So, for the nth year in a row the air conditioning system in our office is busted. It's not even summer yet and it's already way too hot in here. I need some way of keeping cool and sane.
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posted by backseatpilot
on May 21, 2013 -
33 answers
I found this wet sponge-like thing in my air conditioning unit. What is it?
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posted by jcatus
on May 11, 2013 -
4 answers
In the heat, Bedouins wear long, flowing robes. Westerners wear shorts and short-sleeved shirts and wide-brimmed hats. What are the advantages of the robes?
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posted by musofire
on Aug 17, 2012 -
20 answers
Will turning up the thermostat on my central air and buying a window AC unit for the one room I use the most make a significant difference in my electric bill?
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posted by Vorteks
on Aug 8, 2012 -
14 answers
Do I really need a wall air conditioner? Can put a window one in the same place?
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posted by leticia
on Jul 4, 2012 -
9 answers
I have a 1700 square ft. house. I have an air conditioner/heating system that is set up to operate with the whole house as one zone. I have one room that is out of proportion to the rest of the of the rooms in the house (much larger, much higher ceiling) that is always hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. So I'm thinking the solution is for that room to be separated into a second zone. How?
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posted by BlahLaLa
on Jun 28, 2012 -
14 answers
Different Central air conditioner and furnace brands? When it comes to HVAC, should we go with Carrier, Goodman, York, or Lennox?
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posted by exhilaration
on Jun 7, 2012 -
15 answers
It's the classic New York summer conundrum. How do I keep my loft bed cool when it lies ABOVE my window unit air conditioner?
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posted by manzanita
on May 29, 2012 -
20 answers
I bought a new (to us) house; the 2-zoned A/C worked very well for a week of very hot weather. Starting this weekend, it was having trouble cooling. The evaporator is not iced; the thermostat seems okay. What to look for?
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posted by ftm
on May 29, 2012 -
7 answers
I need a recommendation for a window air conditioner unit. Preference: as quiet and energy efficient as possible.
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posted by aparrish
on May 26, 2012 -
8 answers
I've been without air conditioning for the past two weeks in my apartment, and it seems like it will be another two weeks before I get it. My landlord doesn't seem to care, and I don't know if I have any options in this situation.
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posted by trogdole
on May 3, 2012 -
13 answers
I have air conditioning vents in the floor at the side of the room. The vents can be angled in different directions. If I put a large dresser against the wall, above a vent, with clearance of a few inches, will it be substantially detrimental to heating/cooling?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94
on Mar 26, 2012 -
8 answers
Apparently as the air system in our office building has degraded, the heat in our offices during the spring and fall when the AC shuts off has become unbearable as air that is hotter than outside is blown around. Bad for people, but worse for our server room. It has gotten to the breaking point and we need to do something. I'm looking for a way to cool off our servers in the transition periods between winter and A/C being turned on.
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posted by charred husk
on Mar 15, 2012 -
13 answers
It is hot in LA, and we were just gifted with a window-unit air conditioner! Hurrah! We have bars on all our windows! Boo! We've rigged up a very rickety looking system and it works, but...I feel like we might be setting ourselves up for disaster?
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posted by fillsthepews
on Aug 28, 2011 -
6 answers
House: The Sequel has baseboard heating. It also used to have a whole-house humidifier (removed when I installed a new boiler). Possibly because of the humidifier, the house appears to have at least three ducts w/grilles, two on the first and one on the (compact) second floor. Here's the question: could those ducts be repurposed for central A/C? (Obviously, it might be necessary to run additional ductwork off the extant ducts.) My Google-fu is failing me, perhaps because it's currently eighty-six degrees in my office.
posted by thomas j wise
on Jul 12, 2011 -
2 answers
Portable/window air conditioners appear to give me headaches, particularly air conditioners with low BTU, while I am unaffected by central air conditioning. Is this possible?
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posted by arnicae
on Jun 21, 2011 -
12 answers
Upstairs, Downstairs, A/C issues: how can I help the new A/C in my old house keep me cool?
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posted by Corvid
on Jun 8, 2011 -
11 answers
Even though I have central air, my large and sunny room is too hot for my heat-sensitive self. What strategies can I employ in order to keep it more tolerable in this hot, humid Jersey summer?
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posted by rachaelfaith
on May 31, 2011 -
27 answers
I have a question about liquid cooling my PC, which I guess is not a mechanical question about the process as much as it is a physics question about the nature of heat transfer. I think.
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posted by kbanas
on May 31, 2011 -
12 answers
We have an oldish (~90 years or so) house with a gas furnace and forced air heating. We're thinking of replacing the furnace and adding an AC compressor for cooling. I'm looking for recommendations for specific furnaces and compressors (brands or models), especially ones that are long lasting and/or energy efficient. We'd also like to hear stories and or warnings about setting this up in an old house.
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posted by Deathalicious
on May 26, 2011 -
7 answers
I've been thinking about the social impact of relatively mundane technologies, like air conditioning, largely because of a brief mention by Kevin Kelly in
What Technology Wants. He says something along the lines of, "cheap air conditioning transformed the American southeast."
So I'm looking for scholarly sources that discuss the transformative power of air conditioning on american culture.
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posted by mecran01
on Apr 18, 2011 -
18 answers
I'm a newbie on all matters relating to air conditioning. Please help me buy and install a split air conditioner for my bedroom.
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posted by Gordion Knott
on Sep 27, 2010 -
2 answers
I have to keep calling my apartment manager in to repair the HVAC (heating and air conditioning) unit every few months. This can't be right. I know YANMRP (you are not my repair-person) but I wonder what could be going on and what I can do about it.
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posted by Rosie M. Banks
on Sep 1, 2010 -
12 answers
If my 2001 Honda Accord's blower motor resistor goes out, should I expect the air conditioner not to come on at all, or is there something more seriously wrong with the car than just the resistor?
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posted by tybstar
on Aug 2, 2010 -
3 answers
Bush league air conditioner -- a block of ice and a box fan. Where does the ice go for maximum efficiency?
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posted by zvs
on Jul 10, 2010 -
13 answers
I have opening clerestory windows at the top of my apartment's cathedral ceiling. Should I leave them open or closed when running the air conditioning, which vents near the floor?
posted by smackfu
on Jul 6, 2010 -
7 answers
How airtight is the average (early 00's) car?
And what ventilation settings (a/c on, off, recirc. on/off) would best reduce the ingress of external air/stinky odor?
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posted by subbes
on Jun 19, 2010 -
5 answers
Humid Office Filter: our hvac sucks. it's always humid in here but when the a/c is on, it gets down right wacky - it's muggy AND chilly. i feel sticky all day, my exposed skin is breaking out in pimples which i never ever get except in this gross indoor climate. what on earth can i do? a dehumidifier is out - i'm not in a closed space and we already have an office one...and i can hear the alarm on the one in the server room telling us that it's more humid than it should be.
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posted by sio42
on Jun 16, 2010 -
23 answers
How much of a pain is it to get central air installed in a home with no ductwork. What's involved financially and otherwise?
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posted by dayintoday
on May 25, 2010 -
14 answers