# Winter heat and Summer cooling?



## ZEROPILOT (May 18, 2017)

It's only cold enough to use the heaters (lamps) in my Redfoot sleep quarters for a few nights each Winter. The lamps are on timers and it's all waterproofed, etc.
During the Summer, those same sleep boxes get very hot. So hot that it is uncomfortable for my tortoises and they retreat to the shady areas of the enclosure.
My question is: Has anyone ever cooled a tortoise house?
I want to use the same timer and the same junction boxes and mount small fans inside the houses. Hanging like my heaters for the Summer.
I'd have them come on at about 8 in the morning and off at about 6 pm.
Anything I haven't considered?
I'm going to try it this weekend. I'm looking for some small fans.


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## Yvonne G (May 18, 2017)

I build mine in deep shade so cooling is not an issue. All except for Dudley's shed. It's right out in the sun and gets very warm in the summer. I've been thinking of figuring out a way to attach shade cloth to the roof of my house, and over the shed to a fence on the other side. Hope to do that before it gets much hotter here.


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## ZEROPILOT (May 18, 2017)

It's all ready in the 90s in the afternoon here. And getting hotter.
The houses are made of black plastic. Not cool.
I may remove them and make them out of wood.


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## Markw84 (May 18, 2017)

Fans only move air. So unless you are moving cool air in from another source, they will only cool in association with evaporation. It's the liquid water absorbing energy (heat) to turn to vapor that cools. Either off your skin as perspiration or over a water source like an evaporative cooler. 

I suppose if you had those fans blowing across a tub of water you would get some cooling

Shade is your friend to keep things cooler.


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## ZEROPILOT (May 18, 2017)

How about vents allowing the fans to blow out hot air near the top and drawing in cooler air from the entrance?


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## Markw84 (May 18, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> How about vents allowing the fans to blow out hot air near the top and drawing in cooler air from the entrance?


I've though about doing something like that. But to make effective, if you could sink a large pipe in the ground nearby, and draw air through that into your enclosure, you would have a pretty slick system that should work quite well.


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## wellington (May 18, 2017)

If there are Windows, place a fan in one window blowing out and another fan in the other window blowing in or both blowing out. Skylights will help as heat rises.


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## Big Charlie (May 18, 2017)

Charlie's box is on my shaded porch, so I think without the heaters on, it isn't much hotter than out in the open. He never goes in there when it is hot. Yesterday it got into the high 70s here during the day, and last night he decided to sleep outside.


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