Lower the heat in the house! Awning? Stationary AC? Portable AC?

[snowjim]

Hello,

We have a single-story house with a basement from the 70s that is fundamentally a wooden house with a mexitegel facade. The basement is furnished as a second floor, and here the pellet boiler is centrally located.

In the basement, the walls are some form of concrete that is relatively easy to drill into. On the entrance level, there are wooden walls insulated with fiberglass, plastic, and thicker masonite boards (except in the kitchen where it's now OSB and gypsum).

The floor plan looks like this:

Entrance level:

http://i.imgur.com/QrJ4KuB.jpg

Basement:

http://i.imgur.com/HaETrGC.jpg

There is a ventilation system consisting of a fan in the attic controlled by a control panel in the hallway. This extracts air from the following rooms:

Entrance level: Hall (Kpr) and Toilet (bath)
Basement: Shower, Laundry room, Toilet, and Boiler room

All rooms have air supply vents.

The problem we have is that as soon as summer heat arrives, the house becomes very warm on the entrance level. It is not uncommon for it to be 27-28 degrees in the hallway (Kpr) where there are only 3 small windows. This of course leads us to seek refuge in the basement, which is very pleasant but at the same time limiting.

We notice that when the sun moves over the house to the southwest, the rooms on this side become noticeably warmer. Even after the sun has gone down, it's very difficult to cool down.

So the question is, how can we lower the temperature on the entrance level without creating cross-draft? We have considered fixed air-to-air but it probably will not be easy to achieve an even distribution with only one machine and moreover, it's supposed to be quite expensive to cool if I understand correctly?

Another option might be 2-3 stationary AC units that can be moved around but they are generally quite noisy and expensive to run.

Something that many seem to go for is awnings! How effective are they really? And is there a brand you can buy and install yourself of more reasonable quality? Or does it pay off to let an awning installer install and service everything?

 

[Stefan N]

Portable AC units are completely useless, install an air/air and go for it, it doesn't cost much to cool down.

 

[snowjim]

Portable ACs are completely useless, install an air/air and go for it, it doesn't cost much to cool down.

We have tried portable AC before and actually thought it worked quite well. But sure, an air/air is probably much better as long as you can circulate the air in the house.

The question is, however, how effective are awnings? I get the impression that they work well considering how many people have them?

 

[snowjim]

I saw that an air-to-air wasn't that expensive!? 12,000 - 13,000? For example, this one: https://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=1390886

But do you think our floor plan would have worked? And what about the active ventilation system?

 

[fredl]

Maybe a multi-split would work? We have a Daikin L/L in the bedroom that we use only for cooling. Thinking about installing it in more places.

Edit: We have awnings, blinds, double-pleated and IKEA's Enje. Regular double-glazed windows. Brick facade. Split-level house.

Active cooling is the only thing that works even if the cooling needs are reduced through awnings, etc.

 

[Stefan N]

A portable AC must have the ability to vent the heat through a window or similar, otherwise, it has no effect whatsoever, just a lot of hassle with hoses and such. I run the AC (air/air) for an hour when it's hot, then you have a cool and comfortable environment.

 

[snowjim]

So awnings make little difference then?

Well, portable AC does of course need a hose out and that's a bit troublesome.

What do you think about placing an AC above the front door?

 

[fredl]

So, do awnings make little difference then?

Yes, portable AC naturally needs a hose out, which is a bit tricky.

What do you think about placing an AC above the front door?

Depending on the cooling capacity, it can work differently well. Cold air is heavy and seeks downward. We've tried various models of portable AC at different times. It's not comparable to a real split system like L/L, especially regarding noise levels. A good supplier with expertise in cooling can help suggest a good solution. You can calculate it.

I would place it in the bedroom (if you run with open doors, then possibly in the hallway if it can blow into several rooms from one position) and in the room where we spend most of our waking time.

 

[Stringfellow Hawke]

So do awnings make a little difference then?

Of course, a portable AC needs a hose out and that's a bit tricky.

What do you think about placing an AC above the front door?

Awnings make a huge difference but cost a bit, significantly cheaper to operate though! I can imagine that your brick facade stores a lot of heat and makes it difficult to lower the temperature in the evening.

 

[prototypen]

The bedroom faces directly east. I put up an awning (which goes all the way down to the wall), now all plans for AC have been shelved.
Keep in mind that one square meter of window can let in 1 kW of sunlight, so an AC has a lot to contend with.

Protte

 

[Janus82]

Step number one is to ensure that no heat enters the house. You can best achieve this with awnings on the outside and, secondly, with blinds or blackout curtains on the inside. Once you've addressed that part, you can start considering an AC to further increase comfort, but as long as the sun is shining through the windows, an AC is completely wasted.

 

[snowjim]

Have the bedroom facing directly east. Installed an awning (that goes all the way down to the wall), now all plans for AC are shelved.
Keep in mind that one square meter of window can let in 1 kW of sunlight, so an AC has a lot to struggle against.

Protte

In our case, we have a conservatory by our bedroom, sure it gets warm but not uncomfortably warm. It's definitely the most uncomfortable in the kitchen and adjoining bedroom.

But it sounds like the awning really makes a big difference! What is your house made of?

 

[snowjim]

Step number one is to make sure no heat enters the house. You best solve this with awnings on the outside and secondly with blinds or blackout curtains on the inside. Once you've addressed that part, you can start considering an AC to further increase comfort, but as long as the sun shines through the windows, an AC is completely wasted.

The heat probably enters the house through the walls but primarily the windows. The walls are hard to manage, but you can feel it when you stand 1 meter from the house outside, and the heat hits you.

When it comes to windows, we initially tried roller blinds, but the problem is that they stop the heat only after it's already entered the room. Awnings stop the heat/sun rays already outside the building, which likely makes quite a big difference.

Most companies have rather large windows without awnings, and yet AC works excellently there. But yes, there is more heat to fight against.

Still, perhaps we should look at awnings as the first solution, as it seems quite popular.

 

[Noseone]

Blinds (between the glass) are better than roller blinds. But awnings are even better. Blinds cost about 5-700 per window, so start with that.

 

[snowjim]

Blinds (between the glass) are better than roller blinds. But awnings are even better. Blinds cost about 5-700 per window, so start with those.

It seems quite unnecessary to spend 3000-4000 SEK on a solution that might not work all the way. If you later install awnings, you won't have any use for blinds. Of course, I mean buying awnings that can be fully lowered.

Blinds stop some of the heat inside the window, but the window becomes like a radiator, more or less. Roller blinds are, of course, worse as the "radiator" is positioned further inside the room.