heat rejection without noise for a theatre

Brian (Tankless)

the roof white.

Double bubble foil the sun-facing walls, have all the actors wear shorts & tank-tops, but seriously, paint the roof white.

Cool, fresh, outside air is always a good idea, if you have it to bring in. In southwest Louisiana, cool fresh air is a rare commoditity, so we beg our theatre patrons for more money to enhance comfort....but they wouldn't even spring for an instantaneous waterheater for the actor's bathroom......greasepaint's a beach :O)

Answer?????? fresh air, and Paint the roof WHITE.

I'm tired & goofy, folks, been up for a while, must get some sleep. G'night.

Paint the roof white.

Brian in Swampland.

BRUCE CARLSON

theatre heat rejection......but quietly

A small non profit local theatre is looking for a solution to excessive heat in the building. The space is approx. 56' wide by 56'long by 22'height. It has a tin ceiling with stage lights... about 80each @ 750watts a piece. The theatre holds 229 people plus 15-20 stage actors. The bulk of the shows happen during the winter months and the biggest problems happen in Sept-Oct. and April-May when the heat gets excessively high and they cannot reject it fast enough during the shows. Mechanical cooling is installed but only three systems at 4-5tons each. The noise levels from the air handlers really ruin the atmosphere of the shows. They are looking for some creative ways to vent the heat, replace with cool air and to do so quickly and without any noise and hopefully without providing discomfort to the patrons. Got any ideas for me? Thanks so much.

LarryC

What is above the stage?

Is the theater on the top floor of the structure? If so, how about a screened roof hatch?

How about a gravity convection radiator to radiator heat removal system? Finned radiators near the top of the stage plumbed to external radiators mounted outside the structure.

Larry C

don_182

How much

is in the budget? Chill water ceiling panels with a few well place dehumidfiders.

Other then that it puts you back to forceair with some mighty big ducts and properly size diffuser.Maybe some vsd blower that could run on lower cfms with a properly balance
txv and freeze stats.Ductliner in the ducts to help dampen noise.If you go that route then a good filtration system is
in order as well.

Techman

Theaters

Bruce,I suggest contacting a better duct engineer/installer because of the excessive noise.Recording studios require very quiet AC systems ,very quiet.This is air noise that you hear? Not mechanical/fan noise ?

BRUCE CARLSON

yes, it is a two story building and the balcony would be the second story. the tin ceiling, then an 4 foot attic space to the membrane covered roof

BRUCE CARLSON

I would love to go the route of chilled water panels but I think the budget is limited below that. there is limited space for ductwork so the noise factor would still be in play. I wish there was so way of convecting the heat out without mechanical means but I have no background in that area.

BRUCE CARLSON

yes, I believe it is air noise only, but the return is so close to the air handler that it also is not very quiet, I agree that the existing duct is too small (too much air velocity) but it is also undersized for the quick heat load that fills the theatre when the people arrive for the show. I believe if mechanical cooling was sized for the entire load of people and stage lighting that it would be too much all at once when it cycled on. What do you think?

Empire_2

Some additional thoughts...

In addition to your existing A/C why not add some ventilation equipment to act in the following way. Since CO2 must be addressed in this confined area, add a large and separate air handler with variable speed control to exchange the air to alleviate this problem. In addition, but on the same ventilation, set it up as first stage cooling in economizer mode so the initial load can be controlled. Multi position dampers would also be needed. It would take some planning and from what you are saying they want the cheapest thing possible.

OPEN THE DOORS....That might work....;-) I don't think you can put a price on the resolve of this problem in order to do it correctly.

My .02

Mike T.

Techman

Quiet Please

Bruce,like Mike T. said, the fresh air requirements are to be considered in this HVAC system. Stageing the units would help .Enjoy your day!

Eugene Silberstein 3

Mike Seems to be on the Right Track

The issue is fresh air and, given the fact that the budget is limited, providing more air movement is the key.

Without seeing the actual layout of the system, adding some stratgically placed, thermostatically controlled dampers (that are open to the outside in the transition months) along with some means to exhaust air from the structure seems to be a relatively inexpensive means to remove and replace the hot air with fresh/outisde air.
Filterng the air that enters the structure is a relatively painless process as well.