Hmm, can reach it from a VM in NY, so maybe ad blocker, or super duper DNS filter?
That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard of it, but it’s not going to reduce the need for air conditioning… in the desert.
“heat-combatting paints can reflect 80 to 90 percent of sunlight”
“a new ultra-white paint that reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight”
You think rejecting an extra 8% of sunlight is going to matter, when tests show rejecting the first 90% doesn’t even help where minimal insulation is involved? They’re just sensationalizing things to try and solicit some investment.
I do encourage the use of heat-reflecting paint where economical, making it a bit more comfortable to be outside your house.
Are you sure you want to use those SRCOOL7KRM units? Ducting your hot exhaust air out through your conditioned space is terribly inefficient. Maintaining air conditioned space off-grid in the desert you should care a great deal about efficiency. Window A/Cs aren’t exactly the paragons of high efficiency, but they have gotten considerably better in recent years, and have always performed much better than such “portable” units, which are only good if you have no other options.
I could understand insulating your rack and using those units in a well-vented space, but inside an insulated container, you’re going to need to plan where for the heat can be vented out. I haven’t seen those touted as weather-proof, where they could be installed thru-wall like a window A/C either.
For maximum efficiency, I would want to go with a mini-split. But getting an HVAC contractor on-site to do the final connections can be quite expensive. Meanwhile, anybody with a tool belt knows how to install a window A/C through a wall.
I would too. I’ll ask the project manager if it’s something he’s willing to take on.
Mr. Cool brand mini splits are more expensive but designed for dummies in a complete DIY where you don’t need an HVAC contractor to do anything specific. The Mr.Cool systems come pre-filled with coolant so you don’t have to vacuum the lines once they are all hooked up or test pressures.
Mini split would be best not only for efficiency of the unit itself, but also because it minimizes the penetrations in the container for better efficiency there as well. A window unit is open front to back so air can exchange, and someone could come by and smash it in and now you have a big hole that can be climbed through. Mini splits just have 1-2 very small holes that are sealed afterwards for the small coolant exchange lines going in and out.
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There have been pre-charged mini-splits for many years. That does NOT eliminate the need to vacuum the lines. MRCOOL DIY units appear to not need vacuuming, but that’s their “No-Vac” feature, not because of pre-charging despite what they say all over their website.
They’re absolutely horrible at messaging and I expect people are going to see their confusing website or videos, go buy a different brand of mini-split with pre-charged lines and hook those up without vacuuming, not understanding why they don’t work well.
But my ranting aside, those might be a good option.
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Ok so currently looking at using either the Mr. Cool or this mini split from Home Depot. I am a bit put off from the lack of documentation on the Mr. Cool but otherwise seems like a very attractive option.
Also found these which seem to be exactly the same as the Mr. Cool units but cheaper.
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