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Cooling down a hot room.
Adus
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
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?
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?
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if not, you can make your own swamp cooler
South Florida
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.
My Backloggery
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.
yeah a lot of places don't like them in windows because they're pretty ugly
and also they sometimes fall
/advice from a fellow S. Floridian
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.
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.
Electronic composer for hire.
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
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.
It's cheaper than a portable air conditioner and should help considerably.
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
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