UPDATE October 9th, 2015

Seems like the normal Chicago fall weather roller coaster ride is upon us. As the weather dictates we will try to provide heating or cooling as sensibly as we can. Typically, barring wind and rain, the mid to upper 50s is the zone at which our staff is making decisions. Resident feedback is helpful. But we do have sensors throughout the building which tell us a little bit about what is going on.

The mechanical problem which resulted in the heat outage last Friday night/Saturday morning has been repaired. A sensor and motor on a valve malfunctioned, and we were getting false readings that lead us to believe everything was working fine. We learned of this problem when residents called in to alert us to the lack of heat. That problem has been repaired, so we should be back to normal. However, do no hesitate to contact the office and let us know how we are doing. Knowing who is hot, who is cold and who is just right, can help us make adjustments (and repairs if needed) that may result in greater comfort for everyone.

For those of you home Thursday, it had been our goal to have AC on much earlier in the day. The heat stayed on due to an error in our manual adjustment that was made in the heating over night Wednesday. This is related to the failed sensor, because the staff was forced to make manual adjustments. Again, thanks to the repair, we expect better system performance for the balance of the fall.

Fall has arrived with the roar of a lion…

That has been the topic this week. And we’ve had many requests to get the heat on for good. And our staff is working on getting the calls for heating balanced with the sun load keeping sun facing units hot. The high winds have made this extremely challenging.

THE GOOD NEWS? Our team has already prepped our boilers for the season, and barring any problems, heat is available when it is needed!

THE BAD NEWS? Full sun and windy days are the most difficult to balance, hence the roller coaster some residents may feel we have been on this week.

Living along the lake, we have a large body of water which with the right wind speed and direction can influence temperatures, and keep us cold even when warmth or comfortable temps are forecasted. While the sun is getting weaker and setting earlier each evening, when it beats down through the glass, even on a cold day and windy day it can keep it hot in many units. These and other forces of nature, coupled with PT’s construction and all that glass, make it a challenge for our team to negotiate everyone’s comfort.

We will do our best as the weather and actual conditions dictate to run either heat or cooling when the weather warrants. As always, we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while this occurs.

Please remember, when we make a switch, it can take several hours to go from heat to cooling and back. Unfortunately we can not just flip a switch to make this transition. There are miles of pipe and thousands of gallons of water in the system, so it takes patience when we transition.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. While it will not be 100% comfortable for 100% of our residents, 100% of the time, resident comments and observations can help us make adjustments and improve conditions as much as possible. Just send the office a message if you are experiencing any discomfort.