I cut a hole in a wall to insert a 27"TV. The hole aligns with a stairway on
the other side. (about 8 steps.) So the Tv fits into the empty space under
the stairs. Its a split level house. One level in front and two levels in
the back. 1/2 set of stairs lead down and another 1/2 set of stairs lead up.

Not a huge space but enough to hold the TV. I'm concerned with the heat
generated by the TV causing the TV to overheat. I plan on installing a small
fan to vent the space.

There is a large closet next to the space that I can cut a hole through to
put a small fan in.

Would I be better to Pull air into the space and it would exit out the front
around the TV? Or should I turn the fan around and pull air out of the
space, sucking air in from around the front of the TV and blowing it into
the closet. ( the closet is always open. Its got louvered bi-fold doors).

The opening around the TV is about 1/2" on each side and 2" on the top. I'm
going to put a remote temperature sensor inside the enclosure to see how hot
it gets.

I hope to figure a way to have the fan turn on automatically when the TV
turns on?

This setup works out well. clears floor space in an already crowded room.

I started cutting the hole the other day while my wife was out shopping. Ha,
ha ,ha!
She just shook her head!


TIA for any Ideas.

Steve

I would have the air flowing from the room the TV is in back into the
closet. If you think about how a TV naturally radiates heat, it normally
has the heat rise out the back. A slow fan sucking air would encourage
this. A fan blowing could perhaps end up pushing the heat down and keeping
it bottled inside the TV.

I would stick to a low RPM fan, and perhaps instead of wiring it to power up
with TV use a thermostat instead. Good luck, sounds like fun.

"Steve" wrote in message
...
I cut a hole in a wall to insert a 27"TV. The hole aligns with a stairway
on
the other side. (about 8 steps.) So the Tv fits into the empty space under
the stairs. Its a split level house. One level in front and two levels in
the back. 1/2 set of stairs lead down and another 1/2 set of stairs lead
up.

Not a huge space but enough to hold the TV. I'm concerned with the heat
generated by the TV causing the TV to overheat. I plan on installing a
small
fan to vent the space.

There is a large closet next to the space that I can cut a hole through to
put a small fan in.

Would I be better to Pull air into the space and it would exit out the
front
around the TV? Or should I turn the fan around and pull air out of the
space, sucking air in from around the front of the TV and blowing it into
the closet. ( the closet is always open. Its got louvered bi-fold doors).

The opening around the TV is about 1/2" on each side and 2" on the top.
I'm
going to put a remote temperature sensor inside the enclosure to see how
hot
it gets.

I hope to figure a way to have the fan turn on automatically when the TV
turns on?

This setup works out well. clears floor space in an already crowded room.

I started cutting the hole the other day while my wife was out shopping.
Ha,
ha ,ha!
She just shook her head!


TIA for any Ideas.

Steve

Steve wrote:

I cut a hole in a wall to insert a 27"TV. The hole aligns with a stairway on
the other side. (about 8 steps.) So the Tv fits into the empty space under
the stairs. Its a split level house. One level in front and two levels in
the back. 1/2 set of stairs lead down and another 1/2 set of stairs lead up.

So the top of the stairs is about 4' above the base of the TV...

...I'm concerned with the heat generated by the TV causing the TV to overheat.

The cooler the better, but 80 F is probably OK.

There is a large closet next to the space that I can cut a hole through...
Would I be better to Pull air into the space and it would exit out the front
around the TV? Or should I turn the fan around and pull air out of the
space, sucking air in from around the front of the TV and blowing it into
the closet. ( the closet is always open. Its got louvered bi-fold doors).

I'd cut holes into the closet near the TV base and the top of the closet.

The opening around the TV is about 1/2" on each side and 2" on the top.

If the TV uses 150 W (512 Btu/h), a 512/10 = 50 cfm airflow would make
a 10 F temp rise from 70 to 80 F... 50 cfm = 16.6Asqr(4'x10F) makes
the vent area A = 0.47 ft^2, eg two 2'x3" slots.

Nick

On 9-Sep-2004, "Steve" wrote:

Would I be better to Pull air into the space and it would exit out the front
around the TV? Or should I turn the fan around and pull air out of the
space, sucking air in from around the front of the TV and blowing it into
the closet.

It's almost always easier to suck warm air out than to force cool air in.

I'd consider having the fan draw air out of the closet and just put a vent
between the closet and TV enclosure. You'll have to get the closet
relatively airtight for it to work well.

If not, make sure the closet is vented at a high spot so that the warm air
introduced has a place to escape.

Remember that whatever is in the path of the air coming out of the fan or
vent will be bombarded with dust over time. If you've got something like
clothes in that closet, they'll get dirty if they're near the air flow.
They'll get black if there are smokers in your house.

I hope to figure a way to have the fan turn on automatically when the TV
turns on?

Use a cheap thermostat of appropriate voltage capacity to turn on the fan
when the temperature in the TV enclosure exceeds room temp by some amount.
You can experiment to find the setting you're happy with. That means it
will continue to vent if the TV's still hot after turning it off.

Computer muffin fans can be used for this. The good ones are quiet. You
might need a wall wart to convert 120VAC to 12VDC - just watch for the
amps being pulled - don't use a 300 mA wall wart for a 750 mA fan. You
can put the wall wart on the controlled side of the thermostat so that
it only draws power when you need it - standby is only a couple of watts,
but... I don't know what the code says about temp controlled 120V
sockets, though.

One other thing - some TVs never turn off. They go from full power to
reduced power and keep the picture tube heater running for "instant on".
You may want to plug the TV into a power bar and shut that off when the
TV's not in use - you'll save electricity and guarantee that there's no
heat generated unless you're watching.

Mike

"Brian Dors" wrote in message ...
I would have the air flowing from the room the TV is in back into the
closet. If you think about how a TV naturally radiates heat, it normally
has the heat rise out the back. A slow fan sucking air would encourage
this. A fan blowing could perhaps end up pushing the heat down and keeping
it bottled inside the TV.

I would stick to a low RPM fan, and perhaps instead of wiring it to power up
with TV use a thermostat instead. Good luck, sounds like fun.

"Steve" wrote in message
...
I cut a hole in a wall to insert a 27"TV. The hole aligns with a stairway
on
the other side. (about 8 steps.) So the Tv fits into the empty space under
the stairs. Its a split level house. One level in front and two levels in
the back. 1/2 set of stairs lead down and another 1/2 set of stairs lead
up.

Not a huge space but enough to hold the TV. I'm concerned with the heat
generated by the TV causing the TV to overheat. I plan on installing a
small
fan to vent the space.

There is a large closet next to the space that I can cut a hole through to
put a small fan in.

Would I be better to Pull air into the space and it would exit out the
front
around the TV? Or should I turn the fan around and pull air out of the
space, sucking air in from around the front of the TV and blowing it into
the closet. ( the closet is always open. Its got louvered bi-fold doors).

The opening around the TV is about 1/2" on each side and 2" on the top.
I'm
going to put a remote temperature sensor inside the enclosure to see how
hot
it gets.

I hope to figure a way to have the fan turn on automatically when the TV
turns on?

This setup works out well. clears floor space in an already crowded room.

I started cutting the hole the other day while my wife was out shopping.
Ha,
ha ,ha!
She just shook her head!


TIA for any Ideas.

Steve




What's the volume of the space the TV is in? With today's TV's being
mostly solid state components, they don't generate much heat. Before
I wasted time and complicated things with a fan, I'd put the TV in the
opening, with a thermometer in the space. Leave it on for a few hours
and if the temp is within the operating limits of the set, I wouldn't
worry about it.

"Steve" wrote in message ...
I cut a hole in a wall to insert a 27"TV. The hole aligns with a stairway on
the other side. (about 8 steps.) So the Tv fits into the empty space under
the stairs. Its a split level house. One level in front and two levels in
the back. 1/2 set of stairs lead down and another 1/2 set of stairs lead up.

Not a huge space but enough to hold the TV. I'm concerned with the heat
generated by the TV causing the TV to overheat. I plan on installing a small
fan to vent the space.

There is a large closet next to the space that I can cut a hole through to
put a small fan in.

Would I be better to Pull air into the space and it would exit out the front
around the TV? Or should I turn the fan around and pull air out of the
space, sucking air in from around the front of the TV and blowing it into
the closet. ( the closet is always open. Its got louvered bi-fold doors).

The opening around the TV is about 1/2" on each side and 2" on the top. I'm
going to put a remote temperature sensor inside the enclosure to see how hot
it gets.

I hope to figure a way to have the fan turn on automatically when the TV
turns on?

This setup works out well. clears floor space in an already crowded room.

I started cutting the hole the other day while my wife was out shopping. Ha,
ha ,ha!
She just shook her head!


TIA for any Ideas.face, a
Steve

"International Residential Code, Sec R314.8, Under stair protection.
Enclosed accessible space under stairs shall have walls, under stair
surfaces and any soffits protected on the enclosed side with 1/2 inch
gypsum board." This is to protect the stair from burning before you
can get downstairs and away from danger. I'd suggest making that
enclosed, inaccessible space as fire safe as possible if it is to
contain a TV. I would vent it to an accessible space such as the
viewing room, rather than into an enclosed space filled with flammable
material.

If there were a grille below and a grille above the TV, I should think
air would circulate enough without a fan.

TB

Excelent point!. Thats why I visit this NG!

I hadnt considered fire. I was worrying about overheating the TV.. Duhh!

TV is already there and it looks great but I will reevaluate the venting.

Does this mean I should cover the bottom of the steps with a 1/2" piece of
sheetrock?

There is about 1.5" opening above the TV. No room to put a vent above that.
I can add a vent below the TV.

Now I'm back to sucking or blowing the air.

The only opening in this space is around the TV sides and top so if I suck
air into the space it would pressurize it and air would be forces out around
the TV blowing the hot air out.

If I blow air out the vent it will pull air in around the TV sides and top
and vent it out the bottom. only problem here is that heat rises and my vent
would be on the bottom.

I'm going to check operating temperatures this weekend with a remote temp
sensor.

What do you think would be considered to high a temp. ???

Thanks again!!

Steve


"International Residential Code, Sec R314.8, Under stair protection.
Enclosed accessible space under stairs shall have walls, under stair
surfaces and any soffits protected on the enclosed side with 1/2 inch
gypsum board." This is to protect the stair from burning before you
can get downstairs and away from danger. I'd suggest making that
enclosed, inaccessible space as fire safe as possible if it is to
contain a TV. I would vent it to an accessible space such as the
viewing room, rather than into an enclosed space filled with flammable
material.

If there were a grille below and a grille above the TV, I should think
air would circulate enough without a fan.

TB