# Livingroom AV Cabinet Venting



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

I just moved into a new house and we are trying to get everything unpacked and setup. I just finished hanging my TV yesterday, but now I have to deal with the equipment. All I have in my livingroom is an HTPC and my AVR. I'd like to keep them in the cabinet where the computer is currently located, but it gets very warm in there when the doors are closed. I could build new doors with white cloth center panels, but I'm not sure that is enough. Also, I'm not too thrilled with that as a venting options. I was hoping you all could come up with some other ideas. Also, I'd prefer to not put a vent grill in the countertop surface, but if it could be done in an attractive way, I'm not totally opposed. Sorry for the junk cell phone picture quality....it's all I have right now.


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

There is probably an empty cavity between the cabinet at fireplace, you could use a holesaw to cut an opening and place a 120mm 12volt fan over the opening exhausting the heat into there. You would need to provide an inlet for air to come in, shaving the bottom of the cabinet door at 45degress might be enough.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

That is an interesting idea about beveling the bottom of the doors. I could bevel the bottom edge of the cabinet opening as well. There is a very large cavity back there, as I had to fish my speaker and HDMI cable up to the TV. I wonder if passive venting into that cavity would be enough. The problem is, I _think_ that would be a "sealed" cavity. I think fire code requires there to be fire break panels in chimney spaces, but I'm not sure. Are there any installers or builders reading this that could shed light on that? So, would I require a vent fan or could it work passively. I'm guessing the vent fan would be necessary unless that space isn't very air tight. Also, if I did use a vent fan, I guess I would want to make it thermostat controlled some how.


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

I've been an installer for years, due to health reasons I stepped out of install and now do sales. Is it supposed to be fireblocked? yes. Does that mean it will be? Not necessarily. If it's a one story home you could look into an active thermal management cool cube for a complete thermostat controlled unit. More cost effective would be windy willy via eBay.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

what if i use some some flex duct attached to the out vent on my computer case? the computer could push its hot air direclty into the wall cavity and not require an additional fan. It is a two story house.


----------



## gsmollin (Apr 25, 2006)

Is there a wall cavity behind the cabinet? You could vent it back into that. Even if it doesn't communicate to the outside, the wall cavity is sure to be big enough to dissipate the heat. 

The cavity next to the fireplace will probably let heat _into_ your cabinet when the fireplace is lit.

Which brings me to my real question. Why are you mounting a TV set over a fireplace? I've seen this other places, and this practice mystifies me. A fireplace just doesn't strike me as a good place for a TV set. It is hot and dirty when the fireplace is lit, and the fire is a distraction from the drama on the screen. I also think that it is too high off the ground for good viewing, unless you are very far back.


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

Putting the flex duct on the vent of the computer might work but it will put extra strain on the pc fans and it won't provide any help for the receiver. It's also been my experience that the fans work better pulling thru a duct than trying to push thru them.

As far as fireplace mounting of tv's, it's a comprimise usually influenced by wanting a single focal point in the room aesthetically. It isn't correct for viewing angles but can please the all mighty waf factor. As far as damaging the tv, the mantle will usually be more than suffecient to act as a buffer for the radiant heat and in the south they are more decrative than used as heating sources.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

Yeah...that is a "decorative" gas only fireplace. We likely won't use it much. I agree that the TV over the fireplace is a bit of a compromise, but it seems to work well. It is the best location in this room. All seats can see it well with no off angle seating. The screen is tilted down so you look directly at it. Also, the seating is about 17feet from the screen, so the angle you are looking up really isn't that drastic.

The only other likely location was on the cabinet in question. That would have required rebuilding it to accomodate the TV. Worse yet, however, there is a large wall of windows to the left of the main picture. If the TV were on the cabinet, it would have a terrible glare. Older plasmas don't do well with glare. Anyhow...the screen is where it is. I don't anticipate that cavity around the fireplace to get very hot. However, i can easily turn it on for and hour and stick a thermometer in there to see. There is no cavity behind the cabinet. However, I could potentially go down and vent into the basement below.


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

I don't think you will experience much of a problem with the fireplace, and at the seating distance you mention you should not have any issue with neck strain which is the major concern with the height of mounting above a fireplace. 

Grab some flex duct, attach a squirrel cage fan and throw it in the basement and you should be set. We don't have many basements here in Florida so I always forget that option.

Nick


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

so....basically just a bathroom vent fan?


----------



## gsmollin (Apr 25, 2006)

Yes a bathroom vent fan would work, but get one that is quiet, and put some turns in the pipe before the fan so the sound coming back is attenuated.

I know that everybody has to come to a personal solution for a "home" theater, but you must have already realized that the screen is too small for proper viewing at 17 feet. I would recommend you keep planning for something more optimal. If that were the only place one could put a screen, then I would put a powered screen in the ceiling to drop down in front of the fireplace, and use a ceiling mounted front projector.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

I appreciate your advice, but surely you know that "optimal" rarely occurs in most peoples' living room. Besides, I consider a projector and screen in the living room to be very obtrusive.....which is why I will be building a "no compromises" dedicated theater in my basement. Look for that thread in the near-ish future.


----------



## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

Sorry but i've got to cut this off with the use of a bathroom vent fan, no matter how quiet off one you get you'll surely still hear it which you won't wan't. I'd check out cooling products from parts express or coolerguys.com as they wil have a quiet solution to your needs.

What i am thinking you should do is get a vent for the toe kick on your cabinet then cut holes inside of it behind where your equipment is and place the quieter fans there that way you'll get air movement and they won't be near as audible as a bath fan no matter what the db rating is on it plus it will be cheaper as most low db bath fans run over $100, you could accomplish what i'm talking about with under $50. Good luck on which ever route you take and keep us posted.:T


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

I am most concerned with noise as well. I've never heard a bathroom fan that was very quite, though I was willing to look around. I am using an absolutely silent 120mm fan inside the computer, so I may explore that option as a vent fan as well. I'm still not sure where I want to vent it.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

I'm formulating a plan. I found this website: www.coolerguys.com and found some very useful items.

one controller
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556086611.html
one pci slot adapter
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556052166.html
two fans
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556091929.html

and I'll have a quite thermostat controled and PC powered vent fan. Now i just need to tackle the airflow path.


----------



## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

Thats the spot i was telling you about, they have everything you need to get the job done and quietly.:T


----------



## gsmollin (Apr 25, 2006)

hddummy said:


> I appreciate your advice, but surely you know that "optimal" rarely occurs in most peoples' living room. Besides, I consider a projector and screen in the living room to be very obtrusive.....which is why I will be building a "no compromises" dedicated theater in my basement. Look for that thread in the near-ish future.


Now your talking. Bring it on!


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

bambino said:


> Thats the spot i was telling you about, they have everything you need to get the job done and quietly.:T


Sorry bambino...I overlooked where you suggested Coolerguys....I went to Vegas this weekend and I'm still recovering. :cha-ching::spend::cha-ching::spend::cha-ching::spend::spend::spend::wits-end::spend:raying::spend::crying::thud:

The fan controller I linked has a set On at 87F and off at 80F. They have another controller that is adjustable by the user. I'm inclined to just stick with the cheaper fixed controller. Any reason you can think I should get the adjustable one?

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556090885.html


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

Go with the adjustable, with those fixed temps seems it is designed for computers and may as a result be running more than you would like.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

nholmes1 said:


> Go with the adjustable, with those fixed temps seems it is designed for computers and may as a result be running more than you would like.


I'm not sure what you mean. This IS for a computer. They do offer that controller in their HTPC cabinet venting section.

Also, I've pretty well convinced myself to buy the CoolerGuys wood grill, paint it white and mount it in the wood countertop. I'll bevel the lower edge of the doors and cabinet opening. This will put my intake down low and my outflow up top. It should get decent convection cooling and only kick in the fans in when the cabinet gets pretty warm.


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

No I understand that the controller will work from inside the HTPC, but the combined heat output of the htpc and receiver will likely exceed 87°F pretty quickly, that was the reasoning for the suggestion, more flexibility is all.

Sounds like a good plan and should work fine.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

Oh i see what you meant. The added heat load of the other component. Good thought. Might as well get the adjustable anyway. I'd kick myself if i ended up needing it later on and had to buy it as well.

Does anyone think there is a more ideal flow path for the air than what I've proposed? I'll check with the aesthetics committee tonight on cutting a vent through the countertop.

I just want to say thanks again to everyone. Your input is invaluable.


----------



## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

I think that will provide a vast improvement for longevity and operation of the components.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

OK...finally had a chance to take pictures of the final result. All the hardware purchased from www.coolerguys.com works really well and the fans are super quiet. I ended up buying a Molex adapter to put in a blank expansion slot in the computer, so I power the fans directly off of the computer power suplpy.

This is a picture of the counter top with a slim vent cover.









This is the plenum i built to hold the fans.









Pardon the mess of wires....i'll get it organized at some point. This was taken the day we were having our holiday party, so I had no time to clean it up.


----------



## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

Nice work! Looks like you came up with a great solution to your heat issues. Is it working the way you were hopeing?


----------



## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Man, great work Matt!


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

To be honest, I don't really even need it right now. The house is cool enough in the winter that the cabinet stays in the 80's without the fans running. Otherwise, if it does go on, i don't notice because it is so quiet. The thermostat is set to kick on at 88 and go off at 80. One time i did notice it kick on and it only ran for about 1 minute, so it pulls a lot of air to cool off that cabinet volume so quickly. We'll see how it works in the summer time....I'm sure it will be running a lot more often.


----------



## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

It is quite amazing how quiet those little fans are and how much air they pull, i have a setup of 6 on a dampend board for my rack and you hardly notice them unless the sound is off on my source units.:T


----------

