(Slightly OT) Cooling a room?

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Gandalf
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(Slightly OT) Cooling a room?

Post by Gandalf » Thu May 29, 2003 1:09 am

Since summer is sadly approaching my room is getting hotter and hotter every day. When the room temp goes up, so does the case temp, and so does the CPU temp.
Does anyone have any tips to keep the heat out? (and no, airco is not an option .. too expencive).

Would it help if I actually isolated(or is it insulated?) the room? It's straigth under the attic which isn't isolated at all (which is also why it's 7°C during the winter). On the other hand, the wall does face the west. ..

Any tips are welcome.

- Bram

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Thu May 29, 2003 9:36 am

Insulating the room from any outside heat source (aka The Sun) will definitely help. Lay some fiberglass bats in the attic over the room. A good fix for the western wall is to put something outside the house to shade that wall. Some bushes or a trellis works wonders.

Also stop any sun from entering the room through the windows. One of the most effective ways, and also one of the ugliest is to line the inside surface of the glass with aluminum foil, then back the foil with an inch or two thick styrofoam sheet. And remember, if at any time it's cooler outside than it is in (like at night), then open the windows.

Athlon Powers
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Post by Athlon Powers » Sat May 31, 2003 9:24 am

I would get an air conditioner for windows, mine works wonders and only cost about $250. Of course, I live in a smaller room.

Bat
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Post by Bat » Mon Jun 02, 2003 10:49 am

I expect the room will still be warmer than the outside, so you want ventilation but not sunlight. Windows open and curtains closed can help.

lenny
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Post by lenny » Mon Jun 02, 2003 11:02 am

I was toying with the idea of building a large mirror with all the AOL / MSN / MSDN CDs I have lying around at work. Should help significantly in reducing heat in the room, especially if placed outside a window.

In your case, insulating the attic should definitely help. I noticed a great difference in summer temperature in the garage (uninsulated) and the house (insulated).

I've also seen exhaust fans for the attic. No experience with them though.

scalar
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Super-insulate at your own risk!

Post by scalar » Mon Jun 02, 2003 11:52 am

High-insulation and isolation has drawbacks. The main one is a lack of airflow through the structure, and a buildup of excess moisture.

At one time (starting in the 1960's), super-insulated homes and businesses were all the rage, until people mysteriously started finding mold growing on chairs, in carpets, inside drywall, and so on. The molds release spores and gases which cause serious health problems, and some black molds can in fact cause memory loss and lasting physical damage from their spores. For severely infested homes the only real solution has been demolition.

This is only made worse in new houses by the fact that manufacturing chemicals outgas from new foam, plastics, sealants, paint, and varnishes into the house, and due to the insufficient air ventilation these chemicals can build up in the air and can lead to health problems.

Old drafty houses don't suffer from sick building syndrome specifically because they are so drafty. A strong wind will blow air into cracks, gaps, and under foundations, so it does a good job of keeping moisure and chemical levels low. But you pay for this leakiness because heat literally blows out through the window cracks in the winter, and you'll waste lots of energy trying to air-condition it in the summer.

At this point, people are starting to understand that if you super-insulate and seal up a building you have to fork over a lot of cash to get decent building ventilation and keep the moisture levels down. Such buildings will require technology like air-to-air heat exchangers so that the building gets adequate ventilation. Some sort of whole-house air conditioning or dehumidification system is also highly recommended.


EPA - Indoor Air Facts No. 4 (revised): Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html


EPA - Indoor Air Quality Frequent Questions

Unless they are built with special mechanical means of ventilation, homes that are designed and constructed to minimize the amount of outdoor air that can "leak" into and out of the home may have higher pollutant levels than other homes.

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia_faqs.html


-Scalar

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