Cooling a Florida Garage...

[mpire]

So I have the garage pretty well cleaned up. I am about to attempt to insulate the garage doors (3 car garage) and then I will be thinking about AC. I was thinking of just getting a big window unit and sticking it in the wall to the outside. Would that do the trick? If the garage is about 30x22, how much juice would I need? Walls are concrete block with no windows. Air conditioned second story above the garage does help with temps though.

Garage faces South, so it definitely gets some sun on the doors. I love the garage from October to March. Then its too hot during the days.

 

[terabyte]

So I have the garage pretty well cleaned up. I am about to attempt to insulate the garage doors (3 car garage) and then I will be thinking about AC. I was thinking of just getting a big window unit and sticking it in the wall to the outside. Would that do the trick? If the garage is about 30x22, how much juice would I need? Walls are concrete block with no windows. Air conditioned second story above the garage does help with temps though.

Garage faces South, so it definitely gets some sun on the doors. I love the garage from October to March. Then its too hot during the days.

i just went through this. i have a two car. a 12000btu (1ton) portable ac and its only enough to get it down to 78-79 but it helps more than you would think because it lowers the humidity a LOT! my recommendation would be to get a Mitsubishi mini split. and I have .75 inch thick insulation with the aluminum barrier.

 

[Car54]

Mpire? From bf.c?

12k BTU mini-split won't cool my FL work shop, it's 25x25 and has an insulated (with the shiney bubble wrap stuff) steel roof and plywood sandwiched walls. I think I need to get the surface temp down on the wall panels. A house garage may not have that issue.

 

[Car54]

Edit: A little sleuthing and it is!

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=770670&postcount=10

How's it going?! This place is crazy addictive.

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Just did what you are considering. Here's the install:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70420

Check c's list for cheap 12k units. You won't regret it.

 

[Bulldog13]

Read your install..nice work. What did you do to seal the exterior? I just bought a house in Florida with a AC wall mounted but it wasn't sealed on the exterior.I'm worried about geckos or other critters finding their way in.I way thinking of shooting spray foam around the unit...

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Start by getting your initial cut as close as possible to the size of the sleeve/frame you are going to put in first; mine was so snug I had to tap it in with a hammer. Next, fill in any gaps with spray foam. You need some mechanism to secure the sleeve/frame to the wall; I simply used some flat brackets bolted half to the wall and half to the sleeve/frame.

Slot the AC in. Again, I went for a snug fit. Make sure to achieve the proper slant toward the rear when you secure the AC to the sleeve/frame. I then used some flexible caulk to fill the small remaining gap.

I then made simple frames for the inside and outside. I dado'd the backs to accommodate any screw or bolt heads.


Now, if you are planning to regularly remove the unit or winterize it, you'll want to integrate some removability into your design. If had to remove mine, I'd cut the caulk, unbolt it, and slip it out.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Now, if you are planning to regularly remove the unit or winterize it, you'll want to integrate some removability into your design. If had to remove mine, I'd cut the caulk, unbolt it, and slip it out.

If you wanted to remove the unit in winter, I'd leave the sleeve in and make a tight fitting (with rubber seal) plug to fit inside the sleeve, and then get a cover sewn up for the outside.

Charles

 

[sams ron]

An exhaust fan in the roof would help. A swam cooler would be a great idea. Painting the outside white would also help prevent it from absorbing as much heat. If you can afford to do so, you could look at a roof covering that will reflect more solar energy than it absorbs. Even covering the roof with solar panels would make a difference - and you would save on your energy bills as well.

Another idea would be to plant/transplant a tree (or trees) so that it's shading the garage during the hottest part of the day. Moving a big enough tree to provide shade is not always practical, but it would make a huge difference.

 

[Gary S]

Unless you have a lot of money to flush away, insulate first. Get the walls up to at least R15, and the roof to around R40. Then after that work is done, look into AC.

 

[morpheus34711]

For my 20'X20' 2 car garage, would a 12K BTU unit be adequate? Orlando is scorching hot right now and is for most of the year.

For the record, I intend on insulating my garage door along with this install. Eventually, I'll get my ceiling done,too.

 

[terabyte]

For my 20'X20' 2 car garage, would a 12K BTU unit be adequate? Orlando is scorching hot right now and is for most of the year.

For the record, I intend on insulating my garage door along with this install. Eventually, I'll get my ceiling done,too.

i have a portable 12k and it gets my south florida garage down to 78-79ish. makes it very nice to work in because the humidity is cut in half it seems.

 

[Falcon67]

For my 20'X20' 2 car garage, would a 12K BTU unit be adequate? Orlando is scorching hot right now and is for most of the year.

For the record, I intend on insulating my garage door along with this install. Eventually, I'll get my ceiling done,too.

I use a 12K in my shop here. 20x24, was 84F on Sunday with the outside temp as 108F. Roof temp 160F.

As for "winterizing" - that's kinda **** IMHO, for a $400 window unit. just wrap the outside with a construction grade trash bag and some duct tape if you must. I leave mine open summer/winter. It's been there for 10 years and works just like when it was first installed.

 

[morpheus34711]

Thanks for the info, guys. I can't believe the price difference between the window AC units and the Wall-sleeve variety. It's insane.

 

[jtbinvalrico]

12k will definitely do the trick......Walmart sells a 12k ge unit for 295$....that's what I'll replace mine with one day when it blows up.

 

[BillGalbraith]

12k will definitely do the trick......Walmart sells a 12k ge unit for 295$....that's what I'll replace mine with one day when it blows up.

I read a review on the Haier a/c unit. It lasted a couple months for that reviewer. Sounds like ****.

Sam's Club has a GE unit for $229, Sears has Kenmores for $279 and $299.

 

[mpire]

I have a bedroom on top of the garage, so that definitely helps. Block wall on one and a half sides and non-insulated garage doors. I ordered a garage door insulation kit, and am looking into a mini-split for the wall.

On the wall I was going to put the AC, the opposite wall has my condenser for the house AC. If I have the two condensers blowing at each-other at right angles, would that effect them?

 

[mpire]

A swam cooler would be a great idea.

Swamp coolers don't work in Florida. Its already 100% humidity.