Garage A/C

S

Sir_Matthew

Member
Hi all,

I'm looking at a rental house that has a nice one-car garage which could house my studio nicely. I've seen stand-alone air conditioning units that are basically like window units but without the necessity of a window, just an exhaust hole.

A couple of questions spring to mind:

- Has anyone cooled a garage studio using this method, and if so, how did it work out?

- How many BTUs would the A/C unit need to effectively air condition your average one-car garage?

As always, I look forward to your valuable input.
 
I wouldn't think that you would want to put that in there because that AC will make a heck of a lot of noise. You won't be able to mix with it on. IMHO
 
I can see that, though I've had that problem regardless. I've had to turn off central A/C for tracking in most places I've lived. I run it really high for a while, getting the joint extra frosty, so I can leave it off for a half hour or so of tracking. Not ideal, but neither is having a studio in a rental house. "C'est la vie" say the poor folks...
 
Yeah, that is what your are going to have to do. I'm not sure if this is a issue, but what about the gear. Will is be OK to go up and down 10-15 degrees all the time?
 
I do hate that aspect of it, but I'm not sure of a way around it. An additional bedroom in the area we want just costs too much, though we're looking around just in case.

The other downside, of course, is the damned electric bill for such a thing. That calculation will have to be included in the overall cost vs. the cost of an extra bedroom. Still pondering...
 
Okay, so I know y'all think I'm completely nuts, but hear me out. What if, inside the one-car garage, I constructed an insulated inner room, like all the soundproofing books suggest? Less space to air condition, and it might stay a more consistent temperature.

Thoughts? Dire warnings? Anyone? Bueller?
 
I don't know the ratings vs. sq ft of the units, but they are printed on the side of the box when you look at them in the store, so it's not too hard to figure out. The electric bill isn't that horrible, air conditioning is much less expensive than say electric heat. I have a unit to cool my workshop, which is 140 sq ft. It runs about 4 amps, and is only on about 1/3 of the time on hot days.

If you build a room inside the room, you still have to cool that, and potentially you have made the job more difficult because the unit has to vent to the outside.
 
Sir_Matthew said:
Okay, so I know y'all think I'm completely nuts, but hear me out. What if, inside the one-car garage, I constructed an insulated inner room, like all the soundproofing books suggest?
Click to expand...

Try that, but also look at the soleus air mini splits. They even have ones with heaters built in. You can get one for around a grand, or less, for a one car garage. Also, 43 db operating volume!!! :D

Good luck!
 
mshilarious, I thought having a smaller space to cool would be easier, i.e. less square footage. I'd just have to get an extension for the exhaust to get it all the way outside. I guess I'm not sure what you're saying.

Blue Groove, thanks for the tip on the Soleus, I'll check that out.
 
Sir_Matthew said:
mshilarious, I thought having a smaller space to cool would be easier, i.e. less square footage. I'd just have to get an extension for the exhaust to get it all the way outside. I guess I'm not sure what you're saying.
Click to expand...

Sure, it would cost less to cool a smaller, insulated space, but it is not particularly difficult to cool a larger space, you just need a larger unit. You have to compare the cost of construction to the cost of the larger unit + electricity.

Also, you don't extend the exhaust outside, for several reasons: the exhaust duct would get rather hot, which would make cooling less efficient; there is also the need to drain the condensate water off the coils. So, you would have to hang the unit on the exterior wall, and build separate ducts for intake and return from the unit. At some point, it becomes cheaper and more efficient to install a central air unit with separate air handler and outdoor units.

The best bang for your buck would probably be to install an appropriately sized through-wall unit and insulate the existing walls.
 
Well, I did some math (reluctantly as always) and decided that the extra cost of a 3-bedroom per month would still be less than the amount of rigging I would have to do on the garage. We just signed a lease on a 3-bedroom house with a very large third bedroom that will fit my studio needs perfectly. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best.

Thanks so much for all your input. I'm sure I'll have something else to ask you all about after yet another year has passed, as is my normal habit...
 
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