Hot insulated bungalows. Portable air conditioner recommendations pls!

andrew-b

.................

pinkmami

I have never lived in a bungalow before but we're in the process of renovating one. I went in yesterday to check ont he place & it was very very warm. We have no roof insulation in yet on the cavity wall & roof & windows. I am pleased though as its on a hill in snowdonia open to the harsh weather. I hope when the winter sets in it'll be all cosy. Otherwise during the summer I'll have to use fans as there isn't an option of putting in a velux!

How about a mobile air conditioning unint like this:

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10151&catalogId=1500001201&langId=110&searchTerms=air+conditioner&authToken=

greenhill

Don't know if this works & obviously there's the safety aspect of water & electricity:eek:.

I heard on the radio this week that if you lay a shallow tray of ice cubes in front of the fan, it cools the air.

bordercars

"I've tried the opening the loft hatch trick...but it made very little difference. Beyond a full install of air conditioning i can't see what else can be done but i'm open to ideas."

we live in a bungalow and have similar problems. one idea i had was to do with the loft hatch. how about installing a vent or 2 on the sides that run with the wind, thus wind pushes hot air through loft and out, you could also put in an extractor fan, i believe its the heat in the attic keeping the house hot.

puddy

Hi Andrew, we havent noticed the heat down here to be honest, when we lived in London it was stifling, however one of my tricks is to get in the shower, get out sopping wet and then lie on the bed with the fan over me, you'll be shivering in no time and then it seems to keep you cool for the rest of the night, but I dont know how to get the temperature down to be honest. We're lucky in that our bedroom is at the back (north) but the front rooms of the house do get warm. We keep all the back windows open where possible.

we did recently buy a dehumidifier for drying our washing in the utility room and the temperature drops significantly when thats on, a cheap version of air con. we got the value unit from argos

puddy

greenhill wrote: »

Don't know if this works & obviously there's the safety aspect of water & electricity:eek:.

I heard on the radio this week that if you lay a shallow tray of ice cubes in front of the fan, it cools the air.

its enough if you just stand a 2 litre bottle of ice cold water in front of the fan, safe and the dog wont eat the ice if you put ice in it

Swipe

At least you know you'll be warm in winter. My bungalow is very cool in summer (never more than 22C) but absolutely freezing in winter. I have max loft insulation and cavity wall insulation. I put it down to the suspended wooden floors that are riddled with air bricks. I actually have two air con units (for heating) and can't even justify having them on in summer as I'd die for 22C internal temps throughout the house in winter.

Ben84

I usually place the fan in a window with the back to the open window so that as well as the cooling effect moving air has on people, it also pulls in outside air which is normally cooler and helps reduce the room temperature. Not as effective as air conditioning, but it works pretty well.

jennifernil

If the house is well insulated, the insulation should keep it cool in summer if you stop the heat getting in in other ways.

If the windows are allowing too much solar gain, then you need to stop the sun getting in. Either the reflective film, outside shades, or shutters. Keep the windows there tightly closed when it is very hot.

Ventilate in the evening when it is cooler.

Owain_Moneysaver

Portable air conditioners are fairly ineffective. They pump hot air out through the hose. This air has to be replaced by other air coming into the room.

If the only obstacle to opening the bedroom window is security then a security grille might be worth considering.

Fans arranged to push air from the cooler side of the house can be very effective.

If you want to consider air con then a split unit is the only way to go. These are even available for DIY installation where the pipes are precharged with pressurised refrigerant, or some suppliers will hire you a vacuum pump to charge the pipes.

Legionella is not an issue with domestic air con systems as they aren't water based.

It may be worth considering air source heat pumps as, as well as providing cooling in summer, they can provide heat in winter, and may be eligible for Renewable Heat Initiative grants or payments.

muckybutt

My MIL lives in a park home and is also cursed with styfling heat in the summer months, if you have high enough ceilings you could put a ceiling fan up we did that at her place and it creates a lovely cool draught.
The other option which is what we would do is to install a self contained split air con unit, the inside units are generally very quiet so you would hardly notice that, the outside unit is slightly noisier but still quiet enough to talk over and be heard.
Units can be bough pre gassed now so can be dit done in a few hours.
Legionnaires is not found in these types of unit.