UPDATED October 27th

Due to the weather outlook, and particularly the sub-freezing temperatures forecast for early next week, the cooling plant is being drained for the season.

Originally we were aiming for November 1st, however as does happen in Chicago from time to time, a taste of winter is coming. So we need to drain the main cooling tower.

Cooling will not be available again until our team gets the annual maintenance program completed, and bring things back online, probably mid to late Spring.

UPDATED October 13th

Our Maintenance Team Has Advised Us, The Cooling Plant Will Be Taken Out Of Service On November 1st

After that time, they will begin annual maintenance efforts on our main chillers. Cooling will not be available again until they start things back up in Spring 2024.

UPDATED October 13th

We’ve received many inquiries about heat – and even at least two about cooling.

When the exterior temperature is in the mid-50s, it is perhaps the most difficult condition for our team to navigate. If we have cooling running, it can damage the system, cause the chillers to surge (which can be destructive to our mechanicals) and even cause some fixtures to freeze. If we run heating, the hallways would get far too warm and may even cause units too become to warm.

Our team pays close attention to hallway temperatures during these phases. At present (as of the drafting of this notice) our team is gearing up to provide heat if needed. Most definitely cooling will not be coming on. However, the dilemma is that the hallways are reading 75 and 76. If we provide heat, they could go up in temperature by several degrees and overheat the building.

We realize some residents may be on the cool side, since it is a cloudy and rainy day. There is little solar energy to give us an assist. But please have patience. We have to operate the mechanicals in a responsible way. 100% of residents, will not be 100% comfortable, 100% of the time.

Read more in previous posts below, about how the system works and how we navigate the challenging conditions this time of year.

UPDATED October 6th

Given The Present Weather, Residents Can Expect Our System Will Transition Between Heating And AC As The Weather Dictates

You can review the post below for more details on how the process of transitioning unfolds.

NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO CONSIDER SOME SEASONAL HVAC MAINTENANCE

Here are some suggestions:

1. Checking under the grates to see if you have standing water in the drain pan – below the greyish coils you should see the drain pan where the condensation from the coils drips and drains. If there is standing water, Owners may want to put in a ticket to have it cleaned out.
2. Checking the condition of your coils – though work on coils should be outsourced if they are in bad shape. If they are overly dirty or gunky, cleaning them will make them more efficient.
3. Seasonal change of the filter – just because the Association does it once a year as a routine, it can be done anytime Owners like as a work ticket. In fact, it is a pretty simple thing to do on your own if you like. Our team made a couple videos to demonstrate this: PART 1 – Removing Your Convector Filter, Part 2 – Reinstalling Your Convector Filter
4. Contacting a professional HVAC Maintenance vendor to do expert maintenance. There are a number of vendors who can look at these and conduct more forensic maintenance for Owners. It won’t be cheap, but it can be dollars well spent.

Contact our team anytime at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com with any questions.

ORIGINAL POST

It’s that time of year, so just a reminder…

As always we will be providing heating and cooling dependent on conditions, and balancing any change over as best we can. In general our team is aiming to maintain hallway temperatures in the low 70s which tends to support unit temperatures in the 70s as well. Many variables influence this process.

Given the time of year, heating will be our priority, consistent with the Chicago Heating Ordinance. Typically we need to default to heating service and only switch to cooling if conditions are expected to result in discomfort. At times, this can be difficult to navigate, particularly when we have relatively cool outdoor temps but full sunlight during the day.

It’s not just a flip of a switch. The temperature of the water in the pipes has to properly modify depending on whether we are moving from heating to cooling or cooling to heating. This process can take 6 to 8 hours either way, otherwise we risk damaging pipes and mechanicals.

Typically we expect the need for heating with outdoor temps in the mid to low 50s or colder. AC is typically available when the sun is out and temps are around 60 degrees or higher. When the weather changes quickly, switchovers can be challenging. When it’s 40 degrees in the morning, and climbs into the 70s in the early afternoon, the transition will be slow, if it happens at all. Our staff also has to consider whether heating will be needed again that night, and the time it takes to switch back over to heat. We realize full sun during the day heats some units very quickly, but there will be times we may not switchover. We have no control over that.

Once winter weather truly sets in, and we start expecting freezing temps, the cooling tower will be drained and annual maintenance will get underway. After that, cooling will not be available until Spring.

There are other variables. We have sensors throughout the interior and exterior of the building, which help us analyze conditions. Also, feedback from residents can help trigger manual adjustments which may improve comfort. It will not be 100% comfortable for 100% of our residents, 100% of the time this time of year, but resident comments and observations can help us make adjustments and improve conditions as much as possible. Contact us at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com, or call the office 773-769-3250.