649 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Portable units are fantastic, and they can be moved from the living room to the bedroom as required. I use it at my place which is southwest facing and gets summer sun for what feels like 24 hours.

[Nparker]

Portable units are fantastic, and they can be moved from the living room to the bedroom as required...

Not so great when you're tight on space. 

[jonny]

Portable units are fantastic, and they can be moved from the living room to the bedroom as required. I use it at my place which is southwest facing and gets summer sun for what feels like 24 hours.

 

Really? I have yet to read a good review on a portable a/c unit. 

[VicHockeyFan]

Really? I have yet to read a good review on a portable a/c unit. 

 

Likely as most people expect it to perform much better than it's nameplate capacity.   And likely some manufacturers also boast unrealistic outputs.

 

Mike's place is small, smaller still if he uses it only in the bedroom.  These things work when they do not have to work hard.  

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 08 November 2017 - 09:01 AM.

[Mike K.]

The #1 reason for bad reviews is people fail to understand how cooling a home actually works. When they get home from work on a hot day, they plug their unit in expecting it'll cool their home in minutes like A/C cools a car.

 

Wrong.

 

You need that unit running from 7AM until midnight, allowing it to regulate the ambient temperature and maintain it at a comfortable level from the moment temperatures start to rise. Otherwise the unit plays catch-up and will never cool the home down until (in our climate) it eventually overtakes ambient temperatures in the middle of the night.

 

My 12,000 BTU portable unit works flawlessly and can cool my living room and kitchen and hallway in the hottest of summer days, and I'm facing southwest in a highrise with wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling windows. The thing is I have my unit set on a timer and it actively manages the temperature I set and never plays catch-up. Nor does it actually "cool" the whole time, it blows air/removes moisture from the home when it doesn't need to cool and only engages the compressor when necessary.

[jonny]

That's great that you like yours Mike, but most reviews are pretty bad. 

 

 

 

They’re better than a fan but not much. 

 

https://www.consumer...lot-of-hot-air/

 

Longer term, I think it's a mistake for these downtown high-rises to not have full blown HVAC.

[Mike K.]

But take a look at the actual consumer reviews left behind in that Consumer Reviews article. The article doesn't jive with the feedback from their own audience, lol.

 

Again, the issue is not the units, its how people misuse their units. When used as designed and when instructions are followed portable A/C units work flawlessly in our mild climate (which is very different from a hot Chicago summer at 45C and 100% humidity, of course).

[jonny]

No, the issue is still with the units. Even if you have a small enough space that the unit cools well, you are still left with a big, heavy noisy box in your living room with hoses across the floor and out the window. That's very far from ideal. 

[Mike K.]

My unit is very quiet, but yes, you can definitely hear the unit working. I can totally sympathize with the folks who wouldn't like that.

 

I should have taken a photo of my setup to show you guys how nicely it fits into the space I have for it.

 

The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that I have to keep a window open for it to vent the hot air, which lets in a lot of street noise.

[VicHockeyFan]

No, the issue is still with the units. Even if you have a small enough space that the unit cools well, you are still left with a big, heavy noisy box in your living room with hoses across the floor and out the window. That's very far from ideal. 

 

And it would be a bigger, noisier, and more expensive box if it actually had to do what consumers want it to do.  The manufacturers have to balance it all.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 08 November 2017 - 10:11 AM.

[magmazing]

A couple specific prices for units. 

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[Kapten Kapsell]

They also have some units listed on MLS...

[tjv]

How are they officially coming up with their "current appraised value"?

[magmazing]

How are they officially coming up with their "current appraised value"?

I believe they had an appraiser set the value to satisfy BC Housing's criteria. The prices are set in stone and can't be changed even if they get another appraisal and the value goes up or down. 

[VicHockeyFan]

Hey I just found out a buddy of mine bought a Vivid unit!

20th floor one bedroom.

[magmazing]

Hey I just found out a buddy of mine bought a Vivid unit!

20th floor one bedroom.

Which one bedroom? 473 sq ft with no deck or 602 sq ft with deck?

[VicHockeyFan]

I’m not sure. Maybe I don’t want to be too specific, not sure if they are a participant here.

However he thinks this is where he initially heard of the scheme.

[Marilyn]

When did the Vivid on Johnson become the Vivid on Yates? I think I can make a good guess as to why it was changed.

Right now I can see the site from the large window in front of our elevators. The building behind the Yates on Yates is definitely facing Johnson Street.

 

I would like to know when and how. I imagine Chard was allowed to switch the entrance around and get permission from the city to change the name.

 

edited to delete further details about Johnson Street.

Edited by Marilyn, 16 January 2018 - 11:25 AM.

[Mike K.]

The City doesn't control the names of buildings, so no permission was required, but the name was never actually changed.

 

The building's name is and always has been Vivid at the Yates (not Vivid on Yates), with Yates being the name of the two-tower complex that contains The Yates on Yates tower and the Vivid at the Yates tower.

 

Chard is also finalizing the rental tower across the street called Yello on Yates, and this building has entrances on both Yates and View streets.

[Marilyn]

There will be a garden between the two buildings Yates on Yates and Vivid on [Johnson] Yates. But no one will be allowed in it except "the gardener and the birds and the bees." To quote the attendant at the Yates on Yates info centre. I wonder how much sun it will get between two high-rises.