I normally don't brew in summer. It's just too hot in the garage and my basement HVAC is set to 72. I normally ferment in the basement in winter where I keep the temperature set at 68F. The keezer is also down there. But it is hard on the back carrying 5-10 gal of fermenting wort down the stairs to ferment, then back up to the garage for crash cooling in a fridge and kegging. Then back down to the keezer. The basement is already completely finished with wood flooring, my office, a full bath, an entertainment room and a 14x26ft seven seat, two tier home theater. So, there will be no extensive remodeling to allow an electric brewery.
We have a 3-car garage and I have made a portion of that a brewing area. I put together this 4x4x4 ft fermentation chamber using 4x4 lumber, OSB, foam insulation and a new GE 5000BTU AC unit that is controlled by an STC-1000. The AC is a very simple model with only an on/off switch. So it should work well with the STC-1000 or a CoolBot. It is on casters so I can roll it around. It fits into my little brew corner and it will have shelves that sit on top of it to store my equipment. Yesterday, I wired up the controller and plugged in the AC. That was before I added any insulation or doors. The top was also not affixed and only sitting in place. I propped two OSB panels by the door opening and fired it up. With all those potential air leaks and NO insulation, I achieved 18.3C (~65F) in about 10 minutes. The ambient temperature was about 88F.
Here is a photo taken last night after I added most of the foam insulation. BTW, the floor is 4x4 with OSB on top and bottom. The 4" space is tightly filled with blow-in insulation. All seams are now caulked and I still need to add some Great Stuff foam as well as some weather stripping, doors and maybe a tile floor.
The second photo shows the AC unit and you can also see the STC-1000 near the front side.
We have a 3-car garage and I have made a portion of that a brewing area. I put together this 4x4x4 ft fermentation chamber using 4x4 lumber, OSB, foam insulation and a new GE 5000BTU AC unit that is controlled by an STC-1000. The AC is a very simple model with only an on/off switch. So it should work well with the STC-1000 or a CoolBot. It is on casters so I can roll it around. It fits into my little brew corner and it will have shelves that sit on top of it to store my equipment. Yesterday, I wired up the controller and plugged in the AC. That was before I added any insulation or doors. The top was also not affixed and only sitting in place. I propped two OSB panels by the door opening and fired it up. With all those potential air leaks and NO insulation, I achieved 18.3C (~65F) in about 10 minutes. The ambient temperature was about 88F.
Here is a photo taken last night after I added most of the foam insulation. BTW, the floor is 4x4 with OSB on top and bottom. The 4" space is tightly filled with blow-in insulation. All seams are now caulked and I still need to add some Great Stuff foam as well as some weather stripping, doors and maybe a tile floor.
The second photo shows the AC unit and you can also see the STC-1000 near the front side.