Airconditioner during pandemic
 

Thought I would post this here since it would get lost in the coronavirus discussion.

If you don't have an air conditioner now, it's probably wise to grab one or more soon. These usually sell out quickly during a regular summer...

Does anyone know if Costco are starting to carry them yet?

What's COVID-19 have to do with an air conditioner?

Don't know, but I have a brand new one that I bought last year. It was on sale and one of my other ones might die soon. They're getting old. Always prepared.

It's relief for those stuck in a hotbox during this time of social/physical distancing. Our condo was pretty warm today because I left the blinds open last night.

Because many people are now working from home.

If you’re stuck in a small condo/apartment, I’d advise picking up a HEPA air purifier as well.

For the AC itself, if you’re getting a portable unit, a single-hose exhaust will create a slight negative pressure in your condo/apartment, so you may end up drawing air in from the hallway. I’d recommend sealing the door to the hallway as much as possible regardless (sweep + gasket around frame) as your bathroom fan will obviously also do the same thing and the makeup air will come from the path of least resistance (crack open a window on the shaded side, if available). A dual-hose setup will not create a negative pressure.

If you are working from home and it gets super hot couldn't people just strip naked and their feet in a bucket of cold water? I mean if you have the blinds shut no one can see you anyways.

Funny, I was looking at a Hepa Air Purifier, and decided to go the ghetto method and try a lasko fan and air filter in front of it. Unless you have any suggestions at a reasonable setup?

Also have a single hose exhaust and did exactly that, sealed my bedroom door with a sweep to keep it sealed.

:heckno:

where do you find dual hose portable air conditioners? everything at the big box stores are single hose

I have been using a Honeywell HPA300 for about 10 years and it has been solid. There are some new units on the market that seem to be well-reviewed from Blueair, albeit pricier.

I found the air quality in my apartment was getting poor when the windows were closed (during winter and while using my AC) and it made a significant difference with my asthma. Added bonus that it also improved things during allergy season as well, so I generally use it 8-10 months a year.

There's an annual cost associated with any HEPA filtered unit as HEPA filters by design are not reusable, but they do the best job of filtering.

Units with washable filters are better than nothing and have lower purchase and operating costs (generally quieter as well) but they will miss most of the fine particulates.
I'm seeing the same thing. I guess the manufacturers moved away from dual hose designs at some point?

Sometimes I wonder if you're a troll account :considered:

You are in HK you most likely see those old grandpa with their white tees that have yellow stains on them with a pair of shorts, holding a fan and wearing slippery. :fuckyea:

Central air gang gang

This reminds me. I was planning on sneaking a window AC into my TH this year.

i work in the fridge

:fuckyea:

Has anyone here tried tinting their condo windows in an attempt to reduce the summer heat?

If it works for cars, why not homes?

Works for my parents place. You need those blinds that will actually block out the light. I believe they have two layers.
In apartments you can't really tint your windows coz of the strata bylaw. You can all your own blinds behind the ones that was already there. Otherwise strata have the power to ask to remove the tint/blinds.

it's one of many passive cooling strategies. you have to be careful that strata allow this or not, as your visual transmission changes (i.e. your window gets darker and looks different from the rest of the strata windows). putting up blinds to block the sun will help a bit, but ideally you want to try to shade from the outside as this way the glass doesn't heat up and radiate heat. it doesn't necessarily need to be roller style shades like you see the condos around olympic village, it can be awning or fins, similar to say The Spot across from City of Vancouver City Hall.

if you live in a house or townhome, cross ventilation can help. Eg. in a townhouse open your front living room window and the back kitchen patio door to create a draft in the house.

if you have an HRV, does it have boost/bypass feature? disable the heat recovery portion, it's trying to save heat when in the summer you don't want that.

@happyslip i think you are referring to black out blinds

I literally thought about this a couple weeks ago, so I ordered an LG dual inverter unit and it's getting delivered today.

Old House (not well insulated) + Dark stucco + Lots of sun exposure = sweat box. I've measured the temperature of the stucco in the day and seen north of 50°C.

It didn't bother me much before because in the summer we hardly spend any time inside, but now with WFH in the day I need something to make it bearable.