Greenwood Chinchillas

Cooling Your Chin Shed

If you have a shed set up for your chinchilla then it has its own problems in the summer in trying to maintain a suitable level of heat and humidity.

 

When placing your shed you should have tried to place it in the place where the least direct sunshine is likely to fall upon it, this will make it much easier to maintain a lower temperature and assist in keeping down the running costs of maintaining the unit.

 

Placing thick insulation in the walls and packing the roof space and placing in a false ceiling will reduce the effect of the heat projected onto the roof increasing the internal temperature.

 

Adding a False roof to the outside of the shed by placing new boards on batons 2 inches above the existing roof will create an effective sun shade for your unit.  The top roof will heat up the air in the gap between the false and real roof - rather than the internal of the shed.

 

Another tip often mentioned is to paint the top of the shed white or reflective silver, this will effectively reflect sunlight and heat back up off the unit where as dark colours will absorb up the interior more.  For this tip be aware that neighbours who over look your area may complain, and check for any planning permission restrictions in your area that could effect this.

 

Another speedy and effective way to cool down your shed is to hose down the roof regularly with water to reduce the temperature.  At times when there is no water restrictions, it may be possible to set up a garden watering hose of the roof so that their is a permanent slow trickle of water taking away the heat.

 

Paint the windows with greenhouse paint as a way to stop the sunlight increasing the internal temperature. Screening off the windows as well will decrease the amount of heat that is transferred internally through the windows.

 

Install an air con unit with the extraction hose venting externally through the shed wall.  This ensures that you can keep the doors and windows closed when the unit is running effectively creating better use of the unit - if doors or windows are open then hot air is permanently entering the building and increasing the work that the unit has to do.  Also set  up the collection tank with a hose that empties directly outside the shed, this will enable the unit t keep running and will require less intervention to keep it running.

 

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