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My bedroom is at the front of the house so the sun shines in strong, and it's on the second story so thats where all the heat goes, what is the best solution to beat the heat?

2006-06-17 05:52:40 · 23 answers · asked by trackgirl77 1 in Home & Garden Maintenance & Repairs

23 answers

"Ventilation" is the answer.

You say it's because the sun shines in, so that's the Greenhouse Effect, energy from the sun coming in as light (particularly infra-red light, which is not visible to the eye, but feels very warm), and then heating up the stuff and air in the room which basically traps the energy in your room. As more energy builds up, you get a hot room, hotter than the air outside, hotter than the air in the rest of the house. Part of the solution can be to block the sunlight from entering, but this is rarely enough because if the walls and (especially) roof heat up it doesn't matter about the drapes. Your solution must include getting the hot air out of your room, and replacing it with cooler air.

If you put a fan in your room, it will just blow the hot air around. This is better than nothing, because the wind over your skin dries the moisture from perspiration and it will make you a little cooler. But, if you put a fan in the window or door of your room, so it blows air either in or out, it will quickly clear the hot air and you won't need as much wind blowing to get a better cooling effect.

Do you have air conditioning and still have a heat problem? Is your room part of the air conditioned space? Or are we talking un-airconditioned? The answer is similar in any case, but the techniques will be completely different.

Central air conditioner is already trying to move the air around. You need to figure out why it is not moving enough through your room. Close down vents in rooms that are getting too much, and open up yours and open your door. But I'll assume that this is not what you are facing.

If opening your window and putting a fan in the open spot is not an option, then you need to open the door to your room and put a fan in that spot. You don't need a fan if there is a natural breeze, but then you'll need to make sure the air can flow in the natural direction, in or out your window, and then in or out your door to another open window in another part of the house.

How you best do this depends on whether you have more than one window, screens on the windows (are there bugs where you live), can you leave a window open elsewhere in the house, keep your door open, etc. It's really quite simple, but you need to think: Wind (from a fan or natural wind) needs to be able to move the hot air out of your room, and more cooler air needs to enter.

Natural wind will not do a U turn, so you'll need to have two openings on different sides of the room for natural wind. Fan-wind will do a U-turn because you force it, so you could just open 1 window at the top and bottom and fan one of the openings... Lots of possiblilities, just picture the air flowing and figure out where it needs to go.

Once you get airflow, you'll be amazed at how much cooler it is, and how quickly it happens. If there are two hot rooms in the house, air blowing out of one (via a window), and allowing to flow in the other (via a window) will cool them both.

2006-06-17 05:56:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4 1

The first thing to do is block the sun from coming in so much. If you can afford them, light-blocking curtains or curtain liners will do a lot towards keeping thing cool. If not, hanging blakets over the windows is a cheaper (albeit less effective) alternative.

Another thing is to install a ceiling fan. You'll be amazed how much difference a little air flow can make! If a ceiling fan isn't an option for you, a floor-standing fan will help.

2006-06-17 06:02:16 · answer #2 · answered by Bob H 2 · 0 0

The number one thing to do is keep the sun from shining in and bringing the heat with it. Put up drapes, blinds, whatever it takes to keep the room dark and cool. Use fans for ventilation too.

2006-06-17 05:58:45 · answer #3 · answered by besoseda 3 · 0 0

The best answer would be a small room size air conditioner. However, if you can't do that, put some foil on those windows to reflect the sun and that may help a bit. A small fan to circulate the air might also help.

2006-06-17 05:57:57 · answer #4 · answered by themainsail 5 · 0 0

I just bought a window A/C for the bedroom from Wal-Mart for $90. Works great. Best solution I came up with!

2006-06-17 13:00:21 · answer #5 · answered by djjay_2000_00 3 · 0 0

Keep the blinds closed so no sunlight comes in. Light is actually heat. The only other practical thing I can think of is a fan or AC.

2006-06-17 05:57:19 · answer #6 · answered by perfectlybaked 7 · 0 0

if your house has a/c already. try going to other rooms and closing the air grills in them slightly. this will push more air into your room. But dont just go through and start closing them all off, that will starve the unit or air and cause other major problems, a few slight adjustments should do the trick.

2006-06-17 06:07:14 · answer #7 · answered by cmantx2003 2 · 0 0

If a lot of sunlight gets in your room you might consider a way to darken the windows. Get a PATTON fan and aim it at the ceiling. I specified PATTON because they really move the air. There are others that are made like them that do a good job too.

2006-06-17 05:56:54 · answer #8 · answered by pottersclay70 6 · 0 0

covering your sun facing window with something dark can help keep the light and heat out of your room

2006-06-17 05:59:46 · answer #9 · answered by Logan A 2 · 0 0

Fans are probably the best way, but it also depends on where you live. I use an evap cooler in the summer and if the humidity isn't bad it works great.

2006-06-17 06:02:36 · answer #10 · answered by pfd139 1 · 0 0

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