a/c." It is not super hot, but it did rain last night and this morning so it is damp and humid out, we need the a/c to circulate the air.
The other thing I never saw in my life before moving here was storm windows. In the new house we built you don't use them, but this old beast you do, and our guests will open their room windows and leave all the storm windows closed. We always just laugh at this. I prob would do this if I didn't know better...now..

The other thing I never saw in my life before moving here was storm windows. In the new house we built you don't use them, but this old beast you do, and our guests will open their room windows and leave all the storm windows closed.

I have often wondered about this - I have never NOT lived in a house with storm windows, so I'm always surprised when guests open the frame window but not the storm, even though you can see it through the screen. I guess I should add a bit to my guest information book. Our house in Syracuse had the really old-fashioned storms/screens that hung on hooks and you exchanged them in the spring and fall. They weren't a standard size - each had a brass number on it that corresponded with a brass number on a windowsill in the house.

 

[EmptyNest]

Right now a guest is out on the porch and said "I will make sure I keep the front door closed for the a/c." It is not super hot, but it did rain last night and this morning so it is damp and humid out, we need the a/c to circulate the air.
The other thing I never saw in my life before moving here was storm windows. In the new house we built you don't use them, but this old beast you do, and our guests will open their room windows and leave all the storm windows closed. We always just laugh at this. I prob would do this if I didn't know better...now..

We have storm windows and we never even open them because we have the AC whole house. Used to take them out and put in screens etc..it was a waste.
We actually had guests open the window...but ha ha..the storm window was still closed

 

[Morticia]

Right now a guest is out on the porch and said "I will make sure I keep the front door closed for the a/c." It is not super hot, but it did rain last night and this morning so it is damp and humid out, we need the a/c to circulate the air.
The other thing I never saw in my life before moving here was storm windows. In the new house we built you don't use them, but this old beast you do, and our guests will open their room windows and leave all the storm windows closed. We always just laugh at this. I prob would do this if I didn't know better...now..

Some of our windows have them and some don't. We've had the same prob with guests opening the interior window and wondering why there was no 'air' in the room. When we wash the windows (this month) we open all of the storms. (And let down the screens.)

 

[nkeeprs]

Can I explain from my point of view? I have never in my life except once at one B&B I visited used those window a/c units, so a note WOULD be helpful for some (like me). .

I do have notes that very nicely ask that they keep windows closed to help cool the rooms.

 

[Morticia]

Can I explain from my point of view? I have never in my life except once at one B&B I visited used those window a/c units, so a note WOULD be helpful for some (like me). .

I do have notes that very nicely ask that they keep windows closed to help cool the rooms.

.

I do have notes that very nicely ask that they keep windows closed to help cool the rooms.

Then your only recourse is to shoot them...

 

[Copperhead]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

 

[Arks]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

.

It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on.

I've seen the solution for this, too, in Europe, S. America, and a few places in the USA. To get the lights and TV to come on, your key card, or your room key, must be put in a slot by the door.
When you leave the room, you take your key with you so you can get back in, and taking the key automatically switches off the lights and TV power.

 

[EmptyNest]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

.

It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on.

I've seen the solution for this, too, in Europe, S. America, and a few places in the USA. To get the lights and TV to come on, your key card, or your room key, must be put in a slot by the door.
When you leave the room, you take your key with you so you can get back in, and taking the key automatically switches off the lights and TV power.
.

Yes most hotels in Europe we have stayed at..all required the key card to turn on Electric. I think that would take some rewiring...that I don't think American Electricians might even know how to do.???

 

[Copperhead]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

.

It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on.

I've seen the solution for this, too, in Europe, S. America, and a few places in the USA. To get the lights and TV to come on, your key card, or your room key, must be put in a slot by the door.
When you leave the room, you take your key with you so you can get back in, and taking the key automatically switches off the lights and TV power.
.

Yes, this was the way it worked in the areas we visited as well. Good solution but only on new buildings at least that is what I think.
Not being an Electrician I am just guessing, but I would think that it could be easily done on new construction by placing each room on a seperate circuit breaker controled by the key strip. The issue to me would not be how it could be done but if the local electric code would allow it.

 

[egoodell]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

.

It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on.

I've seen the solution for this, too, in Europe, S. America, and a few places in the USA. To get the lights and TV to come on, your key card, or your room key, must be put in a slot by the door.
When you leave the room, you take your key with you so you can get back in, and taking the key automatically switches off the lights and TV power.
.

Yes, this was the way it worked in the areas we visited as well. Good solution but only on new buildings at least that is what I think.
Not being an Electrician I am just guessing, but I would think that it could be easily done on new construction by placing each room on a seperate circuit breaker controled by the key strip. The issue to me would not be how it could be done but if the local electric code would allow it.
.

Yes, this was the way it worked in the areas we visited as well. Good solution but only on new buildings at least that is what I think.
Not being an Electrician I am just guessing, but I would think that it could be easily done on new construction by placing each room on a seperate circuit breaker controled by the key strip. The issue to me would not be how it could be done but if the local electric code would allow it.

and the cost???
RIki

 

[Morticia]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

.

It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on.

I've seen the solution for this, too, in Europe, S. America, and a few places in the USA. To get the lights and TV to come on, your key card, or your room key, must be put in a slot by the door.
When you leave the room, you take your key with you so you can get back in, and taking the key automatically switches off the lights and TV power.
.

Yes, this was the way it worked in the areas we visited as well. Good solution but only on new buildings at least that is what I think.
Not being an Electrician I am just guessing, but I would think that it could be easily done on new construction by placing each room on a seperate circuit breaker controled by the key strip. The issue to me would not be how it could be done but if the local electric code would allow it.
.

I'm wondering if you wouldn't do all of the outlets/switches as I like to have lights on around the house. And I do run the A/C in some rooms when no one is around (if it is sweltering I'll try to cool rooms before arrival). I suppose there could be a manual override.
Gomez is all set to start 'switching' the windows so the A/C can't be turned on when they're open. He's figuring about $400/room depending on number of windows. (We have some rooms with 6 windows!)

 

[Arks]

We all know this would not happen at home... The fact is that they are not paying the electric bill so why not have the windows open while running the A/C (or heat for that matter). It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on. They just don't get it that our bills reflect our rates - the higher our electic bill, the more we have to jack up our rates to cover them...
Mort, I don't think there are enough bullets

.

It is the reason why we walk in to clean the room and find all the lights and TV on.

I've seen the solution for this, too, in Europe, S. America, and a few places in the USA. To get the lights and TV to come on, your key card, or your room key, must be put in a slot by the door.
When you leave the room, you take your key with you so you can get back in, and taking the key automatically switches off the lights and TV power.
.

Yes most hotels in Europe we have stayed at..all required the key card to turn on Electric. I think that would take some rewiring...that I don't think American Electricians might even know how to do.???
.

Yes most hotels in Europe we have stayed at..all required the key card to turn on Electric. I think that would take some rewiring...that I don't think American Electricians might even know how to do.???

Yes, would probably take a electrician. But if the light switch is right by the door, I'd think it would be fairly quick, simple, and surely not too expensive to put that switch on a controller that requires the room key or something similar.
In a quick look I found this one. It works with either a keycard or a fob the room key is attached to.
I guess it's like changing to compact fluorescent bulbs. It will pay for itself eventually, and start returning dividends, but you have to be prepared to spend a little more up front to make it happen.