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Cold room, Bad for equipment?

I'm a very fortunate guy in as much as I've recently finished transforming a gutted detached garage into my dedicated listening room.After 1.5 years and hundreds of personal man- hours I am putting the finishing acoustic panel touches and tweaks and finally enjoying the music. It is extremely well insulated with R-13 insulation between the studs and a layer of both 5/8" drywall over 1/2" quiet rock all around, except for the ceiling which is only 1 layer of 5/8" and the R-13. Floor is carpet over laminate over Dri-core, so that's not a problem either but I live in NY and due to the added complexity of an HVAC system, I have not added any heat to the room.With winter temps dropping to less than freezing I'm wondering what is considered a minimum temp I should try to be maintaining through the use of portable space heaters in order not to be harmful to my equipment. This includes a mix of some units in stand-by mode (my tubed pre-amp with low voltages keeping them warm) as well as CD transport, Dac, and self-powered sub woofer which are always left on. Amps are left off of course, both a big solid state Classe monster as well as a tube amp.My in-room thermometer has read as low as 50 F tonight and the space heater brought it up to 60... Obviously the amps will warm things up a bit while playing but the big question is how low can I let that temp go without doing any possible harm to anything???Note there is 1 30"x60" window with blinds and a 3/8" piece of sheetrock pressed up against it (from the inside), effectively sealing it closed. The one door is a standard"outside" door with a separate glass storm door outside of it. The original 'car' garage door has been sealed and a new internal framed wall (sheetrocked as the others) is in its place. Thanks in advance.
lissnr
mt10425
1,138 posts
 
Perhaps you could buy an audio system specially designed for a meat locker? ;^
elwood
42 posts
 
There are several issues at stake here. One: cold shock is the real danger for glass objects. Rapid cooling creates tensile forces in the outer layer causing micro cracks and scratches to grow catastrophically. Heating the outer surface is much safer because the exterior glass surface is in compression. Unless the room is cooled very rapidly by opening doors and windows damage is unlikely to happen to the glass objects. Two: R-13 insulation is below recommended values for NY's climate zone. This will result in higher heating bills than necessary. The amount of time at the various temperatures and the expected time of building ownership and heating cost can be used to calculate the time necessary to break even on any insulation improvements being considered. Three: humidity and the various surfaces where it can condense as liquid water is the real problem. The Dew Point of the air in the room will tell you at what temperature the surfaces in the room will condense. It can be used to determine the humidity that may need to be lowered by a dehumidifier to avoid the moisture problem. Fourth:the Delta T or amount of temperature difference from cold to warm will most likely not often be a problem . [if operating temperature of the equipment is 150 degrees the Delta T from 50 is 100, from 65 is 85] This can be minimised by stacking equipment so thet the units left on are below the off ons so that their heat can prevent much chilling.
peter_s
1,088 posts
 
How much energy does it take to maintain it at 50 or 55 degrees with your space heater? I don't consider that temperature to be exteme cold, nor do I think the "swing" up to 68 to be to dramatic, especially from 55. If the room is really well insulated, and your space heater can maintain 55 with little effort, I don't see a problem, except the wait you have to endure to get it up to a comfortable temperature for listening.
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,515 posts
 
I agree with more insulation.You're kinda stuck now with whats in the walls but you can easily add more in the ceiling.You did build a scudder hole in the ceiling,didn't you?I don't understand why you spent all that time and money and did not install a seperate HVAC system,especially with the temps you get in NY.HVAC systems are not that complicated,trust me,I installed my own and I am certainly not an HVAC mechanic!!I know you are concerned about your equipment,rightly so,but what about your comfort.I can't imagine trying to enjoy music,being bundled up,in a room that cold.Oh well,just some of my crazy thoughts.Good luck and enjoy your room.
peter_s
1,088 posts
 
One thing worth mentioning in an audio room is choosing a heating method that doesn't make much noise. Something with a blower, to me, is unacceptable. Blowers are fine to room up the room beforehand, but not to maintain it while listening.
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