Feel the heat!

[arthurleung]

Last week my hall was getting so hot that all chocolate in my room have melted.

I wonder who designed my hall which I should not name), he must be thinking there is no global warming or expecting London to snow every day.

Since last week there was direct sunlight shining into this side of the hall, with our 1m x 1m DOUBLE GLAZING windows which opens inward on the top. You will be amazed the windows only open up to 5.4cm to allow fresh air in.

There is a 12x12cm PASSIVE exhaust vent which is shared in the flat, airflow through that is even less than a 5V 12cm fan, and a 9cm diameter exhaust fan in the toliet. And a normal kitchen exhaust fan (in the kitchen obviously).

So far I came up with 3 ways to cool my room:

1. Sticking Aluminium foil on my windows to reflect as much sunlight as possible. This also have the advantage of NOT using the curtains which blocks off the "fresh air gap".

2. Bought an evapourative cooler from maplin for 50 quids.
It makes my room a lot "wetter" but it does put the temperature down a bit. It is probably bad for my computers but heck I'd rather have 30% increase in humidity than my harddrives going over 55'C.

3. Shutting all the windows in my kitchen and keep the exhaust fan running at max, hoping that it will remove hot air from the flat (ducts are inter-connected in the flat but I don't see it going anywhere else)

4. Stick a desk fan near the windows trying to suck air through the windows

BEFORE: 30'C in daytime, 27'C nighttime
AFTER: 25'C in daytime, 23'C nighttime

New problems:
1. My room got a HELL lot noisier because of the new cooler
2. I have to fill it up with cold water from the tap every day
3. Room looks a bit ugly because of the aluminium foil sticking on the window.

From what I heard some of my hallmates living further up is 3 degree hotter than my room. Consider it is not even close to summer yet and we get this kind of temperature, I need to have more solutions to the problem until it is too late!

One of my hallmate even planning to get an AC just to get through the summer.

Open to any suggestion / comment

Arthur

[Whiternoise]

Shutting all the windows in the kitchen..? leave them open surely?

[TiG]

My office air conditioning hasn't been working for the last 2 years, we're currently averaging 32°C daily, and often reaches 37°C with all doors we can get open (inc fire exits etc)

I appreciate how you feel with the day heat, but damn how do you sleep?!?

If its like this and its Uni accomodation, this must be a known problem surely?, no last year students to ask?

TiG

[arthurleung]

Shutting all the windows in the kitchen..? leave them open surely?

Well, I thought that at first, but it only cools the kitchen (where no one lives there). If I close the windows, the exhaust fan will pull air from other rooms instead of from outside the windows.

If its like this and its Uni accomodation, this must be a known problem surely?, no last year students to ask?

When I just moved in it was that hot already (Early October), sent a maintainance note and they say it is by design so they can do nothing about it. Sometimes it gets cooler when the wind direction is fine. The thing is this hall opened just 2~3 years ago and it was on lease by my university this year so there was no one to ask LOL. And you get allocated into hall and you either take it or not

[kickstart 1]

Why dont you just get a couple of floor standing fans ?

[SiM]

Have you got a fridge in your room?
Leave it open

[Kezzer]

Have you got a fridge in your room?
Leave it open

It'll just warm up, refridgerators need to be enclosed to stay cool.

[SiM]

It'll just warm up, refridgerators need to be enclosed to stay cool.

Yeh, also it dumps the heat out the back so it will probably make the problem worse...

Do not use a fridge

[arthurleung]

Yeh, also it dumps the heat out the back so it will probably make the problem worse...

Do not use a fridge

Fridge -> Heat Generator

Nothing defies the Thermodynamics
Although I've been using ice-pack from the kitchen just to make my evaporative cooler cooler.

But who cares if the kitchen gets hot (it is the coldest place in the flat anyway)

Why dont you just get a couple of floor standing fans ?

There are only 4 plugs in the room sitting together, it really limits where you put the fans. And it doesn't really help if you stir the air inside the room. It actually make the room hotter by mixing the hot computer exhaust (already undervolted as low as I could) with the slightly cooler room air.

[dave87]

I feel so privileged that UEA fits restrictors to the windows, but they can be so easily bypassed. Window opens fully, nice breeze through if I open my room door too

[arthurleung]

I feel so privileged that UEA fits restrictors to the windows, but they can be so easily bypassed. Window opens fully, nice breeze through if I open my room door too

Very few rooms in my hall got double windows which open sideway and outward which have a nice breeze.

Talking about room door, I am 3 doors away from the nearest air-vent, or the staircase, 4 doors away from the nearest "open-area" which have windows. I could keep 1~2 doors open but no way I can keep 3 fire-doors open Let alone 4.

I would say my hall is the best in Imperial EXCEPT this temperature thing.

I very rarely need to shut the windows even if outside is snowing.

[OV3RCLOCK3R]

AC? Can be had for £150 for a good one

[TiG]

Oooo i got an idea, you able to get a sprinkler/water system onto the roof?. If you can the effect of evapouration from this would cool the halls down massively?



TiG

[finlay666]

my one gets rather hot (70's style with slide window)

I found having the window open is fine for keeping it cool for me (gf cant stand the cold though : \ )

you could always get some of the tubing for tumble dryers, stick a few big pc fans on the end in your room, and stick the other end hanging out the window (it folds up small so should fit fine)

[chuckskull]

you could always get some of the tubing for tumble dryers, stick a few big pc fans on the end in your room, and stick the other end hanging out the window (it folds up small so should fit fine)

Also putting a Tuniq Tower on your forehead will lower your core temp a lot. Remember some foreheads come concave or convex and you might need to lap yours to get a good contact.

[Howard]

My office air conditioning hasn't been working for the last 2 years, we're currently averaging 32°C daily, and often reaches 37°C with all doors we can get open (inc fire exits etc)

If that happened here my colleague and I would kick up such a fuss..

I wouldn't be able to work/concentrate in those temperatures, it's as simple as that, you are much more heat-tolerant than I!