A/C Summer Cooling

making sure the space is kept at a livable temperature during the summer is quite the ordeal. this page intends to provide some level of detail and examples for how to keep this place from becoming a volcano.

cooling strategies

indoor temp	server room	people spaces (only when people are here)
75° F or less	no action needed.	open some window(s) if wanted. continuously check the CO2 levels in the hub and open a window if they go above ~750ppm or so.
76° - 80° F	open the side window (behind the shelf with the screen). put the box fan next to the window if the sun is out.	open the windows in the hub, focus foundry, lounge, sunroom, and kitchen. place some box fans in the hallways to keep air moving.
81° - 86° F	open the side window (behind the shelf with the screen). put the box fan in the window. turn on the A/C unit (hose connected to the window) and set it to 80° F EXACTLY (not below).	turn on the window A/C in the lounge and focus foundry. set them to 80° F EXACTLY (not below). open the windows in the hub, focus foundry, lounge, sunroom, and kitchen. the through-breeze between the hub and kitchen is important. place some box fans in the hallways to keep air moving.
87° F or more	open the side window (behind the shelf with the screen). open both doors fully. put the box fan in the window and the door to the hallway. turn on the A/C unit (hose connected to the window) and set it to 80° F EXACTLY (not below).	oh shit mode. we gotta turn on the massively expensive central A/C. use the front thermostat to enable A/C and set it to 80° F EXACTLY (not below). turn on the window A/C in the lounge and focus foundry. set them to 80° F EXACTLY (not below). open the windows in the hub, focus foundry, lounge, sunroom, and kitchen. the through-breeze between the hub and kitchen is important. place a bunch of box fans in the hallways to keep air moving.

the monetary cost of cooling the space

looking at hass electrical instrumentation + our current billing rate on electricity, here's a table of cost

device	power usage	USD/kWh (full duty cycle)
lounge AC	800 W	10 cents
foundry AC	560 W	7 cents
server room AC	900 W	11 cents
central AC back	5kW	$0.62

keep in mind that these might not seem like a lot of money but if devices get accidentally (or purposefully) left on for nights or days at a time when the space is unoccupied, that this is just a money drain for no reason. turn off the AC when not in use!

central A/C

THE FRONT AC UNIT IS FUCKED UP!! Apparently it's like leaking freon and isn't worth fixing per the landlord. IDK if this is real or not, but that's the knowledge I have. It flips the breaker every time we try to use it so, like maybe don't use it in the short term. The back one is fine-ish at the moment though.

The central A/C can be adjusted via the thermostat on the east side of the hallway, near the kitchen.

Central A/C exists as one or two roof units. Labelled on the breaker as such? We're not sure if the roof unit breakers actually match.

They take a lot of power in the summer.

We have two completely separate AC systems. One for the front and one for the back. The intakes are actually in a very convenient spot on both of them (right in front of the server room and utility room respectively, which are our two biggest hot spot generators)

Important: the information above is not electrically confirmed.

Every? room has vents in the ceiling.

Roof Units Close-up

The first roof unit.	Writing on the first roof unit.
The second roof unit.	Manufacturer label of the second roof unit.
The control wirings inside one of the roof unit ACs.	Close-up look of the fuse on the control board.

If the cooler thermostat isn't working, chances are the fuse was broken. or the AC's breaker (on the roof, or in the breaker box) has been flipped. This is a "5A bladed automotive fuse".

Portable Air Conditioners

There are also various amounts of portable ACs hooked up. as of the time of this writing there is the Lounge AC and the Foundry AC. There is also the Server Room AC.

The power usages of these portable ACs should all be visible on Home Assistant and Grafana. Existing and new portable ACs should very much have Zigbee power monitoring plugs with them.

There is an ongoing experiment to swap the Foundry AC with the Server Room AC. You may see a window unit in the Foundry room; this used to be in the Server Room.

Filtration

Air Filters

Ventilation

There are box fans around. Most of the windows in the space can open.

There is a louver above the front door that can be opened via the mechanism to the left, this helps create cross flow when combined with opening windows upstairs.