No longer need AC - Stealth window intake?

[Sunseeds HB]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I can't find a good design.

All summer I have been using a window AC unit. Its great. Keeps ambient room temp at 72 and a nice humidity- each cab is drawing from that room and maintaining 75-77.

Now that the temps are dropping to about 60-70 and will only continue to get cooler (not too cold though.) I want to shut my AC off to save $$ and not look funny to the neighbors running my AC when its 60 degrees out.

How can I build a stealth window intake/exhaust? It's visible from the outside, and the AC unit is the perfect cover.

I have tried putting one of those window fitting double fans in the window, but it's not as secure as the ac unit at all! (Grow light leaks not a problem, both cabs are in closed, but I usually work in the room at night, which would pour light/sound out of the fan!)


Should I just keep running the AC unit?
OR
Run the AC and Crack the other window to try and add some cold air? Reduce stress on the AC? (Although cracked window= sound/working light leaks (not grow light)
OR
Build some type of window box that pulls air from outside and doesn't look suspicious (not sure how) and another box on other window to push air from the ceiling outside. - or into the attic.


Any help or a link would be great!

Thank you

 

[natrone23]

Maybe get old broken window a/c that looks similar to your current one, but hollow it out and put your intake in there or duct. Then you have real a/c stored for the winter and you just bring it back out in spring and store the mock one in the summer.

 

[stickyickyicky]

Maybe get old broken window a/c that looks similar to your current one, but hollow it out and put your intake in there or duct. Then you have real a/c stored for the winter and you just bring it back out in spring and store the mock one in the summer.

what i was thinkn - i have seen a few people talk about doing this im sure it works - might even be a diy for it

k+

 

[Sunseeds HB]

Yes I have had this idea too! It sounds good to me.

To get rid of the AC look all together I am now thinking:

Put the screen back in the window, dropping the blinds and cut a board the size of the ac unit- seal it in the AC area.

Cut a hole for my fan, put a 90 degree elbow on it for light leak, and call it a day. (If this doesn't bring temp down enough increase fan size.) I was gonna start with an 8" inline and slide it into the round hole I will cut in the wood.

What do you think? Maybe something much stronger than an 8" fan...any ideas where to get an industrial fan I can mount into a piece of wood?

 

[Lazyman]

I have the same problem (or close enough) but I couldn't have two AC's hanging out the windows on one building, so I hung some bamboo outdoor shades over the windows on the OUTside of the glass, and boards on the inside to mount vent pipes and ac's. I'm not crazy about it, but at the moment it's the best idea I've got.

If I could make the windows look like they were closed and just plain glass on a dark building during the day I'd be stoked, but sometimes I have folks getting within ten feet of the window so it must be very stealthy and perfect looking.

Will be watching this thread with interest!

 

[stickyickyicky]

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=130507

here is a way to NOT install the ac inside your room

 

[BurmeseDragon]

Maybe your fat and just moved from Greenland or drank to much!

 

[noone4u]

Yes I have had this idea too! It sounds good to me.

To get rid of the AC look all together I am now thinking:

Put the screen back in the window, dropping the blinds and cut a board the size of the ac unit- seal it in the AC area.

Cut a hole for my fan, put a 90 degree elbow on it for light leak, and call it a day. (If this doesn't bring temp down enough increase fan size.) I was gonna start with an 8" inline and slide it into the round hole I will cut in the wood.

What do you think? Maybe something much stronger than an 8" fan...any ideas where to get an industrial fan I can mount into a piece of wood?

why not just run a duct into the cold ass attic and pull your air from thier??

Then no one will ever see or hear anything and in the summer you can just cover the hole with somthing and run your duct somewhere else.

 

[Sunseeds HB]

Thanks guys! Because I have the ocean breeze blowing right in the west facing window, I'm really going to try to utilize the natural cool air with an industrial fan/frame behind my blinds. I will attach some pictures once I Macgyver this setup.

For the AC box, I have read that post, and his setup scares the hell out of me. Read all the comments as you go down. There are better posts on AC boxes. But I think I can avoid doing that because my lights are ducted through the attic, and my heat problems are minimal. Thanks again.

 

[noone4u]

Thanks guys! Because I have the ocean breeze blowing right in the west facing window, I'm really going to try to utilize the natural cool air with an industrial fan/frame behind my blinds. I will attach some pictures once I Macgyver this setup.

For the AC box, I have read that post, and his setup scares the hell out of me. Read all the comments as you go down. There are better posts on AC boxes. But I think I can avoid doing that because my lights are ducted through the attic, and my heat problems are minimal. Thanks again.

So you do have an attic! why go thorugh all this trouble with an AC box lookalike when you can just pull cold air from the attic ?

 

[Sunseeds HB]

why not just run a duct into the cold ass attic and pull your air from thier??

Then no one will ever see or hear anything and in the summer you can just cover the hole with somthing and run your duct somewhere else.

The attic is not cold. I duct my lighting up there, and because it is still 60-70 outside and the sun is shining on the house, and heat rises, I don't think this will work well. The air from outside is much cooler than the air in my attic.

 

[noone4u]

The attic is not cold. I duct my lighting up there, and because it is still 60-70 outside and the sun is shining on the house, and heat rises, I don't think this will work well. The air from outside is much cooler than the air in my attic.

good point. But not for long

its 70 outside right now where I am and im not growing anything and my AC is running

i hear ya on the not so cool right now attic but it will be cold soon unless you live in the warmer areas of wherever you live lol

I was just trying to save you the time and trouble.

 

[noone4u]

The attic is not cold. I duct my lighting up there, and because it is still 60-70 outside and the sun is shining on the house, and heat rises, I don't think this will work well. The air from outside is much cooler than the air in my attic.

Also im not sure how well you can pull air through long runs of duct but everyones attic pulls air from outside.

You can run the duct over to the soffit and get your cool air through the vent in your roofs overhang (soffit) only drawback is the lenght of your duct i suppose.

 

[LlamaSchool]

1. Make sure to filter incoming air to prevent bugs from getting in. I'm sure they would love a warm house as opposed to the fall cold.

2. Consider humidity and condensation as you pull in cool air and warm it.

 

[stickyickyicky]

after RE-reading that post it isnt the one i thought it was - my bad! i remember now it wasnt a thread i saw it in, it was a video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FgF_PleJ1U

 

[Sunseeds HB]

1. Make sure to filter incoming air to prevent bugs from getting in. I'm sure they would love a warm house as opposed to the fall cold.

2. Consider humidity and condensation as you pull in cool air and warm it.

Thanks! Yes I will definitely be filtering the air coming in. (I don't think the window screen will do enough, I'm thinking a this screen like the one in my ac unit.

I was concerned about the humidity because that is actually the original reason I bought the AC unit. I might have to purchase a dehumidifier and place in near the intake of the flowering cab if I have an issue (still much cheaper than running the AC and far less obvious)

 

[darksith]

heres what I have done. Take your open window and close the curtain, then put cardboard over the window curtain with a hole cut into it, then attatch your hose to the cardboard via duct tape of whatever, then go look at the window from outside at night when your lights are on. If you can't see any light you are golden. As long as that intake is on 24/7 and your room is negative pressured you will be just fine.

 

[Sunseeds HB]

heres what I have done. Take your open window and close the curtain, then put cardboard over the window curtain with a hole cut into it, then attatch your hose to the cardboard via duct tape of whatever, then go look at the window from outside at night when your lights are on. If you can't see any light you are golden. As long as that intake is on 24/7 and your room is negative pressured you will be just fine.

This is pretty much what I've decided to do, except I dont think I will get enough air without a fan. I purchased a 2500 cfm window fan (16") that blocks out the rest of the window. (Arriving next week) I will black plastic around the top. I am building a short duct to seal around the fan and aim it down. This should prevent my light spilling out. Thanks for the input!

 

[Lazyman]

heres what I have done. Take your open window and close the curtain, then put cardboard over the window curtain with a hole cut into it, then attatch your hose to the cardboard via duct tape of whatever, then go look at the window from outside at night when your lights are on. If you can't see any light you are golden. As long as that intake is on 24/7 and your room is negative pressured you will be just fine.

So you're sucking air through the curtain fabric? Do you have a layer of panda plastic behind the curtain too? I guess plywood behind the curtain would work too then, instead of plastic and cardboard huh...

Hmmm, ideas...

 

[Joe Hawkins]

I have natural air all year round, even in the middle of the hot australian summers (regularly 35C+), I run my lights at night, but still gets hot at night, plants love it.

I have panda film velcroed over the window, it over hangs the sill by about a foot, window is only open about 0.5 of an inch Air is constantly pulled in by exhausts. No intake fan, just passive, unneccessary in my situation
In front of the panda film (outside) are vertical blinds so the panda is unnoticeable.