Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,

I built a reptile room in the garage and the temps are already sailing into the 90's in the room, so I'll need to cool it. My question is- will it be cheaper monthly to run a vent off of the house's main a/c unit or should I just put a window style a/c unit in the wall facing out to the garage? I will have to heat it with a space heater in the winter at times as well.

Thanks,

Steve Harrison
Jacksonville, FL

Steve,

There are advantages and disadvantages to either approach.

Hooking up to your homes system will be the most expensive up front and will PERHAPS be the most efficient over time. Another advantage of this is that it leaves more amps available in your snake room for all the individual cage heaters, lights, etc. Those window AC can pull a lot of amps.

The problem with hooking up to your homes system is that you don't know how efficient it will be. This will depend on how the garage is insulated and the length of run from your current HVAC.

This can lead to dramatic temperature swings in your garage, too cold of temperatures, not enough cooling, or some combination of those.

There are damper controls that run off of separate Tstats that can block cold air if the snake room is recieving too much air. But these add to the cost, often quite a bit.

The safe choice if you have enough amps is a window AC, or even better, a portable AC. If you run either off of a separate Tstat your efficiency will be pretty darn good.

First thing I'd do is install some sort of reflective insulation to block the suns radiant energy. You might find this is enough.

How is the garage currently insulated? I'll be able to make a suggestion from there. You'll have to look into local building code to find out how these reflective products can be installed.
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Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

Hey,

I'm going to tap into the main system. It's not a long run at all and will be much cheaper on the electric bill.

You did mention reflective heat panels....I assume they would be installed in direct sunlight outside??? This would be a big no no in my neighborhood, and would look pretty yucky. The garage room is insulated and should hold it's temperature fairly easily.

thanks,

Steve

>>I'm going to tap into the main system. It's not a long run at all and will be much cheaper on the electric bill.

That should work. You may have to play with things a bit to get a steady temp in your herp room.

>>You did mention reflective heat panels....I assume they would be installed in direct sunlight outside???

No, I have it in my attic and also in my wall cavities. Completely hidden.

You did not say what type of insulation your attic/walls have so I assume it's just normal fiberglass batting?

At any rate, that does little to block the radiant energy from the sun that is heating up your garage.

There are ways to mount reflectix in the attic and possibly even on some interior garage walls. This will do wonders to reduce the effects of the sun. The attic is the most important place and it will be hidden.

But you'll need to find out what code is for your area. The way we use it in South Dakota may not work where you live. Specifically, it may need to be ventilated in a certain way.

Definately use it to cover the duct if it's exposed in your garage.

Don't skip this step. $100 of Reflectix will pay for itself in not time, especially if you live in the South.
-----
Current snakes:

0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.6 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)