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i have central air conditioning in my home, but there is a room that was added on that has a wall unit and is not connected to the central A/C. Can I just leave the door to this add-on room open and let the vent from the room next to it cool both rooms? Or, can I leave the door open and let both the vent from the central A/C in the one room mix with the use of the wall unit in the add-on room? Right now I have double glass doors between the rooms which I am thinking about removing. The add-on room is a kind of rectangular shape room. Appreciate any advice on what would would best in this situation.
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In most cases, leaving the door open will help cool the add-on (cold air, being denser, will flow in the bottom of the doorway and warmer air will return back out the top) but it won't get as cold as the rest of the house. Part of the problem is that hot air above the doorway will stay in the add-on and the hot ceiling will radiant at people in the room. The other part of the problem is that the "thermosiphoning" circulation won't be moving as much air (in changes per hour) through the add-on as the electric blower moves through the rest of the house.
One solution for using the whole-house unit: Cut a vent into the add-on, high on the wall, from a room on the whole-house system. Get a quiet fan to blow hot air back from the top of the add-on. Leave the door open and cool air will flow in to the add-on to replace that exhausted air. -David in Kenai, Alaska where A/C is not a big priority.
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Try leaving doors open or removing as planned and add a ceiling fan to the add-on room. This will help to mix the air and prevent thermal stratification.
*TomAnn,If you really want to cool this space I'd look into a compact split ductless system that has a remote condensor unit. Mitsubishi and Freidrich both make the unit. They are efficient and quiet, but not cheap. A local supplier should be able to fill you in on the details.
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i have central air conditioning in my home, but there is a room that was added on that has a wall unit and is not connected to the central A/C. Can I just leave the door to this add-on room open and let the vent from the room next to it cool both rooms? Or, can I leave the door open and let both the vent from the central A/C in the one room mix with the use of the wall unit in the add-on room? Right now I have double glass doors between the rooms which I am thinking about removing. The add-on room is a kind of rectangular shape room. Appreciate any advice on what would would best in this situation.