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[detsuo04]

Ok here is my problem.  I just moved into a single room sharing a bathroom and kitchen with others. My windows are all sealed shut or built never to open.  The problem i'm having is heat.  the room gets so hot it makes me sick to my stomach all day every day.  Is there a way to cool the room without a window unit.  Central air works just not near well enough and a fan simply wont make a dent in the heat.  with central on the rest of the house is frigid but my room is still boiling hot.  anyone have an idea?

[nichaey]

stop masturbating and open the door .


or just put on shorts and place a fan right next to you on max.

[G-Flex]

Central air conditioning should work fine, but you probably aren't getting enough ventilation, presumably because the door is shut too much. If it weren't, you could get the air from the AC circulating well enough to reach your room, through a fan or other means.

I find it odd that your windows were never meant to open, or are sealed shut. I'm not sure why someone would do that.


There's essentially no good way to cool down a room without expelling the heat somewhere, so I don't really know what options you have. Keeping the shades drawn during the day might help, I guess.

[detsuo04]

Shades are always closed.  the room is part of an antique house that was broken into apartments.  I shut the door so me and my wife can have some privacy and use our computer and tv without disturbing others.  as for opening the door it doesn't work all that well and i really am looking for an option that will allow me to keep it closed.  the room is on the side of the house that gets baked by the sun all day long and it retains that heat through the night.

[G-Flex]

Honestly, I'm not sure what you could do aside from modifying the house (like putting something up on the outside to block the sun a bit during the daytime). Your options are limited, since you can't really get any ventilation going, which, like I said, is a problem in itself.

[smigenboger]

ew, that was a bad deal. Talk to your landlord to see if he/she can help you with this. Although some landlords are evil, some are very supportive. You will probably have to mess with the window.

For the obvious answer, computers can act like little heating coils, since that's basically what they are. Keep it off when you aren't using it. Don't know about TVs.

[SIGVARDR]

If your windows are what I'm thinking they are,the standard double-hung,they probably are just painted shut.Just open them.If a window breaks in the process,big deal.cite Un-safe living conditions and have the landlord foot the bill.
Heat stroke is serious shit,after all.Even if the window type is the kind that doesn't open,take out one of the glass panes.Install air conditioner and cardboard,and copious amounts of duct tape to cover it.

Really,check with your landlord.Even if they object to you opening a window,check the states building codes,all bedrooms need a window,usually a functioning one and most require better-than-the-attic ventilation.

[mendonca]

A few incoherent thoughts,

- Bear in mind a fan will actually heat up the room you are in: It makes you more comfortable due to the air movement over you, but there is still an electrical appliance on in the room, and some heat will be generated here.

- Shades are also a good idea to make you more comfortable, but if they are on the inside of the window, the air temperature of the room is still increasing as the solar gain has already made it in to the room.

- External blinds would stop the direct solar gain, as would anything else. stupid idea, but why not tape some kitchen foil up on the outside face of the window!?
Daylight, be damned, but it will slow down the solar gain.

- Do you know if the 'central air system' is actually working? Also if the outside air is too hot and there is no cooling applied to this central air system, this air will not necessarily cool the inside air down.: File a complaint with the landlord and tell him the fan isn't working, or isn't working to duty. He might at least go and have a look at it, whether you are right or wrong.

- Also sounds to me like there is a bit of an issue with ventilation generally, high external temperatures notwithstanding. In the UK I could not get away with designing an occupied space without at least some reasonable natural ventilation or up to 4 air changes an hour mechanical ventilation. Remember also someone will have to paint that room at some point, without reasonable ventilation the painters and decorators are liable to end up 'high'.

- Remove / Reduce internal gains, switch off unneccesary lights / appliances / fridges etc.

- Make yourself more comfortable by increasing airflow over yourself, and getting out of the way of the sun. Also take off your clothes.

[G-Flex]

Stop it. You guys are providing good advice. You're making the rest of the subforum look bad.

[Hyndis]

I'm confused about the windows. Windows made to never open? The only windows that are built like that are the windows on very tall buildings like skyscrapers due to air pressure problems, but those buildings have a large amount of ventilation to compensate.

The windows must open. That is a severe building flaw right there. A room designed to be occupied that has no ventilation? Its fine for a closet or small utility room to be unventilated, but thats not fine for a bedroom.

[SIGVARDR]

There are "picture" style windows that are set in,and do not open,but they're fairly uncommon.And mostly there in living rooms,or kitchens,or bathrooms.Don't think I've seen a picture style in a bedroom.

[Grakelin]

I'm confused about the windows. Windows made to never open? The only windows that are built like that are the windows on very tall buildings like skyscrapers due to air pressure problems, but those buildings have a large amount of ventilation to compensate.

The windows must open. That is a severe building flaw right there. A room designed to be occupied that has no ventilation? Its fine for a closet or small utility room to be unventilated, but thats not fine for a bedroom.

I used to live in an old house (Circa 1903 or 1904), and the windows aren't made for opening, they're made for decoration. None of our windows opened, either.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Your local municipal fire code probably requires that any bedroom in a building have an openable window for escape and ventilation purposes. Look it up. It might be in your state's legal code. You don't have to be a lawyer, just use Google and look for one of the Titles that has to do with fire, or safety, or something like that. It might be under building codes.

As others said, they might just be painted shut.

Anyway, try putting up an aluminum foil sheet on the outside of your blinds. The metal is a good conductor of heat, but it's also very reflective, so it should work better than just white blinds. Keep the blinds down all day.

Shut down your computer when not in use, to keep the heat low.

Try to convince your landlord to do something - it may be possible to get the AC ducts extended to your room, but he's probably not going to want to go through the expense.

You might need to move.

[Hyperturtle]

If your computer use is disturbing others, is it from sound?  Mute it or use headphones so you can open the door.

I understand if you want privacy using your PC, but you may have to decide between that and cooler air.

In my office here, it can get plenty hot with the computers running.  I have a tower fan that oscillates.  At some points I plug in a fan and aim it OUT of the doorway.  this causes the hot air to go into the hallway.

As someone noted, turning things off when not in use is a good idea.  The computer does heat things up.  Even a monitor on power-save mode is still using power.  Shut it off when not in use and have a screen saver kick in in five minutes (to put the monitor in power save) when you are just walking away for a while.  (Note that can be annoying when watching a video).

Having speakers turned on all the time contributes to heat.  Same with AC adapters plugged in all the time.  not only are they "energy vampires" but they contribute to the heat.

If possible, make sure the AC/furnace filter is on the clean side.  you'll have better circulation with a clean filter.

The temperature in this room can change by 10F by simply powering everything off.  In the winter, I actually leave things on because it is cheaper to heat the room that way than crank up my traditional thermostat, which heats up the whole place rather than just one room.

As for the windows being sealed, I am also familiar with that situation, as a friend of mine's mother (or was it his wife?  well it has been a while but...) had severe allergies and they caulked and weatherstripped all the windows shut.  Their energy bills were horrendous with the AC always on.

Also, how many incandescent light bulbs are in the room?  Replace those with those compact flourescent bulbs... you may not like the way they light the room, but it will reduce the heat.  Incandescent bulbs literally light up because of the heat of the filament inside the bulb.  That heat has to go somewhere and is radiated out into your room.

[Grakelin]

I have the solution.

When nobody is home, smash open the window from the outside, drop in a baseball, and go out shopping.

Return to see everybody freaking out. New window will open. Done.