Joe, (whatever happened to Jinx? :-) On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:48:44 +1300, IVP wrote: > Hey Howard, long time no read Yes, I gave up trying to keep up with PIClist some time ago - I'm now about= 25,000 messages behind (in OT, PIC, EE) so I just occasionally look at the= current topics=20 to see if there's anything interesting. =20 >... > My offer so far has been to make at least one of those rooflights openabl= e, > which would solve the short-term problem of them baking in summer. Which > it is now and they are. She's put up some lightweight material to keep th= e=20 > sun > off the floor and that's helping. But of course when it rains heavily, oh= =20 > the > noise !! Only some decent continuous insulation/padding is going to block > that. Plus Auckland gets very humid in the summer so even on cloudy days > it can be quite uncomfortably warm and muggy, like it is today. Ugh Yes, letting the hot air out is useful, but only if the incoming "cold" air= is tolerable! I really think she needs to consider insulation and lowering the ceiling as= top priorities. >... > The previous premises (348 New North Road, very close, NW) was on > the lower floor, partly built into the hill, false ceiling, room divider,= =20 > very > stable temperature. Good set-up. And that really was more like 1000sqm. > The people on the second floor offered her landlord more for the lease an= d > he accepted, although annoyingly she finds they may not use it themselves > after all, and will probably sub-lease. That's pretty crap. Doesn't the landlord object? Surely if there was more= money available to rent it out, he would like to have it! (and I'll stop = calling you Shirley=20 :-) >... > At one of her previous buildings someone had either run a wire through > the wall to next door's fuse box or it was an oversight when the building > was divided. I went in to remove some strip lighting and made sure the > fuses were pulled. But one particular light's cable was still live and=20 > cutting > it ruined my expensive new snips. Grrrr I suppose you didn't try it with a test-stick first, but then I wouldn't ha= ve either, when the "whole building" has the power off... Maybe next time = turn them all on=20 first, to make sure they go off! =20 > > speaking of which, why not put solar panels on the roof? ... > Good idea but she'd probably baulk at the expense I understand - I'd love to have them but with zero money (gizzajob, someone= !) it's never got within reach. There was a *really* good deal here where = any power=20 you generated from Solar Panels was paid-for at 43p/kWh, which is about thr= ee times what you have to pay to buy it from the grid, but someone noticed = how good=20 a deal it was and they've just more-than-halved it. Bummer! Previously it= would have paid for the panels in about 10 years, now they may never pay f= or=20 themselves as they wear out after about 25. > > Oh, and that roller-shutter is likely to be drafty in Winter, even when > > it's closed, so building something inside (an enclosed loading bay or > > something) to keep that cold air from the body of the bulding would > > be a Good Thing >=20 > I think I need to have a chat with her. Mittens and bikinis ? Works for me - make sure you post photos! :-) Incidentally, I use an 8,000 Btu/hr, say 2400W, aircon unit in my living-ro= om, which is about 20m^3, and with an outside air-temp of about +28C it hol= ds its own=20 keeping the room at +20C, but above that it starts to lose ground (just as = a comparison with the project in question). Luckily days above +25C here c= an usually be=20 counted on one hand. (Basking in the noon-day Sun at a balmy -1C. May get snow tonight... ) Cheers, Howard Winter St.Albans, England --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .