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What are some solutions for cooling a hot room?
It’s the middle of summer in Atlanta, Georgia which means it’s hot hot hot. When temperatures are soaring in the upper 80’s, we can all agree that there is absolutely nothing better than walking into a cool, air-conditioned room. Unfortunately, there is one particular room at GuildQuality HQ that can’t seem to escape the heat. It is a 14′ x 20′ room with southern exposure, 16′ ceilings, lots of windows, and registers in the ceiling. The room shares a wall with the hallway where our thermostat is installed.
As it turns out, feeling the heat is a common issue many homeowners face. HVAC systems require careful balancing and maintenance in order to work properly, but sometimes the problem is structurally related and therefore cannot be easily fixed. We turned to the industry professionals on our Answers page in hopes of finding a simple solution to this common household occurrence. This is what they had to say:
Lindsey Ritzinger of Schmidt Siding & Window gave the following advice:
“I had a similar addition on a previous home and it was difficult to keep it cooler in the summer months. What ended up proving helpful was to put a small box fan on the floor outside of the room to draw the home’s air conditioning into that space. That teamed with controlling the sunlight with window treatments proved effective.”
Robert Johnson of Southern Home Improvement suggested that we first address these three questions:
- Were the proper windows (double-paned and Low-E) made for such a location installed?
- Is the room properly insulated?
- Does the existing HVAC unit have the capacity to cool the addition?
If the answer is yes for these questions, Robert gave this advice:
“Look at an auxillary cooling option. Simply cutting holes in the wall and adding an air-excahning fan may offer some relief, but if your system is being over taxed to cool this oven you will only have limited results. We’ve had clients with simlar situations, where a room was added or a porch was enclosed, and they have found relief with ductless split AC systems. They are very efficient, quiet, and serve as an auxiliary system moderating the extremes. This also gave them the option of closing their sunrooms off from the rest of the house while continuing to keep them comfortable.”
Emily Mason of Landmark Home Solutions offered these suggestions:
- Try keeping some blinds closed during the hottest periods of the day. This also helps reduce discolouring of furniture and flooring.
- Try circulating the air with multiple fans. Checking to see if the room is well insulated might prove to be beneficial as well.
- Check to see if the windows are sealed properly by looking for cracks or gaps in the frame. If the home is a bit older, it might be wise to have the windows checked professionally.
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