[TriLUG] Slightly OT: Question about Home Office Cooling

[Scott Chilcote]

Hello fellow LUGers,

My home office room has either 2 or 3 systems running depending on 
whether my wife's here, and now that the weather's warming up it's 
getting too hot.  The HVAC thermostat is in the hallway, and I've seen 
it get six degrees warmer in here than it is there.  There's a ceiling 
fan, but it doesn't help much when the temperature gets into the upper 80s.

I've used a window AC before, but the covenants for our neighborhood 
don't allow it.  So that's out.

I've thought about moving the largest computer to the basement, and 
using a KVM extender to display it in here.  I still might do that, but 
I suspect I'll have to give something up.  So far, I haven't seen a KVM 
extender that supports dual monitors, audio, and a 3-button mouse with 
scroll wheel.  Still, I can work around that if I have to.

Adding more cooling to the room would require a ductless split system 
(wonderful, but overkill for a small room and $$$$) or a portable room 
AC system.  This last looks like a reasonable option, but since all of 
the machinery is indoors they can be quite loud.  Not ideal for 
developing code.

I suspect that a lot of TriLUGers have had to deal with the hot computer 
room at home situation.  Is there a better way to cool down the room 
than I've listed?

Also, if anyone's using a portable indoor AC that isn't especially loud, 
please let me know.

The last window unit I had was pretty small, but when the compressor 
kicked in it made the whole wall thrum.  I can live with fan noise, but 
that low pitched drone was distracting.  I'm worried that a portable 
unit would be even louder.

Thanks much!

    Scott C.