Cooling

Big Picture(better link?) is Data for cooling things from vegetables to theaters to office buildings and homes. On this page, we collect ideas on how to cool most effectively.

In general, principles of Thermal Efficiency should be followed whenever cooling is needed. In addition to those principles, which try to reduce heat loadsmitigate heat swings and utilize existing sources of "cool," there are at least two common observation that can be used when designing efficient cooling systems.

Reduce the load

waste = heat in almost all cases, so more efficient/fewer objects means less heat

Use heat to make cool

external heat often comes from the sun: if the sun is making things hot; you can also use it to keep things cool, whether by using a Solar Attic Fan (one of many) or taking advantage of winds that come up with the sun, etc.

So, to answer the question of "how should I cool the electronics in my attic?"

1. establish tolerances you are comfortable with based on equipment specifications, etc
2. figure out whether whether the sun or the electronics are causing the most trouble
3. if it's the sun, try to insulate the electronics from the sun's heat; perhaps they should be under the house vs. above it
4. if it's the electronics, be sure to reduce the load any way you can, including only activating devices when needed
5. if the problem is the sum of the devices and the sun, a solar-powered cooling device might be able to bring cooler air in from outside
6. if you absolutely must install refrigeration, make sure the coils are in the coolest possible place, probably outside the attic
7. if you do hack a fridge, update Projects since there are a lot of smart things people could do if their fridge coils weren't so close to the fridge.