Shed A/C or cooling

piggl

piggl

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Hi there, I bought a brand new custom made shed for my pigs, fit with a stable door and two lovely windows to allow light to enter.
We have added two vents to allow extra airflow (Yes they are small, but although we are having a very warm summer currently, we also have a very cold winter!) and insulated all the walls but we greatly underestimated how much sun it got during the day.
We thought it was shaded as it is around the side of the house but turns out it’s directly in the sun all afternoon, and with the crazy temperatures we’ve had for around a month now, it’s just not going to work.

This shed was expensive, and was meant to be their year round home/paradise, but now it’s un-liveable between 10am-5pm which obviously is not suitable.

So, in order to cool it, what is the best solution? Would a solar powered portable unit work? I would also have to make sure it’s not blowing directly at them, but i don’t believe it should be an issue.
It doesn’t currently have electric, but would this be the best solution? Obviously it’s going to cost a bit but it’s not out of the realm. Or perhaps I could run an extension cord to the shed? (Done by a sparky to ensure safety).

I’m just not sure what to do. Any advice greatly appreciated :)
 

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@Piggies&buns has her guinea pigs living in a shed all year round so she should hopefully be able to offer some advice but if having electricity in the shed is an option, that would be great as you could use fans / air conditioning unit in the summer and heat in the winter.

I have a friend who has her guinea pigs living in a shed and she has a couple of parasols for shade x
 
Unfortunately this is the issue with sheds now our summers are changing. And it’s part is the reason my current two boys are my last piggies.

I have no idea how effective a solar powered a/c would be - how many panels etc are needed for it to be effective etc. I just don’t know.

A proper vented unit might be best but they aren’t necessarily cheap (plus running costs), require the venting, and of course the cost of getting the electric to the shed etc.
But it would also mean you can heat in winter.

I looked briefly into electric down there and It was quite expensive (trenches dug, armoured cabling, connection to fuseboard, electrician to connect it - it also depends how far you’ve got to get cabling down, mine is quite a distance!).
You would have to choose the right sized unit for the space - too small and it will be overpowered by the sun still heating the shed back up; and too powerful of a unit runs the risk of making it too cold too quickly and also causing too much humidity (vented units shouldn’t cause humidity (they typically dehumidify but if you get it wrong then they can cause issues).

Saying I keep them in the shed year round is getting to be a looser term! They are in the shed all except very hot days when they come in the house and there are now some summer night times when I have them in a hutch outside the shed because the shed doesn’t quite cool enough and I don’t want them to be in there with the external doors closed.
I personally couldn’t justify it all, not when I can just bring them into the house in summer. Plus I’ve never had an issue keeping them warm in winter without the electric there either

air conditioning units
 
I think we are going to try run a power cord to our shed aswell, then i can use a fan to move the heat out!

My granda is also very good at DIY etc, so he’s going to add a frame to one of the windows and make it one I can open/close, for more airflow!
 
I think a couple of good thermometers will be vital and a back up plan for temperature spikes, which can be alarmingly fast developing. Perhaps dry run the shed in hot weather to see how the cooling performs.
 
piggl said:
Hi there, I bought a brand new custom made shed for my pigs, fit with a stable door and two lovely windows to allow light to enter.
We have added two vents to allow extra airflow (Yes they are small, but although we are having a very warm summer currently, we also have a very cold winter!) and insulated all the walls but we greatly underestimated how much sun it got during the day.
We thought it was shaded as it is around the side of the house but turns out it’s directly in the sun all afternoon, and with the crazy temperatures we’ve had for around a month now, it’s just not going to work.

This shed was expensive, and was meant to be their year round home/paradise, but now it’s un-liveable between 10am-5pm which obviously is not suitable.

So, in order to cool it, what is the best solution? Would a solar powered portable unit work? I would also have to make sure it’s not blowing directly at them, but i don’t believe it should be an issue.
It doesn’t currently have electric, but would this be the best solution? Obviously it’s going to cost a bit but it’s not out of the realm. Or perhaps I could run an extension cord to the shed? (Done by a sparky to ensure safety).

I’m just not sure what to do. Any advice greatly appreciated :)
Click to expand...
I have a simalar set up. I’ve had it for about 8 years. Three years ago, after some really hot weather, I bit the bullet and bought one of these
https://www.aosom.co.uk/item/homcom...nit-with-remote-controller~16T0P7SVG5O01.html

You need to have electric and also adapt one of these opening windows to take the vent (while it’s on you have to have all the other windows and door shut)
It’s made a huge difference to my sanity! I still check on pigs in extreme weather but it’s taken the worry away and it works really well.
It doesn’t blow directly on them.
I would 100% recommend one.
Hope that helps 😊
 
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