Summertime evenings in Colorado cool down nicely. With the
lower humidity here (vs the Midwest) it's nice to open the windows in
the evening to cool the place instead of using the air conditioner. A
small box fan sat on the ledge until the fan motor bearings failed. I
didn't care to replace with the same type of fan and leaned towards a
squirrel cage style. A year back I purchased this Lasko cage fan but it
mostly sat as I hadn't decided how to use it with the window. Should I
make an extended shelf and place the fan near the window or set the fan
on the floor and purchase some HVAC air ducting to connect the fan's
intake to the window?
I explored the HVAC ducting with some flexible ducting and quickly
decided a shelf mount would be cleaner. Some white "duct tape" with
foam core board and spare materials in the garage (plywood, pole,
nails) found the project coming together.
The window has an external screen. Since the horizontal blinds are not
able to "drop" down to the windowsill I've added white posterboard to
cover the lower window area where the blinds can't cover. When the
window is to be closed - it slides closed - no matter if the fan is
sitting by it.
The extended shelf "clamps" onto the existing window ledge. A washcloth
is placed over the window ledge to keep the paint in good condition.
The "white" support post below the extended shelf is a wooden rod. I
placed a small nail in the top end, extending out about 1/2". The nail
"pokes" into a hole in the extended shelf. Should the pole get knocked
the nail should keep the pole from being dislodged.
The fan, running on low speed, draws about 48 watts - a low cost option
to the air conditioner.
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