best way to get a computer room cooled??

[SandrA9810]

The room is small, and the door is usually kept shut for 1/2 the day. I thought about a window AC, but the windows slide sideways, there's no AC made for that, and building a frame is kinda out of the question.
I've thought about the room AC things, but there's usually a vent on those that are supposed to connected to a window. And drilling a hole in the outside wall is out of the question too. Although depending on the heat output on those things, it might not be so bad to create a vent outlet into the spare room, where the regular AC vent is blocked off anyways. But as small as the room is, it would take up a bit of space.

There's a ceiling fan and a box fan to circulate the air, but it's so stuffy. And you can tell the difference when walking out of the room.

 

[Tink-aholic]

We bought an a/c unit that fits into a sideways-sliding window at Home Depot. Lots of different brands and sizes.

Good luck.

 

[Molly Meow]

Do you own your home? We're dealing with the same issues now (DH is in IT, you can probably imagine our computer room LOL) and he just recently installed a ceiling fan. It helps some, but not enough.

This weekend, he's installing an attic fan. It's about $100 from Home Depot and he says it will be easy to install. I guess it works by blowing the hot air out of the attic, preventing the greenhouse effect. It would be a lot cheaper and easier than a window A/C. I can let you know Sunday how it works if you'd like!

 

[npcougar]

They do make air conditions for that style of window. I have had one.

 

[SandrA9810]

even one that's like 3ft x 3ft??? I've seen them for the smaller windows, like one you'd find in a basement. But not a full size window. What's the cost difference?? A good energy efficient model that I found at Lowes was only 150$, for a regular style window.

Although if it is a perfect square, I wonder how easy it would be to flip the window... LOL (don't worry, that's not in my area of DIY project.)

It is a home, but I can't make any drastic changes to it.

 

[wdwfan16]

The room is small, and the door is usually kept shut for 1/2 the day. I thought about a window AC, but the windows slide sideways, there's no AC made for that, and building a frame is kinda out of the question.
I've thought about the room AC things, but there's usually a vent on those that are supposed to connected to a window. And drilling a hole in the outside wall is out of the question too. Although depending on the heat output on those things, it might not be so bad to create a vent outlet into the spare room, where the regular AC vent is blocked off anyways. But as small as the room is, it would take up a bit of space.

There's a ceiling fan and a box fan to circulate the air, but it's so stuffy. And you can tell the difference when walking out of the room.

Actually the do sell A/Cs for casement/small sliding windows. They also sell in room A/Cs that sit in the room and vent to the outside.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...itLKfawwXTvqiMBA&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p

http://www.google.com/products/cata...uABJugwAWly6yGBA&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p

 

[SandrA9810]

Well the AC that fit into sideways windows seem to be on the short side. This is a pretty tall window, and they don't look like they would fit into it. And there's never anything on the picture to indicate what to do when the AC isn't as tall as the window. It's a small room too, so 5,000 BTUs is way more than enough to keep it cool.

Plus both those options are more than double I'd be willing to spend. It's kinda why I asked on the budget board.

When I googled different options, most came back as building a wooden frame for the AC to set in, then close the window on the frame.

 

[wdwfan16]

Well the AC that fit into sideways windows seem to be on the short side. This is a pretty tall window, and they don't look like they would fit into it. And there's never anything on the picture to indicate what to do when the AC isn't as tall as the window. It's a small room too, so 5,000 BTUs is way more than enough to keep it cool.

Plus both those options are more than double I'd be willing to spend. It's kinda why I asked on the budget board.

When I googled different options, most came back as building a wooden frame for the AC to set in, then close the window on the frame.

If the window is taller than just cut a piece of plywood to fill in the other area.

 

[SandrA9810]

Like with regular windows, they provide those little accordion things to fill in on the sides. Which there's usually screws and holes to provide proper attachment. Why don't they have that for filling in the window on a side sliding window??

 

[wdwfan16]

Like with regular windows, they provide those little accordion things to fill in on the sides. Which there's usually screws and holes to provide proper attachment. Why don't they have that for filling in the window on a side sliding window??

They do on the sides but not on the top.

 

[Justsyd2]

You want a portable air conditioner. You do not need a drain with this one.

 

[Icemann]

Look at Sanyo mini-splits they are high end but we use them as back-up A/C for IT rooms.They are not a DIY Project.

 

[SandrA9810]

How do those wall mounted unit work?? And are those the things that most people use up north for heating individual rooms??

These are all expensive options. I was hoping to only spend a 100-150$ on something. With a high end energy efficient unit, it would only cost 10-15$ a month to run. Which is doable, and better than turning on the whole house AC unit to cool the room when no one else is home.

 

[TxRabbit]

Do you have central air? If you turn the fan from "auto" to "on", assuming that you have the option on your thermostat, then the air handler will continually recirculate the air in the house. It doesn't cost much to run the air handler alone. It's the condenser that is pricy to run. The condenser will only kick on when necessary to cool your house to the set temp. It may not help with the actual temperature, but it could help with the stuffiness.

 

[XYSRUS]

We have 5 computers and a tv in our "computer room". Definitely have to go with the portable A/C unit. Works like a charm!

 

[jsmith]

So if this is in your home-here is a simple NO cost solution to your problem-unless you are running a server that must be on all the time-just shut the machine down when no on is home and the room is closed. Your not going to melt or damage components if the machine is not running-and in all honesty they have to be running for an extended period of time in overly hot conditions to damage the machines ( i have ruined video cards but that was in machines running 24/7 an near CPU max in a building over a 100 degrees for a couple of weeks). Additionally-the room will stay cooler if the machine is not running. Just wait for the whole house AC to cool the room before you boot the machine. You will also save the electricty it would take to keep the machine booted during the day.
If you must leave the machine booted-free standing room AC unit is the answer-we use these to cool our comm closets which are small windowless rooms with racks of routing and switching equipment running in them-they are not terribly expensive and do not need drains-and can run only as long as you need them to.

 

[SandrA9810]

The electronics are off when we're not in the room. It's the bedroom, but it's the only room with any sort of electronics in it. And since it's so small, it doesn't allow for the heat to escape. I figured most people would understand why the room is so hot if I put computer room, to give a better idea.
What's running is a laptop, brand new, so it's a bit cooler than an older one. A 40" LCD tv and the big heat producer is the PS3. And the TV is only on when the PS3 is. The house is too far from the main city to receive digital channels without putting an antenna on the roof, and no cable. So a lot of gaming and movie watching. But not 24/7.

When no one else is home, we can leave the door open. Which helps cool off the room a little. But generally the central AC gets turned off, so there's nothing to really help circulate the air out of the room. But if we leave, the door is shut and locked the entire time, but everything is turned off.

 

[hambirg]

I live in Washington, so take this as it is. Our computer room would be hotter than the rest, but in any months besides July and August, that was a bonus. I found out that only one of the two computer fans was working.. . woops! My suggestion would be to just buy a big box fan for that room. . .but I live in the land of no air conditioning.

 

[kelly1218]

If the window is taller than just cut a piece of plywood to fill in the other area.

You don't even have to do that. They sell insulating foam board. It's thicker (up to 2") easier to cut to fit into an odd place. And a lot easier to transport. It should cost about $12-24 a 4x8 sheet...depending on the thickness.



Home Depot DOES sell casement window AC units. They are a little more costly, and not all the stores carry them. You would have to ask your local store. My store doesn't have them this year, so I can't give you a cost estimate.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

Swap the solid door with a lockable screen door or a half-screen door so the rooms will be the same temperature. Even if it's a rental house, you can put the original door in storage somewhere and hang a different one using the same hinges without causing any damage to the house. My sister had a few cats and when she had my niece, she swapped her bedroom door for a screen door so she could easily see/hear the baby and still keep the cats out. I thought it was a really good idea... and it also kept the room from getting stuffy. Or along the same lines, buy a cheap solid door, cut a window in it, cover it with wire mesh and a nice bit of trim, paint the door a pretty color, and use that to temporarily replace the original door.

Or I second the idea of an A/C unit that will fit and then blocking off leftover open space above it with insulation.