Bonus Room, Too Hot!

[ashjohnson80]

It is so hot up here! And it's cold downstairs. I don't want to turn on the air conditioning because the downstairs doesn't need it but I'm about to die. <--- that's what happens when you get too hot, your head catches on fire. i guess i need to buy a fan.

 

[gris gris]

Air conditioning??? LOL On Monday in CT it was in the mid-50's so I turned off the HEAT! And yesterday it got colder so it's back on. I can't even imagine running the AC. I've been waiting so long for the warm weather. I even sent DD to daycare yesterday with no hat or gloves thinking it would be warm like Monday!

 

[ashjohnson80]

well it's not even that warm here today. It's only 69 out right now. but this bonus room is like a heat magnet...

 

[giddygirl]

We were having the same problem with our upstairs rooms. Even during the winter! We decided to close the vents slightly downstairs, and that seemed to have really helped! So you can probably turn on your ac (set your thermostat pretty high) and more air will flow upstairs.

 

[buckler]

We had the same problem with our bonus room. The room was only comfortable for a brief period during the fall and spring. The rest of the year it was freezing or like an oven. We had an electronic duct dampering system installed. With the system we have two thermostats on the 2nd floor of our home. One is installed in the master bedroom and controls heating/cooling the bedroom areas. The 2nd thermostat is in the bonus room and controls the temperature in the bonus room. In the attic there is a control panel that coordinates the information from the two thermostats. As needed, the controller opens and closes electronic dampers in the duct work to allow air to flow to the whole upstairs, just the bedrooms or just the bonus room. I can set the thermostat in the bonus room up/down and close off the door when we won't be using it and use less energy. Then if we want to use the room I can pop the temp up or down and it returns the room to a comfortable level very quickly.

 

[sajetto]

Most houses out here in the south that have been built in the past 5 years have bonus rooms above the garage and they are always miserably hot from spring through summer. My best advice for you is to buy 2 fans to blow in either direction.

 

[ashjohnson80]

i'm going to have to do something. this is where my computer is, my sewing machine, all my guitars, i use this room a lot!

 

[sajetto]

We put one behind our office desk to keep the computers and printers cool and then put another one in the exact opposite direction to blow on whoever is sitting there. That room can get as hot as 89 degrees in the summer and that's with the ac running! If we didn't use fans our equipment would get seriously over heated.

 

[ashjohnson80]

We put one behind our office desk to keep the computers and printers cool and then put another one in the exact opposite direction to blow on whoever is sitting there. That room can get as hot as 89 degrees in the summer and that's with the ac running! If we didn't use fans our equipment would get seriously over heated.

thanks, i'll have to try that. that seems the most cost efficient way to keep it cool. and i don't want my stuff to get overheated either!

 

[buckler]

i'm going to have to do something. this is where my computer is, my sewing machine, all my guitars, i use this room a lot!

If you use the room a lot I definitely recommend calling a HVAC person to get a quote on having a dampering system added. We had ours done when we had our furnace replaced and it added about $1,000 to the price but it was worth every penny (and that's coming from a very frugal person!). It can be added to an existing system, not just with a furnace redo.