Hi

I live in a top floor flat. The rear rooms which I use as bedroom/office
get really hot as the sun is beating on them all day long.

Ive been looking at small air con units. Ive been told that its no good
putting the vent out of an open window and this doesnt look good either.

I cant put a vent hole through the wall to the outside as the lease wont
allow it. I wondered if its OK to vent into the loft space or the airing
cupboard? The loft is just used for storage and in the summer it gets like a
suana up there any way. The airing cupboard is just on the other side of the
wall of my office so making a vent hole into it shouldnt be difficult.

Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks

Rob

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 10:06:03 +0000, Rob wrote:

Hi

I live in a top floor flat. The rear rooms which I use as bedroom/office
get really hot as the sun is beating on them all day long.

Ive been looking at small air con units. Ive been told that its no good
putting the vent out of an open window and this doesnt look good either.
The portable single units, ie. the ones which use a flexible hose
to vent out of the window, should come with a flat piece of plastic.
you close the window onto this. The plastic piece has an oval shaped
hole, which the hose clips onto.
This assumes of course that you have window which opens in the fashion
of a sash window.

These type of units work just fine - I'm sitting in front of one now.

I do agree what a proper indoor/outdoor unit, joined by pipes would better
and neater.
But if all you want is some cooling on these hot days of the year, try a
portable unit.

I live in a top floor flat. The rear rooms which I use as bedroom/office
get really hot as the sun is beating on them all day long.

Ive been looking at small air con units. Ive been told that its no good
putting the vent out of an open window and this doesnt look good either.

I cant put a vent hole through the wall to the outside as the lease wont
allow it.

If you're renting the place personally I would just vent it out the window.
If you're after a more permanent solution get a vent slate fitted on the
roof and plug into that. As one of the other posters mentioned, most half
decent portable air-con units come with an attachment for sash-type windows,
however we've found it works just as well dangling the hose out the window.
These things kick out serious heat so I wouldn't be too keen on venting into
a sealed space. Ours also collects around 4L of water per day!

Andy

"Pecanfan" wrote in message
...
I live in a top floor flat. The rear rooms which I use as bedroom/office
get really hot as the sun is beating on them all day long.

Ive been looking at small air con units. Ive been told that its no good
putting the vent out of an open window and this doesnt look good either.

I cant put a vent hole through the wall to the outside as the lease wont
allow it.

If you're renting the place personally I would just vent it out the
window.
If you're after a more permanent solution get a vent slate fitted on the
roof and plug into that. As one of the other posters mentioned, most half
decent portable air-con units come with an attachment for sash-type
windows,
however we've found it works just as well dangling the hose out the
window.
These things kick out serious heat so I wouldn't be too keen on venting
into
a sealed space. Ours also collects around 4L of water per day!

Andy


Thanks for the info Andy.

Roof vent slate is a great idea but isnt poss. I'n not renting but the lease
wont allow it.

I'll just hang a hose out the window - but I dont have sash windows. Mine
are double glazed units which are hinged at the sides so the bottom opens
outwards. Is that a problem? I guess as long as I dont get any blow back it
should be OK shouldnt it??

I didnt consider how much heat they have to dispose of until now.

But at the mo my office with sun glaring at me through blinds plus PC and
monitor belting out loads of heat = 36C(97F) in the room!!!!! And thats with
two fans on. PC has been groaning about the heat too. Have got a fan blowing
on it now!!!

I'm meltinggggggggg!!

Thanks

Rob

Rob wrote:

But at the mo my office with sun glaring at me through blinds plus PC
and monitor belting out loads of heat = 36C(97F) in the room!!!!! And
thats with two fans on. PC has been groaning about the heat too. Have
got a fan blowing on it now!!!

I'm meltinggggggggg!!


You want an external blind if you can possibly manage it. Internal blinds
just absorb the heat and reradiate most of it into the room.

Are you on the ground floor? Even an opaque sheet hanging outside the window
will drastically reduce the heat coming in. Or get mirrored film on the
window?

"Rob" wrote in message
...
Hi

I live in a top floor flat. The rear rooms which I use as bedroom/office
get really hot as the sun is beating on them all day long.

Ive been looking at small air con units. Ive been told that its no good
putting the vent out of an open window and this doesnt look good either.

You could get a split type unit, this has two units, one of them goes
outside (Normally you can hook them on two small screws, screwed into the
external wall)

The are much better then the ones with a hose, as they cool the air, without
throwing any of it out the window (The ones with a hose throw air from
inside, outside, this causes (warm) air from outside to come in, to replace
it.

You do still have to have a window open, but not as much as a hose type.

I have one of these, and it works really well.
http://cirrus.tlc-direct.co.uk/Produ...AC12000DB.html
(The external unit is actually white (well mine is)

....and don't even think of getting an evaporative "Air Cooler" that only
needs power and water without any venting, as in my experience, they are
useless, and only make the room feel humid

Sparks...

Rob wrote:

I'll just hang a hose out the window - but I dont have sash windows. Mine
are double glazed units which are hinged at the sides so the bottom opens
outwards. Is that a problem? I guess as long as I dont get any blow back it
should be OK shouldnt it??

Try to get the hose out with as little opening as possible (you can
always use an old blanket to seal round the pipe to stop too much air
getting drawn in through the window). One of the limitations of the
nonobloc units is they expel air from the room - hence it forces more
warm damp air to be drawn in from somewhere.

I didnt consider how much heat they have to dispose of until now.

Well if you have a 1kW unit it will be shifting heat from the room at a
rate of 3kW, and then adding its own consumption to the output. So the
output will be like a 4kW fan heater!

But at the mo my office with sun glaring at me through blinds plus PC and
monitor belting out loads of heat = 36C(97F) in the room!!!!! And thats with

Cutting down the solar gain is one big step you can take to reduce the
amount of heat getting into the room. Window film would probably help
and be easy to apply.

two fans on. PC has been groaning about the heat too. Have got a fan blowing
on it now!!!

The fans themselves will add yet more heat. You could try opening the
window and having one sat close to it pointing out so that it extracts
some of the hot air rather than just warming it up a bit more an
circulating it.

Remember also that while fans may make you feel cooler, they are not
going to do much to help the PC!

On the subject of air con units, you can get some portable split units
where you hang the external unit out of a window (over the windowsill)
and then mostly close the window (there is narrower bunch of
cables/pipes that connect the two bits). These have advantages over the
monobloc units in that they are more efficient and much quieter in the
room.


--
Cheers,

John.

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On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 13:13:53 +0000 (UTC), "Rob"
wrote:

But at the mo my office with sun glaring at me through blinds plus PC and
monitor belting out loads of heat = 36C(97F) in the room!!!!! And thats with
two fans on.

Am I right in thinking that the fans will actually add to the
temperature (motor heat) and it's only the chill factor that makes us
feel better?

PC has been groaning about the heat too. Have got a fan blowing
on it now!!!

Just out of interest (when it all cools down later / whenever) taking
the PC out and making sure all the fans / vents are clear. I had a
friend on the phone first 'reallly' hot day this year saying his PC
was locking up. When I went round there the CPU heatsink was
completely bunged up with fluff! (If it is all bunged up an ailine
(carefully), a vacumn on blow or air blower can are very handy).

I'm meltinggggggggg!!

Soak yer T shirt in cold water, wring it out, put it back on *then*
sit in front of the fan! ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

T i m wrote:
I'm meltinggggggggg!!


Soak yer T shirt in cold water, wring it out, put it back on *then*
sit in front of the fan! ;-)

Don't do this too often. You may learn what human spontaneous combustion
is all about when your brain decides it's had enough trying to restore
overcooled areas back to normal. Or at the very least other nasty problems.

(disclaimer: or so I'm told....)

--
Adrian C

I have one of these, and it works really well.
http://cirrus.tlc-direct.co.uk/Produ...AC12000DB.html
(The external unit is actually white (well mine is)

Can you disconnect the external unit from the internal? I already have a
duct through the wall for the vent on a monobloc unit, and I'd like
to pass the hose through that...

Yes, they have self sealing connections, just undo them, keeping the pipes
straight, and you should be just fine :-)

The manual for it is here
http://cirrus.tlc-direct.co.uk/Techn...PAC12000DB.pdf
Have a look on page 7

Sparks...

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 17:18:15 +0100, Adrian C wrote:

T i m wrote:
I'm meltinggggggggg!!


Soak yer T shirt in cold water, wring it out, put it back on *then*
sit in front of the fan! ;-)

Don't do this too often.

This is England Adrian .. get past the next couple of days and it will
be snowing again! ;-)

You may learn what human spontaneous combustion
is all about when your brain decides it's had enough trying to restore
overcooled areas back to normal. Or at the very least other nasty problems.

(disclaimer: or so I'm told....)

Hey, the guy was melting already how much worse can it get! Out of
interest, would these 'nasty problems' be any worse than being
overheated in the first place? I wouldn't have thought (but will
quickly stand corrected) that there would be that much cooling in the
above (say compared with a sauna then a plunge pool). The cooling
effect uses the 'latent heat of vapourisation' (isn't it) from the
surface and the 'cold' would then have to conduct through the (wet)
fabric to the skin (not sure how efficient that would be). At the same
time the body would be heating the wet shirt up?

Isn't instant human combustion to do with high levels of phosphor or
summmat?

All the best ..

T i m

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:28:25 +0100, "Sparks" wrote:


I have one of these, and it works really well.
http://cirrus.tlc-direct.co.uk/Produ...AC12000DB.html
(The external unit is actually white (well mine is)

Can you disconnect the external unit from the internal? I already have a
duct through the wall for the vent on a monobloc unit, and I'd like
to pass the hose through that...

Yes, they have self sealing connections, just undo them, keeping the pipes
straight, and you should be just fine :-)

That's what I did and all is still ok ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 13:13:53 +0000 (UTC), "Rob"
wrote:


But at the mo my office with sun glaring at me through blinds plus PC and
monitor belting out loads of heat = 36C(97F) in the room!!!!! And thats with
two fans on. PC has been groaning about the heat too. Have got a fan blowing
on it now!!!

I'm meltinggggggggg!!

Thanks

Rob

Hi,

Are the only windows on the side that faces the sun?

I've found a good way of blocking heat from coming through blinds is
some sort of reflective material, like a foil car sunshade, foil
backed beach mat (both from a pound shop), or space blanket.

Also try and get as good a through breeze as possible, ideally so it's
also blowing out the window facing the sun.

cheers,
Pete.

T i m wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 13:13:53 +0000 (UTC), "Rob"
wrote:

But at the mo my office with sun glaring at me through blinds plus PC and
monitor belting out loads of heat = 36C(97F) in the room!!!!! And thats with
two fans on.

Am I right in thinking that the fans will actually add to the
temperature (motor heat)

A little, depending how efficient they are.

and it's only the chill factor that makes us
feel better?

Increased airflow reduces the thermal resistance between the thing
being blown on and the air. At a given air temperature, blowing that
air at an object generating heat will cool the object. That's why CPU
heatsinks have fans. The thermal resistance from the heatsink to the
air (and thus from the silicon to the air) is reduced and the silicon
will stay cooler than it would otherwise. Similarly when you stand in
front of a fan your core body temperature will reduce as the thermal
resistance from skin to air is reduced.

MBQ

T i m wrote:
This is England Adrian .. get past the next couple of days and it will
be snowing again! ;-)

Yep. William Hill odds for Snow on Christmas Day, anyone?

Hey, the guy was melting already how much worse can it get! Out of
interest, would these 'nasty problems' be any worse than being
overheated in the first place?

Oh I don't know, INAMP. Going from overheated immediately to overcooled
is a problem, it puts strain on the body's blood pumping system - which
may be something not good if other cardiac problems exist. Running your
cold water over your wrists may be a temporary solution that might make
feel good, but placing a heat pump there (or in your hat etc...) would
be a signal for the brain to start things compensating.

Doing it slowly is not a problem, and googling "heart attack" and "air
conditioning" reveals a clear benefit in installing these systems.

I wouldn't have thought (but will
quickly stand corrected) that there would be that much cooling in the
above (say compared with a sauna then a plunge pool). The cooling
effect uses the 'latent heat of vapourisation' (isn't it) from the
surface and the 'cold' would then have to conduct through the (wet)
fabric to the skin (not sure how efficient that would be). At the same
time the body would be heating the wet shirt up?

Yup. Laws of Physics helping out Laws of Nature by making sure wet
T-shirt owners don't over do it!

Isn't instant human combustion to do with high levels of phosphor or
summmat?

I went off to look at some web references. Found the topic so gruesome
that I apologise for raising it up in jest(!)

--
Adrian C

wrote:

will stay cooler than it would otherwise. Similarly when you stand in
front of a fan your core body temperature will reduce as the thermal
resistance from skin to air is reduced.

You also benefit from the ability to secrete moisture which in turn the
air flow will help evaporate. This gives living bodies extra cooling in
an air flow not available to heatsinks etc.

--
Cheers,

John.

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