Heat Management

[Dr. Z]

I already virtualise

[Daz]

What services are your boxes running? OS's aside.

[Dr. Z]

My desktop machine does exactly that - my desktop stuff / gaming. I dont run anything at all that isnt needed on here, purely for my daily usage stuff.

My server box runs DNS/DHCP/Active Directory/Fileserver/Counterstrike/Ventrilo and virtualises Asterisk when I can be bothered with it.

My "media centre" box runs XP MCE which I use alongside my Vista box to record TV and whatnot when I am busy or gaming on my main machine. It virtualises every other OS that I want to play with at the time - Ubuntu, Solaris, SUSE, Gentoo - you name it, I either have an image for it running or have had one in the past! I also use this box to muck about with new stuff on and it also allows Paula to do stuff she wants to do when she is down here.

So as you can see, there isnt a great deal of room for moving things about - 3 machines isnt that many machines really - my housemate across the hall has a dislike of virtualisation for most things and consequently he is running 5 PCs and 4 laptops 24/7... but he faces away from the sun and his room is in the shade of some trees, so his room is like an icebox most of the time - my room faces the sun

[Daz]

Aye not a lot of room to shift stuff about. All I can suggest is swicth some stuff off in that case. Leave the desktop machine off and use the media one for web browsing/basic email, and shut the server down if it's not doing much. Bout the only 'option' you have, though it's not really fair to call it one.

[Dr. Z]

The server has shifted 1.4Tb since early feb... Its never really not doing much

Plus it torrents for me, 24/7

[Feek]

It's always a problem when your room gets direct sunlight. I've got an aircon unit in my room also but I suffer from the direct sunlight, luckily only in the mornings though.

What also doesn't help me is that I have the boiler in my room also so lots of heat there and all the pipes run under the floor. The room is _never_ cold, even in winter and I don't ever use the radiator.

This year I'm on an electricity save binge which I'm hoping will help with the heat. I'm shutting down PCs when they're not being used, I've moved fully to flat screens from CRTs and I've fitted energy saving bulbs around the house.

I don't want to use the aircon unless I absolutely have to, plus my tidying has meant I can put it in a different place now and running the outlet hose is tricky.

I've found the best way to keep the room a bit cooler when it's getting direct sunlight is to keep the window closed and the curtains shut, then when the sun has moved overhead (the room faces east) I crack a window and open the curtains.