Condo Cooling Questions

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

is nudism an option?

I can't believe it is even a question?

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

I have the same problem as the OP. Looked into window films but was worried about heat buildup between the window panes cracking the glass. Is this a myth?

The coatings are essentially just changing the emissivity of the window to infrared radiation by reflecting it, while allowing visible light through. There shouldn't really be any heat buildup beyond whatever is normal for the glass, as the outer pane(s) wouldn't have the coating, allowing the reflected infrared radiation out.

[Matata]

+1 for window film, a more extreme version would be to buy some reflective tarps and tape them against the window frames (exterior would work better than interior). Don't underestimate how much energy is in a sunbeam.

[Matata]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Your best best is to put both fans in the doorway of each bedroom, drawing the cold air in from the floor of the living room and into the bedrooms. You don't remove any air from the apartment or draw in new air which will increase the duty cycle of the AC.

Word of caution, all the energy used by the fan eventually turns into heat energy. It will feel cooler, but your increasing the net heat load of the space.

e: an indoor fan is about 50W same as a light bulb, so running two fans is like keeping 2 lights on all the time, enough to noticeably increase the level of discomfort on a hot day.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

I have the same problem as the OP. Looked into window films but was worried about heat buildup between the window panes cracking the glass. Is this a myth?

http://www.windowfilmcanada.ca/myths-about-window-film

http://climatepro.com/2014/07/10/5-window-film-myths/

Let's just say that window film companies have paid to tell people that as long as your windows aren't incorrectly installed or old, the window should not crack.

Now, the window indeed is warmer with the tint on. But if windows tint was causing a ridiculous amount of windows to crack and fail, I'd assume they'd pull their product to avoid class action lawsuits. Many manufacturers of windows film hint that windows being warmer is normal, but the heat increase should not be high enough to make the window fail, but could accelerate a failing window to completely fail.

There is a caveat, but I don't think it falls for most individuals...

Here is a list of certain glass types or conditions where using solar control window film would be not be advised.

Tinted glass thicker than ¼”
Window frame systems made of concrete, solid aluminum or solid steel.
Glass where the sealant has hardened.
Visibly chipped or damaged glass.
Highly reflective, wired, textured or patterned glass.
Triple pane glass.
Laminated glass.

[Dynamic]

I bought a portable A/c for the bedroom and one hot summer day I decided to pull it to the living room as an experiement. It actually managed to cool my house down to that 24-25 range. I got a 1100 sq ft house and walking inside from a sweltering day it was still refreshing.

[Canehdianman]

Love this thread.

It reminded me to go take the cover off my behemoth air conditioner unit.

[Sluggo]

I have a large floor fan that fits nearly perfectly into a 20" sliding window in my bedroom. I have it set to push air out and crack a few windows open in the living room to get a nice breeze. It can cool the entire 1200 sqft condo -minus my roommates bedroom- to a few degrees of the outdoor temperature in around half a hour and there is even a significant inward draft that comes under our front door from the air-conditioned hallway outside.

If the OP already has all his hardware -the 2 fans and AC unit- I would try to use the fans first to cool the place in the evenings either 1 in and other out or both out on the same window if possible. What tends to happen with this set up is the cooler air will flow from the open window(s) and ride along the ground like a river towards the fan and out so using the air conditioner in fan mode or low power AC to mix the air in the living room would help keep things cooler although another fan preferably a ceiling fan would work best. Another trick to induce turbulence in the air is to only open the other window and the sliding patio door a few inches instead of wide open allowing for a focused jet of cool outdoor air to mix with the warmer room air better. You can also do the same thing with the doors only opening them inch or to and using a doorstop(s) to hold them in place

Of course on hot days I would leave the AC on during the day and use a bathroom or kitchen fan on to pull the cool air around your place more and if it becomes unbearable in the afternoon or evening open up the windows and switch on the fans.