Theoretical Cooling Options??
Here’s the dealy. Very much welcome any thoughts on what might be best approach. We occupy top two floors of 3-floor house. Tenants have bottom floor. I need to cool our space only. Maybe with potential to expand if we ever take over whole house – not a high priority. Have gone through pretty extensive…
Here’s the dealy. Very much welcome any thoughts on what might be best approach.
We occupy top two floors of 3-floor house. Tenants have bottom floor. I need to cool our space only. Maybe with potential to expand if we ever take over whole house – not a high priority. Have gone through pretty extensive renovations already and (perhaps incorrectly) didn’t bother with central air I’d love to do something that’s not too invasive. Standard story – top floor gets rather toasty in summer.
A large window A/C does fine cooling bottom floor but looks tacky. Top floor is a different matter, especially since window units in each of three bedrooms isn’t physically practical.
Been told that a whole house fan could cool things down a lot, that insulating the ceiling will cool and help in winter. Plus there’s those mister slim thingys that I don’t know too much about.
Ideal solution wouldn’t be too intrusive. Plus I don’t think I need a ton of cooling power. Any thoughts on best approach? Thanks,
FYI, there is considerable cooling gain in getting an energy star “cool roof paint” that maximizes the albedo reflectance of the paint. In other words, silver or white paints are much better than black, but roof paints are now being formulated to maximize how much solar radiation bounces back off the roof, and the data looks good on how much cooler the roof surface is mid-summer than a silver/white regular paint roof. More info: Cool Roofs Council, http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/coolroof/, etc.
If I did a whole house fan I’d want to do it in a way that replaced the roof hatch with a hatch/fan combo that would be waterproof and easy to open in case of emergency but break-in proof. it’s the highest point other than skylights and the hole is already there.
I love those whole house fans built into old victorians – they work wonderfully.
We used to put a window fan in a window of the attic of our (non-victorian) house growing up, and leave the attic door open – worked some to cool the second floor bedrooms, but not as well as those built-in whole house fans.
I’ve always been curious – is it possible to build a whole house fan into a brownstone? I’d think you’d have to build a little structure like a high hat on the roof, or a box just inside, to house it. Would it work to cool lower floors, even you you hadn’t opened up those floors to the stairhall by removing large sections of walls?
minisplit is optimal because it doesn’t just cool your home, it provides a level of comfort because it doesn’t allow the air to be moist. it’s pricey but in the long run it’s the best option
Oh… bfarwell, look at you makin’ a funny.
“Standing on my friend’s roof deck in Park Slope, it’s amazing to see how many black roofs there still are in the neighborhood.”
Hunh. I thought they’d all be gentrified out.
Oh, and of course a roofer could do it. Probably not that expensive either.
The roof painting is easy. You can get it at Lowe’s or Home Depot.
It’s aluminum roof coating. Just looked it up on Lowe’s website and a 4.75 gallon bucket costs $60 and covers 250 sq feet. “BLACK JACK 4.75 Gallon Silver Seal 300 Fibered Aluminum Roof Coating”
You have to clean your roof first. So maybe another $50 in supplies for cleaning and application things, unless you already have ’em.
And wasn’t the city (through GreeNYC) giving out subsidies for this a while back?
Standing on my friend’s roof deck in Park Slope, it’s amazing to see how many black roofs there still are in the neighborhood. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
How does the roof painting work? Does a roof person do that?