Slot room gets hot

[jpmccutc]

noticed my slot room in my home gets super warm. Anyone else have this problem or any suggestions. I wonder if making the, led would make a difference ? Any advice?

[rickhunter]

Changing to leds will help a bit, but a lot of the heat is generated by the computer components inside the machines.  You can test and see what difference it will make by just removing the fluorescent bulbs from the machines and running them without the lights for a while.  If it is to your satisfaction, then figure the led replacements will generate a little less heat.  Are your reels backlit, because the incandescent lights in the reels generate a lot more heat than the fluorescent bulbs.

[qbert]

LEDs would help but the bottom line is each machine probably burns at least 150 watts of power give or take(Rick Hunter has done actual measurements). If you have five machines it would be like running a hair dryer in the room so yes it will get warm. I know in one of my rooms I have three reel touch machines with LEDs and it still gets hot in that room. More AC vents to that room will be needed.

Rich

[rickhunter]

One of the things I've learned recently is that the ac vent in the room will work a lot better if there's a corresponding return duct out of the room into the main area where the a/c "breathes".  If you close the room's door and you have no return duct in that room, the ac will have a hard time pushing air into the room.  It's like trying to blow air into a balloon that is already filled with air, the air handler in the a/c will push air out through the ducts and whichever ducts offer the least resistance will get the highest volume of air throughput.  The return ducts alleviate this pressure by allowing air to flow out of the room into the main area where the handler breathes.  I had this problem in my aquarium room.  I kept the door closed at all times, the a/c vent would not push enough air into the room to keep it cold and the humidity would go sky high with all the water evaporation, the solution was to build a return duct into the main area of the house close to the a/c intake, but my wife dislikes the "fish room smell" so that was not going to happen.  I eventually had to install a portable ac unit for the fish room to keep the humidity low and the temperature low enough for the corals to be happy.  In the long run, it was cheaper than running water chillers.

[TheAirBalancer]

Rickhunter gives great advice that you should check for a return air pathway from the room back to the unit. I work in the HVAC industry and here's a couple of tips that may also help;

If it's not ducted return from the room, the door should be "undercut". Meaning that at the bottom of the door there is typically a 1/2" to 1" gap from the finished floor or carpet. This will also allow return flow back to the main return of the house when the door is closed. Ducted return is better but sometimes not practical depending on your homes construction.

Try setting your thermostat fan setting from "auto" to "on" whenever you're playing your machines. This allows the central fan to run continuously and circulate air around the house, even if the unit is not heating or cooling, and will help even out temperatures in all the rooms of the house.

[Shaggy]

I installed a good ceiling fan and also keep a pedestal fan in my room to keep the air moving. I have a double set of windows on the south wall. I put insulated curtains up and close them during the day to keep the afternoon  sun out. Seems to do a pretty good job and I like the air movement.

[jpmccutc]

Wow guys! Thank you for all the information. I decided to install a ceiling fan today to see if that helps. If not I'll be adding a portable ac because a return duck would be a pain cause of my vaulted ceilings!
Thanks again everyone