Cooling down a hot room.

Adus

So I live in South Florida. It's pretty hot down here. During the day my room reaches over 90 degrees. Yes, we have AC, but during the day it is set at 88. The reason for this is my stepdad has breathing issues that are triggered by sudden changes in temperature, so when he goes in and out during the day, he can't come back into a really cool house. This means I can't even turn it down when he's not here.

My room isn't too large. Probably a square 12x12 feet. I work from home and use the computer do to so, so it's on often. This is probably the main reason for it being even hotter in here.

On top of this, for reasons I'm not totally sure of, the community we're in won't allow window AC units or something, so that's out of the question.

I have a ceiling fan and another fan but those only help so much. Then at night when the AC finally turns on, it only goes down to like 85. This is a lot more tolerable but still pretty warm. So is there anything to help that I'm not thinking of? Or is my situation specific enough to where I'm really just out of luck?

Wiley

If you have about $300 to spare you can buy a portable 8000 b.t.u. air conditioner that sits inside the room and has a vent that attaches to your window. I've never used one, so I'm not sure how well they work.

dlinfiniti

is it humid?
if not, you can make your own swamp cooler

Druhim

dlinfiniti wrote: »

is it humid?
if not, you can make your own swamp cooler

South Florida

Adus

In other words, yes, it is extremely humid.

Demerdar

Get a window fan and set it so that it it is blowing out during the day. It'll get some of that hot air out.

Does it cool down at all at night?

Druhim

Demerdar wrote: »

Get a window fan and set it so that it it is blowing out during the day. It'll get some of that hot air out.

Does it cool down at all at night?

Uh, that doesn't make any sense. Blowing the air out of the room just means it'll be replaced with air from somewhere else so unless that air is coming from someplace cooler (where?) it's just moving air around. In fact, it will only make the AC in the house work harder since it's venting the somewhat cooler air just to be replaced with warmer air from outside.

SteevL

As a fellow south Floridian, I don't think you have any real options here. I've got a ceiling fan and another fan in my room too, but during the summer months it gets pretty miserable even with our AC set lower than yours.

Count Funkula

I second the portable ac unit idea. Something like this:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=portable+ac+unit&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6646879618707016002&ei=yCMVTKvzEt7pnQfQz92QDA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CEMQ8wIwAg#

Just keep your door closed so it doesn't affect your stepdad.

MegaMan001

Could you do any investigation to why in the name of all that is good they don't allow window-based air conditioning units in your community? A simple 150 dollar air unit would chill your room down nice.

Druhim

Probably because they look relatively tacky.

jhunter46

Count Funkula wrote: »

I second the portable ac unit idea. Something like this:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=portable+ac+unit&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6646879618707016002&ei=yCMVTKvzEt7pnQfQz92QDA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CEMQ8wIwAg#

Just keep your door closed so it doesn't affect your stepdad.

Our guys use these out in our machine shop. In a large room they help a little if you point it right at you. In a regular sized bedroom it should do the trick.

Raneados

Druhim wrote: »

Probably because they look relatively tacky.

yeah a lot of places don't like them in windows because they're pretty ugly

and also they sometimes fall

Improvolone

It won't cool the room down, but spraying yourself with cool water and then having a fan blow over you will cool you down an intense amount.
/advice from a fellow S. Floridian

matt has a problem

Get a 9x13 metal baking pan (or, any size really, just whatever will fit in your freezer), fill it with water, and stick it in the freezer in the morning when you leave. Before you go to bed, pull it out and set it in front of a fan in your room, and voila, instant poor-man's air conditioner. Be sure to put it on a towel though, so the condensation doesn't dribble everywhere.

Apothe0sis

The only thing you can do is block light from entring your room. Do you have a lot of glass/windows in your room? Awnings and stuff are the way to go.

This is the low tech solution and the only way I can think of to counteract the heating during the day that doesn't involve turning up the aircon.

My other plan is that you should break up your mother and step father, a small price to pay for temperature controlled comfort.

tardcore

Also, try to keep as much of your electronic stuff off as often as possible. Turning off my computer and my TV helps a whole hell of a lot in keeping my room cooler.

I also second the blocking of any kind of sunlight. Get some cheap dark curtains to hang over any windows.

A good oscillating fan (perhaps one that is on a stand) to put somewhere as well, if the window AC units are out of the question. Hell, you should get two if space permits. They can be bought from any kind of big box store for around 20-50 bucks. I also have a tiny one for my desk that sits next to my monitor that helps.

Apothe0sis

Dark curtains inside, light curtains outside - you definitely want a light colour on the window side.

rfalias

Portable AC will solve it all!

illig

Yep, portable AC such as this one:
http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Air-Conditioners-Fans-Dehumidifiers-Air-Conditioners-Portable/h_d1/N-5yc1vZba5mZ1xqd/R-202051352/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Adus

I honestly wasn't even aware those existed. Seems like the most sensible, albeit expensive solution. It's so hot in here that I'd consider it worth it though. Thanks guys.

Though to clarify, I can't keep my computer off, since as I said, I work from home and use my computer to do so. It's during the day that I do my work (since I have to collaborate with others fairly often) so there isn't a great deal of flexibility. Also the one window is pretty well covered. An awning or something to shade it even more would probably help a bit too, though. Not sure if that's as practical or worth the effort.

Sipex

Get a dehumidifier.

It's cheaper than a portable air conditioner and should help considerably.

darkgrue

If you go with the portable AC unit like people are suggesting, keep a couple of things in mind:

They're a lot more expensive larger than the equivalent BTU window unit.

They need access to a unit or a through-wall exhaust at minimum. They can be a bit less efficient than a window unit, mostly because some are exhaust-only (they blow the hot air out through the window only). Some units also have an intake hose as well, but they have the possibility of ingesting their own exhaust (they usually have diverters on the outside to help prevent this, but...), so I can't really speak to whether that feature works well.

Also, unlike a window unit, they collect their own condensate. You'll be frequently dumping a waste bin full of water. It fills up faster that you think. Some can be adapted to a hose drain, but that's another thing you ahve to plumb outside (or to a floor drain). Those so equipped may have significant limitations on the height that the drain line can extend above the unit (so much so that running the hose outside the same window you'd be wenting through isn't an option. You'd ahve to check the manual, that's not usually something on the box. Some units (there's at least one manufacturer) are made to vent waste water out the exhaust, rather than collect it. Check reviews to see if that's a gimmick or no...

If there's any way around it, I'd recommend a window unit. I found a very low-profile unit at Sears that weighed very little and that I could mount in my window with no permanent hardware. When the seasons changed, I could just open the window, lift it out and stoe it in the garage. It was hidden by a hedge entirely, so despite my HOA restriction forbidding it, I didn't get any complaints. One of my neighbors was on the board and commented on it, but she said she only knew I had it because she'd seen the box in the trash, and told me not to worry about it. If it's not visible, you could just try playing it that way. The difference in cost (purchase and operation) between a window and a floor unit was so great, I chose to chance it and it worked out fine.

Thegreatcow

darkgrue wrote: »

If you go with the portable AC unit like people are suggesting, keep a couple of things in mind:

They're a lot more expensive larger than the equivalent BTU window unit.

They need access to a unit or a through-wall exhaust at minimum. They can be a bit less efficient than a window unit, mostly because some are exhaust-only (they blow the hot air out through the window only). Some units also have an intake hose as well, but they have the possibility of ingesting their own exhaust (they usually have diverters on the outside to help prevent this, but...), so I can't really speak to whether that feature works well.

Also, unlike a window unit, they collect their own condensate. You'll be frequently dumping a waste bin full of water. It fills up faster that you think. Some can be adapted to a hose drain, but that's another thing you ahve to plumb outside (or to a floor drain). Those so equipped may have significant limitations on the height that the drain line can extend above the unit (so much so that running the hose outside the same window you'd be wenting through isn't an option. You'd ahve to check the manual, that's not usually something on the box. Some units (there's at least one manufacturer) are made to vent waste water out the exhaust, rather than collect it. Check reviews to see if that's a gimmick or no...

If there's any way around it, I'd recommend a window unit. I found a very low-profile unit at Sears that weighed very little and that I could mount in my window with no permanent hardware. When the seasons changed, I could just open the window, lift it out and stoe it in the garage. It was hidden by a hedge entirely, so despite my HOA restriction forbidding it, I didn't get any complaints. One of my neighbors was on the board and commented on it, but she said she only knew I had it because she'd seen the box in the trash, and told me not to worry about it. If it's not visible, you could just try playing it that way. The difference in cost (purchase and operation) between a window and a floor unit was so great, I chose to chance it and it worked out fine.

Also another thing to consider is, especially since you're running your compy in your room, is be mindful of what your breaker for your room can handle, those portable units suck A LOT of amps. I think mine hits like 4-6 depending on how hard it's running. You'll want to make sure that thing doesn't trip your breaker if your wiring is kinda wonky (like my condo in which two bedrooms, the lamps in the closets, and several nearby hallway lights and switches all tied to one 15 amp breaker.) I basically had to give up using the portable AC because it would always trip the breaker due to the screwy breaker setup