A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
So my home has this amazing space off the spare bedroom that I set aside as my office and clip filming/audio recording area. Now that summer has come it is impossible to use, because I sweat like a whore in church while trying to film, especially with all the hot lights on. This room has always been warmer than the rest of the house and only has 1 A/C vent at the opposite end of the room (250 sq. ft total room) from where I work. There is a ceiling fan in the bedroom and a ceiling fan in my work area that isn't very useful because my cam mic picks the noise up too much.
My main issue is that even if I close all the other vents in my home and seal this room off for an hour on high A/C before filming it barely makes a dent. It just doesn't get enough power/air flow I guess? I am going to have to move my entire setup to my dining room where the A/C is strongest because of this, which I really don't want to do. Is there any alternative to this? Anyway I can cool this room easier? Cold air does flow through the vent, but not as strong as other vents.
Is this something I can remedy or is this a job for a professional?
Ha! Meant DIY. ;)
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
There are little fans you can buy that fit in the vent to pull out more cool air into the room.
If that doesn't fix it I'd say you need to either hire a pro or get a window unit. When I was renting a place with this problem I ended up putting in a window unit into my cam room and it worked very well. Didn't affect the power bill much either.
I see you say noise is a problem - I used to turn it way up and get it cool, then turn it off when filming. I left it running while camming though, didn't seem to bother anyone.
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Ahhhh thanks Laurie. I'll run to the hardware store soon and see if that helps before going the window unit route.
Yeah, I tried filming the other day with the fan running and it was like a white noise unfortunately.
Thanks so much!!! This has been driving me crazy.
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Try the duct booster fan[look on amazon]
also overlooked is a proper return register, without a return, no air circulates
Basic science, heat in heat out, you are creating a lot of heat in that room compared to the other rooms, with lights computer etc. so the rest of the house cools sooner.
You might also be able to set the central air fan to run continuously while you work rather than cycling, but you will want to change that when not working.
What type of lights are you using?
LED have come a long way in color correctness and would remove a lot of the heat from the room
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Honestly Oldster, now that I think of it, my lights really aren't that hot.
Besides changing vents when dirty on the register, is there anything else I should be checking for?
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Do you own the house[IE willing to spend money to fix]
Is the room upstairs or down?
If upstairs are the vents in the attic and can you get to them?
Try blocking vents nearest the thermostat and leaving the door open ,think in terms of getting heat out, not making it cold
Cover sunny windows
add insulation to attic above
Get a box fan and blow out of the room on low speed may be quiet enough
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
No, I rent Oldster.
...and leaving the door open ,think in terms of getting heat out, not making it cold.
Get a box fan and blow out of the room on low speed may be quiet enough
The above are things I hadn't considered. I will definitely give it a go. Thanks!
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
There are floor model a/c unitss you can buy to put in another room amd run some insulated duct
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Oldster's advice is down the line correct.
One that's missing here is to switch to LED lights. If you're using incandescent lights, you can't imagine how much heat you're pumping IN. CFL's are better, but still put off a fair amount of heat if you're using multiple lamps. Switch to "warm" (as opposed to pure white) LED bulbs in your lamps. That will make a HUGE difference.
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Almost Jaded
Oldster's advice is down the line correct.
One that's missing here is to switch to LED lights. If you're using incandescent lights, you can't imagine how much heat you're pumping IN. CFL's are better, but still put off a fair amount of heat if you're using multiple lamps. Switch to "warm" (as opposed to pure white) LED bulbs in your lamps. That will make a HUGE difference.
I have the LED lights, but I have 3 umbrellas in a smallish area. But I WILL try warm bulbs! Thanks for the tip. :)
Re: A technical question about A/C that other DYI's may be able to answer?
Dehumidifier may help if humidity is the problem, but it does generate a bit of heat. Second tip other than a room A/C is to get compact fluorescents instead of incandescent light bulbs, if they would work in your fixtures.