EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Using basement sump water to cool the house

Daox · 07-19-11, 06:28 PM

Well, I've decided to try this out. We've had a pretty warm week and it hasn't been cooling down at night nearly enough to keep it cool in the house. It is currently 85F/29C as I type this.

To get an idea of what I might be able to get out of the cooling system I took some measurements. The sump croc in my basement is roughly 20" in diameter by 18" deep. This holds roughly a maximum of 24 gallons or 200 lbs of water. That water is about 55F/13C. If my house is 80F/27C I have a 25F degree difference. I figure if I can run it through a radiator I can probably raise the temperature of the water by 20F. So, with 200 lbs of water and a 20F differential, I have about 4000 BTU of cooling. Of course, when the warmer water returns to the basement it will cool back down and at the same time also warm up the water in the sump. So, I'm not too sure how accurate that 4000 BTUs is, but its a start. A small window air conditioner will put out 5000 BTU/hr. So, I imagine this will be somewhat comparable to that... for about an hour.

So, moving forward, I purchased a pump today. I was looking at swiftech's line of pumps and decided to see what newegg had in stock. I logged on and found an "open box" MCP355 pump for $39 ($65 normally) and went ahead and purchased it. It should provide about 1 gpm flow rate to the radiator. Speaking of the radiator, I'll be using a radiator that I have laying around from a car. The water will be pumped up into the radiator and a fan behind the radiator will push the air through it and cool things down. The only thing I need yet is some inexpensive 3/8" tubing and possibly some fittings to convert from the tubing to the 1" radiator hose. Suggestions are welcome.

07-19-11, 06:28 PM	#25
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Well, I've decided to try this out. We've had a pretty warm week and it hasn't been cooling down at night nearly enough to keep it cool in the house. It is currently 85F/29C as I type this. To get an idea of what I might be able to get out of the cooling system I took some measurements. The sump croc in my basement is roughly 20" in diameter by 18" deep. This holds roughly a maximum of 24 gallons or 200 lbs of water. That water is about 55F/13C. If my house is 80F/27C I have a 25F degree difference. I figure if I can run it through a radiator I can probably raise the temperature of the water by 20F. So, with 200 lbs of water and a 20F differential, I have about 4000 BTU of cooling. Of course, when the warmer water returns to the basement it will cool back down and at the same time also warm up the water in the sump. So, I'm not too sure how accurate that 4000 BTUs is, but its a start. A small window air conditioner will put out 5000 BTU/hr. So, I imagine this will be somewhat comparable to that... for about an hour. So, moving forward, I purchased a pump today. I was looking at swiftech's line of pumps and decided to see what newegg had in stock. I logged on and found an "open box" MCP355 pump for $39 ($65 normally) and went ahead and purchased it. It should provide about 1 gpm flow rate to the radiator. Speaking of the radiator, I'll be using a radiator that I have laying around from a car. The water will be pumped up into the radiator and a fan behind the radiator will push the air through it and cool things down. The only thing I need yet is some inexpensive 3/8" tubing and possibly some fittings to convert from the tubing to the 1" radiator hose. Suggestions are welcome. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.