I’m a teacher. We don’t have air-conditioning and my classroom is sweltering at the start and the end of the school year. I run multiple fans and have no success at doing much to reduce the incredible heat.
The district basically doesn’t want to put even a window or stand-up unit it, but I’m ready to buy one myself(life of a teacher, here) and just put one in without asking to see what happens.
Normal classroom size. I have two windows with unremovable screens. The screens do NOT slide open. I would prefer a unit that does not require any kind of exhaust pipe to run out as I just don’t have the ability to do that.
Do stand-alones work that can just plug in and run?
What is the humidity like in your area? If you’re in a dry climate, you can use an evaporative cooler in the room. It evaporates water to cool the air, but it only works if the humidity is low enough to allow the water to evaporate. Traditional air conditioners will need an exhaust port to get of the heat. They are pulling the heat out of the air, and that heat needs to be dumped outside.
I’m surprised that the parents and teachers aren’t putting pressure on the district to get this situation addressed. Is your room unique or are all the classrooms this hot? It doesn’t seem like a suitable environment for the kids to learn when it’s hot like that.
Yeah. Michigan is in the top 10 states for humidity. Evaporative cooling works in the dry, desert areas like Arizona and New Mexico. Traditional air conditioning is going to be the only realistic cooling option in your area.
You’d probably need a hefty window unit. They come in different cooling ratings called BTUs. The more BTUs, the more cooling they put out. I’m not sure how many BTUs would be needed to cool a classroom with 30+ heat-producing bodies. Hopefully someone will come along to answer that. But the cost should be relatively reasonable for the district. Perhaps track the temps in the classroom and then publicize how hot it gets. Give the results to parents, news stations, etc. and get them to put pressure on the district. Even if it just gets hot a few months out of the year, the district could rent industrial room units to keep the place cool.
What’s the layout of the room? You can actually put the hose out a doorway, into the hall (or whatever), and it will cool down your room if the doorway is reasonably well sealed. It might heat up the hallway a bit, but if it’s a big hall it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference. If it adjoins a spare classroom, you could use that too (if it’s empty).
Alternately, you could remove the screens and replace them with a smaller screen (or a sliding screen), which would allow you to use the portable AC as it usually works. Or cut a hole in one of the screens and fix it afterwards.
Given the fact that you can’t mount an AC unit in the window, nor really vent the hot air through it, it seems like any sort of AC unit isn’t going to be feasible. It does seem like the only new addition that might make a difference would be a dehumidifier unit in the room, as those don’t need to vent outside (you just need to be able to empty the water reservoir from time to time).
My brother has a “whole house fan.” He opens a vent in his hallway and this big fan sucks the air up through the attic and out. Hot air rises, so if you periodically do that you can cool the space more easily. Any way for you to vent upward? Yeah, probably not.
Seems like a humidifier would give some relief. The air won’t be cool but at least the heat will be dry, more tolerable.
Let one kid pass out or throw up or otherwise get sick from the heat and watch how long the school persists in refusing.
ETA I wonder if OSHA would be interested to know the conditions under which you work.
My classroom is standard size for an American classroom. How big a dehumidifier would I need and how long does one take to dehumidify the room? I kind of want to return it if I don’t see a difference in a few days.
If you feel bad about blowing the whistle on your employer, remember that you’re standing up for the students as well as yourself. How can they be expected to learn (or you to teach) under those conditions?
Do you belong to a union? They might intercede on your behalf as well.