David Hearn wrote:

Obviously, buying an air-conditioning unit would probably be the best way -
though I think these are quite pricey (I think anything more than ?150 would
be out). Also the cheaper ones are very noisy aren't they? Plus, ideally
I'd want a split unit... anyway

Depends on what you mean by noisy... the mono block units are noisy as
in the noise of a fridge freezer combined with a large fan - i.e.
irritation if you are trying to watch TV or sleep - but not as loud as a
vacuum cleaner!

I've heard about these evaporative coolers - and I've also heard how people
think they're snake-oil, and I understand how they're physics are doomed to
failure - however I do know of people who claim they work. I guess the
difference is between the temperature we feel and the actual temperature.

Some people find that the small "personal" evaporative coolers do work a
bit - the evaporation effect will cool the air they blow out at you a
little bit - and the amount of moisture they contribute to a room is
relatively small once it has a chance to diffuse within the room (they
only consume a cup of water a day). The larger "room sized" evaporative
coolers are on a hiding to nothing in our climate however.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. High humidity when its hot means that my
sweat doesn't evaporate as quickly/easily so I feel hot. Surely then
reducing the humidity is the way to go as this will allow my sweat to
evaporate more easily.

This is correct.

So - would a dehumidifier help to reduce how hot I feel? I've never seen

Chances are it would help your bodies natural cooling mechanism to work
more effectively. There would also be a side effect benefit in that they
presumably include a fan to move air through them which would help keep
the air moving in the room a bit.

In scientific terms however the de-humidifier is likely to raise the
room temperature by an amount equal to its power dissipation. This will
offset or even counteract the benefits.

them advertised as being able to do this - whereas things which humidify
(evaporative coolers) seem to claim they do.

They can claim to reduce the temperature since if you measure the air
output temp it will be colder since you have extracted some heat from it
to help vaporise the water. Alas its a bit like wind chill - the
thermometer does not tell the whole story!

Basically I'm confused about it and just want a (reasonably) cheap option
(also preferable movable between living room + bedroom) to cool us down.
Fans may be the best option (price wise) I know - but I'm trying to think of
other options too.

All the usual things... insulation, increasing shade - plants, trees,
creepers etc. Reducing solar radiation absorbtion with blinds or solar
window film, forced air ventilation (fans etc). Turning off heat sources.

Incidentally, what's the sort of price I should expect for a reasonable
split air-conditioner? I'd love to be able to permanently install one for
the living room - however it then seems a waste as I can't use it in the
bedroom (unless it managed to cool the whole house down!).

You can get portable split units - you hang the condenser outside the
window and its connected to the air handler inside via an "umbilical".
Not that cheap mind:

http://www.coolbuys.co.uk/mall/AirCo...uct-752461.stm




--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/