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Insulation for flat garage roof against summer heat

T

tracerman

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Location
southampton , hampshire, UK
In my flat-roof garage I have my woodworking machinery museum ( on account of the fact that I rarely use it ) but in recent years the space has given way to serious winemaking . I have 140+ bottles on shelves , some will need to be stored for 5 years + . With recent sweltering summers my problem is that the garage is never cool enough and last year I had fans running from early morning to early evening . Can I simply push insulation sheet materials between the overheead beams / will it need an air gap / what thickness / type etc . I need a steady moderate temperature - at present once the morning sun beats down on the roof its stifling . If it could also retain warmth in winter that would be a bonus . Any suggestions welcome .
Steve
 
Alternatively , I could get a chiller/humidifier for £65 . I have no experience of these , would the humidifier produce enough moisture to make my tools go rusty ? , the product info doesn't say whether the chiller would work on it's own .
Steve
 
An alternative is to put insulation on top of the roof. Some years ago I put sheets of 100mm polystyrene on the roof of my utility room offshot. This to keep the heat in, not out. I weighted it down with a few breeze blocks and it has never moved. It has proved very effective in warming up the room and reducing condensation.
 
Steve, optimum storage temp for wine is 12°C. I am not sure that insulating the roof will be sufficient to keep summer temps down as low as that.
 
I think some photos of the inside of the garage might help TBH to see the construction.

Alternatively yo can keep them in my cellar and I can give you regular updates as to whether or not they are ready for drinking.
 
That's true Roger I was rather assuming single skin brick built.

I too have the luxury of an underground cave, alas wine tends to get drunk around here rather than stored.
 
Thinking out loud, a cool box in a hot car but out of direct sun seems to keep stuff cool. So an insulated box built around the size of your racking within the garage might be better. You can super insulate that more easily than the whole space. It would be less space-efficient.

One of the features of our current house is an under stairs cupboard accessed from a door in the exterior wall in the garden - it has a space you can walk into if crouched and then the disappearing section under the stairs is suspended on the ground floor joists. It has just enough space to line both sides with racking and is my homebrew wine store, keeps a pretty good temperature all year round.
 
Thanks everybody for those thoughts - I cant consider insulating around the wines themselves as there isn't room - rather than minimalists we have become maximalists in the house and garage . Re the garage construction , the roof is tongue and groove on 4 x 2s with 2 layers of felt on the outside .
For several reasons I think I must consider some kind of chiller but was wondering about the humidity being a problem with all my tools and machinery - does anyone have some experience of these things ? , I can get one from Machine Mart for £65 ( 60 watts) - .

Steve
 
tracerman":2l2trlfq said:
Thanks everybody for those thoughts - I cant consider insulating around the wines themselves as there isn't room - rather than minimalists we have become maximalists in the house and garage . Re the garage construction , the roof is tongue and groove on 4 x 2s with 2 layers of felt on the outside .
For several reasons I think I must consider some kind of chiller but was wondering about the humidity being a problem with all my tools and machinery - does anyone have some experience of these things ? , I can get one from Machine Mart for £65 ( 60 watts) - .

Steve
Click to expand...

I can't imagine this will be a solution but before I'd like to check the item you have in mind.
do you have the machine mart number for it please.

Bob
 
I really think you are on a hiding to nothing. Of course, we are all guessing..we need pictures ! What of the walls ? Large south facing windows ? No idea. Strip off the felt and stick a coating of fibreglass on with white top coat to reflect the suns' rays. If your garage is poorly insulated then all your chiller will do is add towards the entropy of the universe(s)
 
chiller/humidifier sounds like an evaporative cooler.

I played around with making one in the last heatwave. It did absolutely nothing to cool the room. They work by blowing air over a wet surface so the evaporation causes cooling...except...you only get evaporation when the air is dry. On a hot humid day all that happens is you make it a little more humid but there is not enough evaporation to make any cooling.

A proper air conditioner would cool if the waste heat was ducted outside but costs more to buy and run.
 
Once again thanks to everybody for those comments
BOB - I was mistaken about the Machine Mart £65 thing- more like £279 minimum and probably no good anyway .
I shall have to address this problem as my five year old elderberries may deteriorate , not quite so worried about the white Rhubarb and the white grapes as we drink those quicker .
Steve
 
For your deliberations

Insulation will not by itself reduce the temperature a jot. It will slow down the rate of flow of heat from the hotter zone to the cooler one.
A fan alone will only at best bring the inside temperature to be similar to the outside temperature.
If you want to make the storage area cooler than the outside air you have to pump some heat with refrigeration equipment and ideally add insulation to reduce the leakage of heat back inside and give the heat pump a fighting chance.

IMO, the garage is the wrong place for your storage. Inside the house, under the floor etc is a much better starting point.

hth
Bob
 
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