Cooling large shop spaces

[Memornix]

I have 2 1800sq-ft shop spaces without A/C and it is the summer time and it is hot. That being said, I am looking for a reasonably priced way to cool them just enough to work at a reasonable temperature.

I have seen evaporative coolers but I worry about how much more humid they make the air as I am already in MD close to the Chesapeake Bay and have enough humidity already. Any other good ideas out there other than installing $17,000 worth of A/C in each shop. Any personal experience with the evap coolers?

[Grendel]

Shade, insulation and ventilating the eves/roofline. Is this one continuous space that has access to the underside of the roof?

[Mr. Hick]

Whats your build like? Insulated? Conventional wood frame? Access to 240v? We need many more details

If the shop is insulated well enough a couple of 240 "window" units may do the trick.

as for Evap Coolers (also know as swamp coolers) They really work best in High heat, low humidity environments (Think southern AZ)

[Memornix]

Whats your build like? Insulated? Conventional wood frame? Access to 240v? We need many more details

If the shop is insulated well enough a couple of 240 "window" units may do the trick.

as for Evap Coolers (also know as swamp coolers) They really work best in High heat, low humidity environments (Think southern AZ)

The shop is typical cinderblock wall with a corrugated metal roof but it does have really good roof insulation and a white surface on top which helps a lot. We do have 208 3-phase but unfortunately these are rentals so we can really blow and big exhaust holes in the walls which is where the swamp cooler idea came from. I used then Vegas but as you said, high heat, low humidity.

[punkncat]

A buddy of mine has a metal auto garage/building in Sarasota/North Port area. He recently installed an irrigation system on a timer into the rafter area. Now mind that his ceiling is ~20' up or so, high enough that a four post lift can raise a car to be worked under. He has it set where they will time on for so many minutes, then off for a longer period. Along with some floor fans, he is telling me he is seeing between 10-15* temperature drop as a result of using said, although variable according to flow rate. He is also looking at doing a pair of "attic" fans in the eave to both sides in order to eliminate that thermal zone of really hot air up there.

His system an irrigation timer, plastic line for yard sprinklers and several misting heads, not sure how many exactly.

[Grendel]

In a previous job I ran a energy management controls build shop out of rental buildings that were concrete block originally without A/C in South Carolina. Here is what we started out with to mitigate some of the heat issues.

1. Sealed up and insulated the "garage doors". We had multiple and only needed two doors so the others we framed up the openings, insulated, sheathed and sealed them (with owners permission it was a non-permeant change)
2. Sealed and Painted the exterior block in white with Cool Coat, there are a lot of different brands now but Cool Coat was what was commonly available at the time
3. Properly sealed the Man-Doors and windows. They were builder grade dual pane windows but not particularly well installed
4. Installed gable vents and a fan to draw air through the rafters
5. Sheathed the bottom of the trusses and blew in cellulose insulation
6. Installed an outside are vent fan in two windows across the large open space area from each other set on a timer to turn on in the evening to bring in fresh "cooler" air to help cool of the inside over night.

That is what we did to begin with but improved it over time to the point of installing a full blown HVAC system (we were a energy management company it would have been sad if our shop did not eventually have a model HVAC system with full blown controls)

The things to do first is keep the building from heating up to begin with so sealing, reflective surfaces and insulation are the most important things to do and can be the "relatively" cheaper part. If you do that and do air exchange when the temperature is cooler you can keep the space mostly cool or at least cooler then outside through the day. Awnings can help a lot with keeping the heat out. Then when you add a window unit or mini-split or full HVAC system it can keep up.

[Mr. Hick]

If you can find a hole to duct it out of you can jimmy rig windows AC's to run while sitting on the floor. Where there is a sweaty ass angry man there is a way.

[Meleager7]

is this vid from kindred spirit aVe about evaporative cooling of any value here?

[Memornix]

If you can find a hole to duct it out of you can jimmy rig windows AC's to run while sitting on the floor. Where there is a sweaty ass angry man there is a way.

I have been doing a little of this alreadt with portable AC units. I have some 12k btu units that I put in the shop I am working in and vent them out the door which is then ghetto sealed with cardboard. Keeps it tolerable but is kind of annoying to setup

[Mr. Hick]

Being Rented space makes it so much more difficult. You can't really do anything that isn't easily repairable.

[Memornix]

Yep, I actually found some mini splits that I can snake though a hole in the wall for an outdoor outlet. Been seriously considering this

[Grendel]

Mini-Splits are nice and easy to install and even better if you know someone to can charge the line sets for you on the side.

[CrowsFeast]

Would it not be to the property owners benefit to have some form of cooling installed? Maybe you can speak to them to formulate a plan on what/how one can be installed and maybe even split the costs?

[Memornix]

There is a path to do that with property management bit I just don't plan on being in these buildings long enough for it to make financial sense for me to do something permanent.