My house once had an option to have a powder room on the ground floor, but it became a utility closet. Because it was intended to be a bathroom, it has an exhaust for the HVAC in the ceiling. In such a small space, with the door closed, the space stays cool as a cucumber. I keep a battery-operated temperature gauge next to the carboy so I can know what range the ale is fermenting in. Best thing--this temperature gauge lists what range it experienced for the past 24 hours. Range is typically 64-67 degrees, even in the tropical-like summers of DC.
This setup works very well in summer, and in winter, I just close the vent so heat doesn't affect it. It's a town house, so the insulation on both sides keeps a more consistent range than a single-family with more windows.
The reason I provided so much detail is that I reckon there are many homebrewers living in newer homes having a room which could have optionally been a powder room. It tends to offer reasonable control with no additional cost or setup. Now, to guarantee consistency and more control, obviously a chest freezer would be ideal, but this tends to produce excellent beer.
Cheers!
This setup works very well in summer, and in winter, I just close the vent so heat doesn't affect it. It's a town house, so the insulation on both sides keeps a more consistent range than a single-family with more windows.
The reason I provided so much detail is that I reckon there are many homebrewers living in newer homes having a room which could have optionally been a powder room. It tends to offer reasonable control with no additional cost or setup. Now, to guarantee consistency and more control, obviously a chest freezer would be ideal, but this tends to produce excellent beer.
Cheers!