[rahlquist]

Ok I have nobody to blame but myself for this but here is the situation. We have a split level 3BR home. 1 BR is dedicated as our hobby/tech room. In this room we have 3 Desktop PC's. In addition this room is on the southwest corner of the house so gets more afternoon sun and any other room in the house. It is not uncommon for this room to hit 85 deg while the rest of the house is in the low seventies. I do have good access to the floor of the room as its over the garage. Does anyone have a good suggestion for how to deal with this miserable room? My wife works from home and this room is where she is stuck 6-8 hours a day.

Thanks!

 

[kenmac]

mini split, window unit, portable

 

[beenthere]

Window unit.
The least expensive upfront method.

 

[gena]

One of my customers had the same problem and it appears that the floor of the above garage room wasn’t insulated.

 

[rahlquist]

Cant do the window unit due to noise, thats also the reason we dont use something like a box fan etc. I've hlaf considered trying to put in a return in the room but am unsure if that would help.

 

[gena]

Here we go; you should be started from that! Of course, you need a cold air return!

 

[beenthere]

Here we go; you should be started from that! Of course, you need a cold air return!

In cooling mode. Its a warm air return.

Why would you want to remove cold air from a hot room.

 

[gena]

Well, I agree. I know that it’s sound funny, but it’s just a term. It’s just like a toilet paper.

 

[yuri]

With 3 computers giving off heat etc gonna need a minisplit. Quite a few BTU's to remove and one normal A/C vent won't provide enough cooling to do that.http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/wallmounted9-12RL.htm

 

[flyboy2610]

In cooling mode. Its a warm air return.

Why would you want to remove cold air from a hot room.

It's not just the air you want to remove from the room, but the humidity.
A room with high humidity is going to feel much warmer than one with low humidity.
Why is noise such an issue in this room?

 

[rahlquist]

It's not just the air you want to remove from the room, but the humidity.
A room with high humidity is going to feel much warmer than one with low humidity.
Why is noise such an issue in this room?

Humidity in this room is lower than most rooms in the house due to the elevated temp and there is a cat litter box too (its 82.9 right now). Noise is an issue because my wife is a work at home CSR and she doesnt need a bunch of loud noise in the room. Something as loud as a box fan would be excessive even on low. the room is approx 10x14.

 

[kenmac]

If a box fan is too loud A mini split be also . They are quite. But not completely.. They do have a fan

 

[yuri]

Mini split units are VERY quiet. Fujitsu has a heat load calculator to size them. You need to know approx how many BTU/hr your computers produce, including the monitors. You only have 3 options: window shaker, portable or minisplit. Also, heat rises so that is why the problem is worse upstairs. A minisplit does need somewhere to drain the indoor unit and they are complicated to install. Find a reputable contractor who has installed lots of them before going with them or build an office in the basement if it is cooler there.

 

[rahlquist]

Mini split units are VERY quiet. Fujitsu has a heat load calculator to size them. You need to know approx how many BTU/hr your computers produce, including the monitors. You only have 3 options: window shaker, portable or minisplit. Also, heat rises so that is why the problem is worse upstairs. A minisplit does need somewhere to drain the indoor unit and they are complicated to install. Find a reputable contractor who has installed lots of them before going with them or build an office in the basement if it is cooler there.

This is starting to sound like the best idea. Are you aware of any calculators I could use to estimate the heat generated by the computers based on their watage? I can take a wild guess at the max wattage of all 3 computers and the one printer as roughly 1500-2000 watts max.

 

[yuri]

I have access to Fujitsu's calculator but not the heat output of the computers. Hang in there and maybe someone else will help. If you have old CRT monitors those give off lots of heat. The flat panel don't. Try contact Dell or HP and maybe they have that info.

 

[beenthere]

2000 watts is 6,826 BTUs.

 

[gma2rjc]

One of my customers had the same problem and it appears that the floor of the above garage room wasn’t insulated

If there is an attic above this room, it would be worth looking to see if you have enough insulation up there too.

 

[COLDIRON]

Tap in

If you have Central Air and a place to tap into the main duct trunk line I would say tap into it and install a floor register near the exterior wall or tap in above if you have ductwork in the attic and install a ceiling register.
Big box stores have all the stuff you need to do the job.
Make sure everything is tight and well insulated.

 

[beenthere]

If you have Central Air and a place to tap into the main duct trunk line I would say tap into it and install a floor register near the exterior wall or tap in above if you have ductwork in the attic and install a ceiling register.
Big box stores have all the stuff you need to do the job.
Make sure everything is tight and well insulated.

That will temper the room, but not cool it.

The computers and printer add too much sensible load.

At a 24° difference between retunr and supply air temp, it would take 263CFM to remove the sensible load of the equipment alone.
At 18° difference, it would take 350CFM, and at 16° delta it would take 395CFM.

Once the rest of the house was satisfied, and the thermostat shut off th system, the equipment will cause that room would heat up quickly.

 

[Yoyizit]

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