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Why is my room so hot?
Lucky Cynic
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi there guys. My bedroom faces east to west and is a fairly modest sized room and yet, it is easily the hottest out of all the rooms in the house. It just naturally is and I want to see what I can do about it.
I have 1 window which is made up of two sheets of glass. It is maybe 1/4th of the western facing wall and the entrance to my room faces east into a hallway which seems to make a halfway decent wind tunnel. Sometimes. The windows are also kind of old and I guess some AC air seeps through the cracks in the wood. Maybe I should get some of that foam tape and try and seal things up perhaps?
Also, what kinds of blinds should I use? Right now I just have a basic thin white mesh as blinds. They are like mosquito nets almost and at times feel to do nothing but reduce glare.
I do have my performance PC and 2 monitors the a corner table out of direct sunlight. Not sure how much these guys contribute but I am sure they don't help the situation. I shut them off though when not in use.
Furthermore, what kinds of light bulbs should I opt for that may help turn the temp down? Obviously not halogens but are there cooler running CFLs available?
Thanks for any help!
EDIT: I probably should have mentioned, it is a slightly older home and my room is on the second floor.
I have 1 window which is made up of two sheets of glass. It is maybe 1/4th of the western facing wall and the entrance to my room faces east into a hallway which seems to make a halfway decent wind tunnel. Sometimes. The windows are also kind of old and I guess some AC air seeps through the cracks in the wood. Maybe I should get some of that foam tape and try and seal things up perhaps?
Also, what kinds of blinds should I use? Right now I just have a basic thin white mesh as blinds. They are like mosquito nets almost and at times feel to do nothing but reduce glare.
I do have my performance PC and 2 monitors the a corner table out of direct sunlight. Not sure how much these guys contribute but I am sure they don't help the situation. I shut them off though when not in use.
Furthermore, what kinds of light bulbs should I opt for that may help turn the temp down? Obviously not halogens but are there cooler running CFLs available?
Thanks for any help!
EDIT: I probably should have mentioned, it is a slightly older home and my room is on the second floor.
Lucky Cynic on
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Cutting down on the sunlight coming into your room will help. A high-end CPU also dumps a lot of heat. And CFLs will be the coolest out of all the different light bulbs that are available. Can you get a ceiling fan going? Or some other type of fan to circulate air out of the room?
Manlier curtains may be one thing to consider.
And I love in the Midwest and we get all four seasons here. Sometimes seemingly all in the same week.
Could there be any possible heat leaking into my house through the old window and such?
Ceiling fans are also a lot easier to install than they seem, just make sure the box attachment is mounted to a stud and not just in the middle of a drywall spot.
Back when I lived at home my room was on the second floor, above the garage. It used to get really hot because obviously the garage isn't cooled and all of the hot air only goes up, which was into my room.
If the window is leaking in hot air, the next couple of things won't be as effective. Get the window properly sealed up and insulating first if you can.
Next, look for "thermal blinds". They're going to be a little heavier than regular blinds, but they also have foam backing and some of them will have a layer of foil in the center to block out radiant heat. They'll also fit fairly tightly over the window and block out most light.
Finally, get some air circulation going, either with a standing fan or a floor fan. Ideally push the hot air out and pull in the cool air.
And keep the computer off when you're not using it. A 4-core CPU can easily output about 80+ watts of heat when it's running. Some of that gets absorbed into the heat sink and cooling materials and case, but a lot of it will go out the back as hot air.
A house wants to naturally balance the temperature and should have air flow to and from all rooms. I grew up in a room without a cold air return and keeping the door shut all the time would heat the room up even with the AC running.
We added a vent above the door header through the sheet rock and the room was so much more bearable.
You've got the right ideas when it comes to your internal heat gains. Keep the computer off as much as possible, including the monitors. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs, which come in around 13W, which is a negligible amount of heat.
As for getting the right amount of air in (and out) of your room, you need to make sure your AC vent isn't closed off or has any blockages in the ductwork. Also, the return path must be fairly unobstructed. There should be two grilles in your room, one for supply air and one for return air. If you only see one, then it is likely that the door is undercut to allow air to flow underneath. If you don't see a grille and there is no gap above or under your door, then try opening the door up and see if things improve.
It does for me anyway. A room fan should solve the problem.
Also what is above your room? Roof, or another room or? If there is just a roof and perhaps some storage space then check how hot it is up there. It could well be some insulation is needed.