Cooling the garage-Am I crazy?

[Suzy]

Hi all, we have a 1 car garage and live in South Texas, the garage is not air conditioned and the heat and humidity are unbearable for at least 9 months of the year so we have been discussing getting air conditioning.

We have a problem that stops us from just buying a ductless a/c and installing it.  The problem is with the wind certificate on file with Texas.  This cert has to be paid for and approved when any work is done on the house and that includes the installation of air conditioning.  The last certificate on the house was for 2012 when we purchased the home and a new roof was added, so we aren't interested in starting over just for air conditioning.

I think I have found the solution to our problem and wanted to run it by you all.

1.  We need to add a/c to the garage so that we can use it during the spring, summer and fall.

2.  We cannot cut holes in our siding to add a ductless a/c without paying for a new windstorm certificate.

My solution is two fold.

1.  Purchase a Vent-A-Garage Air Exchange System, it comes in a two car garage setup and ours is only one car. 

I plan to use both the exit fans on the single garage door to vent out the high heat we have during the hot humid times.   That should provide plenty of air movement.

I was thinking that if we installed the two air inlet vents on the wall between the laundry room and the garage, it would allow for some of the cooler air from the the house to enter the garage allowing for less humidity to enter the garage. 

We would need to cover those inlet vents when cutting wood on the panel saw but otherwise, all other cutting is done outside.  We do have a mini cyclone to help out with the air borne dust as well.

Here is the link to the Vent-A-Garage Air Exchange System, there are a couple of videos on installation and how it works.

http://vent-a-garage.com/more-information/faqs/

2.  We purchase a portable air conditioner with a hose venting outside using a Garage Door Exhaust Port.  We would need to unplug the venting system while using the air conditioner but it would be worth it to have a/c when working in the garage.

Here is the link to the Garage Door Exhaust Ports and some lock for security when not in use.

http://ddmgaragedoors.com/parts/exhaust_ports.html

What do you think of my plan?  Do you think it would work and we could have some relief from the hot humid air in the hotter months?  Am I truly crazy with impossible ideas on the solution to our problem?

[Suzy]

Thanks Ken, we have a few fans and my husband thought about putting them in corners but there really isn't enough room to do that.  Even having a few fans in the heat of summer with the humidity doesn't do much to make it comfortable.   The only difference would be the inside the garage is shady and cooler that way than standing outside in the sun, except it doesn't change the humidity in the air.

[Ken Darga]

I often work in the heat and humidity, and fans are effective.

Air movement does have a cooling effect, resulting from heat being drawn from the body to evaporate perspiration.

[Suzy]

Thanks Ken, I know you are trying to help and I appreciate all you and everyone else has provided for me. 

I can't run a fan when I am sanding to get ready for refinishing, I don't want my air destroyed by the particles in the air.  I can't do the fine sanding outside when the heat and humidity are at full boar.  I am trying to work out how I can comfortably work in a hot/humid weather condition inside my garage.

I guess what I haven't conveyed here in a clear way is that I cannot take the humidity regardless if I have a fan or not.  The humidity takes everything from me, my energy is sapped pretty quickly.

[Rick]

Suzy, I think you have already come up with the best solution -- a portable A/C with hose venting thru the garage door.  It will also operate as a dehumidifier, which will really help your comfort level.  I recommend the smallest one you can find, and run it a longer time, since that is more efficient at removing moisture.

Secondly, it would help if you could insulate and seal the garage the best you can.

Suzy said:

I guess what I haven't conveyed here in a clear way is that I cannot take the humidity regardless if I have a fan or not.  The humidity takes everything from me, my energy is sapped pretty quickly.

[Suzy]

Thanks Rick, I do think that is the best direction to take and I have been side lined lol, my son is getting married so cash and ideas are going somewhere else.  :)

[Tim Grace]

Sounds reasonable.  The Vent-A-Garage seems like a good choice.  If the inlet ports are coming from the cooler house, is there a need to cover them when working?  The flow would always be from the house and out the exit port in the garage door.

[Norbert]

Trick my dad would do for the house would be to open the house on one side and run the fan blowing out a window on the other  like at 4-5 in the morning till about630 . kept the house reasonable cool till mid afternoon.  Maybe try something like that for your garage- early morning cooling.   Does your garage have an access panel to the attic? maybe open that let some heat flow up. and out if you have like  gable vents or' reverse blow' out on the soffit eaves? , As to dust a friend of mine has a JDS air filter hanging in his  20 x 14 shop and swears by it as best purchase for helping keep airborne dust down.... just my .002 cents worth of ideas

[Suzy]

I think you are right, I probably wouldn't need to cover the inlet ports from the house.  Maybe some of my a/c from the house would go out to the garage too, but I'm not sure it would do much since the laundry room is the room to the garage.  It's is usually warm and humid in there even with the door from the house open.

Tim Grace said:

Sounds reasonable.  The Vent-A-Garage seems like a good choice.  If the inlet ports are coming from the cooler house, is there a need to cover them when working?  The flow would always be from the house and out the exit port in the garage door.

[Suzy]

Thanks Norbert for your 2 cents, it is welcome here.

We have a ridge vent and the usual eave and roof vents.  The only opening to the attic would be the entry ladder so that can't come down while we are working in there, it would be in the middle of the room and somewhat blocks the entry door to the house.  As far as opening windows and blowing things out doesn't work here.  The heat and humidity is 24/7 during the summer here with 2:00 am being 95 degrees and 110% humidity.  Opening windows in those conditions would only make the a/c work harder to get out the new humidity that enters the house. 

I think the best bet for us is to setup the garage as I outlined above and just open the garage when going out for the first time of the day and blow out the high heat and humidity with a fan.  Then use a portable a/c to remove the humidity with the door closed.  I used to open windows and run fans just as you describe when I lived in California, I ran the a/c twice a year at the most because it was easy to keep the house cooler by doing what you describe and keeping the curtains drawn.

Norbert said:

Trick my dad would do for the house would be to open the house on one side and run the fan blowing out a window on the other  like at 4-5 in the morning till about630 . kept the house reasonable cool till mid afternoon.  Maybe try something like that for your garage- early morning cooling.   Does your garage have an access panel to the attic? maybe open that let some heat flow up. and out if you have like  gable vents or' reverse blow' out on the soffit eaves? , As to dust a friend of mine has a JDS air filter hanging in his  20 x 14 shop and swears by it as best purchase for helping keep airborne dust down.... just my .002 cents worth of ideas

[Christopher Richard]

The task is pretty simple to cure this.  What you need is called a "mini-split" system. We install these all over North Texas to deal with the problem you mention. It is a 2 piece unit with a fan coil on the inside and a smaller unit outside. Requires NO DUCTING only a small hole drill in the exterior wall to run your coolant and electric lines. I actually have these installed in my house instead of a large main system as I can balance the house better with separate units They are easy to install and fairly cheap.  1300.00 to cover 900 square feet of space and that is 20 SEER. That makes it tax deductible too. Cheaper can be had for less SEER.  Better units also include a heat strip in it as well to help the heat pump work down to 10 degree's . Look up a company called "ThermoCore" as they have the best printed info and instructions as to how they work. Wiring is simple and you just need a 20 amp/2 pole breaker and 10/2 wiring.

[Christopher Richard]

Sorry I didn't read all your post before replying. If you start chopping up the existing AC to add vents you risk changing the air balance. You can get a portable wheeled AC unit like this. We use these all the time when remodeling hospitals. The company is thermospace and not thermocore.  That is the name of some of their units.

http://www.thermospace.com/portable_ac/14000/lx_140.php

These are great units for both heating and cooling small spaces without any zoning issues. Maybe an electrician to run a new circuit is all.

[Suzy]

Thanks, that looks like a nice a/c unit.