Air Conditioned Garage

[richy]

Congrats. I picked up a portable a/c unit several years ago (actually it was way back in 2007). The whole thing cost in the neighbourhood of $500. It's not as convenient as yours, but is cheaper.

A/C unit setup


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[Audi X2]

Congrats. I picked up a portable a/c unit several years ago (actually it was way back in 2007). The whole thing cost in the neighbourhood of $500. It's not as convenient as yours, but is cheaper.

A/C unit setup


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I remember your post Richy and it was definitely inspirational. I considered a portable unit, but floor space is a premium for me so I opted for the mini-split.

[SR99]

Buddy, how big is the area you are cooling and what is the capacity of the unit? Did you oversize it to account for the low insulation in the walls (or maybe your garage is surrounded by the house on 2 or 3 sides?) and all the lights you might be running?

[Audi X2]

Buddy, how big is the area you are cooling and what is the capacity of the unit? Did you oversize it to account for the low insulation in the walls (or maybe your garage is surrounded by the house on 2 or 3 sides?).

I do not recall the exact square footage, but it is a fairly standard 2-car garage size leaning more to the smaller size.
I can look up the capacity of the unit, but it exceeds the calculation for the area. My A/C company did a load calculation and exceeded the minimum to ensure proper cooling.
My garage has no windows, has a well sealing insulated door, two of the three walls are outside walls-one of which is solid poured concrete and the other back wall of the garage is insulated.

[Durallymax]

That's COOL literally!

My shop is 50x60 cooling it down would be insane, I could only wish and it is starting to get super hot here in Florida, not sure if we can make it another summer, even with all three bays open and 2 big 42" fans its still too hot.

Some reason I can't see the pictures you uploaded.

Have you looked into port-a-cool type units?


Our shop is 60x80x18, we run a simple heat exchanger coil with well water circulating through it, it has a large squirrel cage fan on it. With it being a farm shop, I wish I could work with the doors open more for the fresh air and sun, but due to the amount of dust outside it would make a mess. Summers are far to humid here to want the doors open. Realistically we get about 2 weeks a year I'd maybe want them open. During the summer it keeps the shop very comfortable. Contrary to what many think, it does get very hot up here, we have enough days in the 100s and humidity is always 100,000%. This unit takes the humidity out, which is the big part. it can be only 5* cooler in there but with no humidity it will feel like a freezer. It keeps the temps down quite a bit. On the hottest days its still only 80-85 inside. However this setup probably would not work for many. It circulates a lot of well water (54*) then the used water just goes out to water the cows. The nice part about this is that the hotter it gets, the more water we need and the more water the cows drink, so it all works well. I am not sure how someone else would implement this. Possibly with geothermal? I don't think it would be efficient to try to recool the water, probably are more efficient solutions out there.




Nice setup OP, A/C makes the day go by so much nicer.

[RedXray]

Congrats on the new mini split!

I've had my a AC/Heat Pump mini split a few years and love spending time in the climate controlled garage! The unit is quiet and only draws 8 amps of power making it easy on the power bill.

[Bunky]

The unit is quiet and only draws 8 amps of power making it easy on the power bill.

I assume that is 220V?

[Audi X2]

I assume that is 220V?

AL, mine is 220V.

[SonOfOC]

Nice! Mini split is the way to go where ducts or central are not feasible.

Also loving the hug sub panel you have!

[BK11]

I assume that is 220V?

Hopefully it is 240V. Might want to call the power company if it's only 220