Best Landscaped Building Competition is fine idea from Beautification Cmte. May I suggest that any building with an unshielded a/c or dumpster is automatically a loser. Too many naked a/c around CV. Years ago they were all screened by hedges, now people seem to have forgotten that. So please buy ½ dozen cocoplums or some such. Bring the greenery back. This one actually belongs to a building with an extravagant patio, but they have not beautified for passersby on the perimeter road yet.
Second pic? quick make it into a sundial!
11 comments:
One of the reasons that a/c units are usually exposed is that they throw off heat better giving them a longer life. In any case you are only talking about units at ground level. All a/c units above ground level are exposed.
When dumpsters were rolled out they had much better cover. When the County allowed the trash haulers to go to a one man truck many of the bushes were removed so the truck could get to the dumpster without the driver getting out of the truck. It is cheaper that way as there is a monthly charge for rolling out a dumpster.
Unfortunately in Century Village the water meters at ground level have to be exposed. There are also hundreds of through the wall a/c units that are exposed and if they were covered in some manner they would not work very well or last very long.
In one of your pictures you showed an a/c unit that had white stone surrounding the area. In my humble opinion this was a reasonable solution to a difficult problem.It appears that this building was trying to do something.
Thanks for caling attention to this issue. Larry is also on point about the drain rock around the central a/c units in the photo. Our building (after many years of neglect by the former President) did the drain rock, but since the central a/c units face east and west, we added a hedge around each end of the buildings and put in a few Romilini palms to jazz the area up a bit.
Hi Larry. I was only referring to the end-of-bldg a/c units that used to have a hedge screening them. I would settle for 4 cocoplums! Not a massive barrier. When I came to the village I was definitely told that those a/c should be shaded so that they would use less electric and last longer (UCO). The pictured a/c must really bake in the sun and reflected heat from wall and gravel.
As for dumpsters, the ones with a hedge behind them do not seem to be a problem for the SWA truck drivers, I never saw anything rolled out - maybe some other corner of CV has a different configuration. On Lincoln Street each side road has a cluster of 2 green, 2 blue, and 2 yellow + mess completely unscreened, yuck!
I love water meters just the way they are !!
Just reminding people to take another look at their bldg. all efforts appreciated
To letitfly.
Air conditioning condensing units do just fine in most cases. As an example look at all the high rise buildings and the Oxford area. All these units are on the roof and fully exposed to the heat and other elements.
The interior heat generated by the condensing unit itself is much hotter that the outside air temperature.
Whether we like it or not dumpsters are part of the real world in the village. They are necessary.People like them to be close and nearby.
Unfortunately there are many buildings that have some serious problems that require serious money so some it is a question of what a building does first.
Last word, from the Internet - Tutorials on Heating and Air Conditioning
“An air conditioning unit will use 10% less electricity if located in the shade, let alone less wear and tear on the unit itself. “ I’m all for saving pennies.
Unfortunately only a small number of condensing units are located on a first floor where some could be shaded. Generally the newer the unit the less costly it is to operate.
Of more importance would be to find some way to get more insulating into our living units and have energy saving windows and patio doors.
Insulation, because I am a 2nd floor corner south/west its extra hot. I have added pink stuff to the attic, and in the windows (when I am away) I use rigid foam plastic insulation board w/aluminum facer., it stores nicely flat. Solar film on windows. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Not too expensive pls.
Hi Elaine
The best protection for keeping heat OUT is a film of Stainless steel affixed to the windows.
Reportedly it knocks down some 80% of the heat. Demonstrated at all home shows with a light enclosed with and without the protective film.
Perhaps you have seen it. It does work and keep out the extreme heat of direct sunlight, but it does darken the unit as well. We have used this product and would be glad to show you if you would like to see.
Ed Black
Corner units are the most difficult to cool as they have more outside windows. The suggestion by Ed Black is a good one. Another problem is to get the humidity out of your unit. Probably the most effective way is by use of your air conditioner that removes the humidity. I believe that this is what Mr. Carrier patented many years ago.
Thanks Ed, I'll look into it for the future, but right now I already do not like the gray effect of the solar film on my windows - spoils sunny days! Units with no film are so much more cheerful. Who knows what technology will bring next year.
I agree with you Elaine concerning tinted windows. My place was so very nice and cheery before I got my windows tinted. But everyone kept telling me that the sun would fade my freshly painted walls, kitchen cabinets, etc. So I went ahead and tinted the windows. It does give me privacy as far as people walking by and does keep it cooler, but I really do miss having that bright yellow sunshine shining in.
One of these days I just might have it all pulled off.
Chris
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