Barn cooling/ ventilation

[4horses]

I live in Florida and my barn gets unbelievably hot during the summer. I have fans for each stall and the feed/tack room. My barn is a metal building with wood interior. The front of the barn faces south and is open to catch any wind.

Any suggestions for cooling down the interior? Now is the time for me to make changes before the hot summer gets here. I have thought about running some ventilation air tubes across the peak of the ceiling to pull hot air out with an exhaust fan, or I could use a similar design to blow air in.

Another consideration would be to paint the east and west side of the barn in white elastomeric. I could paint the roof as well, but would probably need a cherry picker to get up there. That seems rather labor intensive for a do it yourself project.

Next I looked at evaporative cooling system - I have seen those used successfully in greenhouses to lower the interior temperatures but not sure if it would work as well for a open building. And I’ve never seen that used in a horse barn before. This did work really well for the small greenhouses. Like standing next to a waterfall on a hot day.

Any more thoughts on really cooling down a hot barn? The barn is in direct sunlight and is honestly like a hot oven in the summer.

[wsmoak]

Any photos? Does it have a ridge vent? Hot air rises so allowing it to escape from up there is useful.

Adding a cupola would be great, but probably hard to retrofit. The spinny vents can also work and some are solar powered, but when it rains sideways, water is probably going to get in, so don’t put it over anything important.

Evaporative cooling only works when the air is not already saturated with water… and given the humidity level in Florida I am not sure about that. We used one in the garage in AZ and it was great.

You might try fans with misters, but again if it’s already 100% humidity you’re just blowing more wet air around, it’s not going to evaporate and feel cooler.

Plant a tree?

[Zu_Zu]

Exhaust fan will help.

Drum fans too in aisle.

[Bluey]

Maybe ask around if spray insulation on walls and ceilings could help?

[clanter]

@4horses

evaporative cooling system

really only effective in low humidity which I kind would not expect Florida to have

Here in Ft Worth summers humidity levels of single digits is not uncommon so the those things actually work, at least here.

We built our barn knowing summer heat can be oppressive so the top two feet of the side walls are actually remove-able panels to provide a cross breeze to remove heat. All side walls are also insulated

[stb]

When I re-sided The World’s Tiniest Barn here on my place I removed the siding at the eaves and replaced with wooden slats. I now get much more airflow through my barn and heat doesn’t build up so much in the afternoon.

I do also have fans going full time in the summer. I have basket fans in each stall and an agricultural ceiling fan in the aisle.

I think your idea about painting the reflective material is a good one. If you would plant a tree or two that would provide shade that would be an alternative. I think it’s hard for a metal building to stay cool when it is in direct sun. I would stay away from the mister fans in Florida. I live in S. Carolina, so hot and humid also. I think your barn would just be moldy and wet with misters. I can’t see that working in a high humidity environment.

[mvp]

OP, I’m up in Aiken, so a little cooler, but still a major problem to someone like me who has not lived in the Southeast before.

You have three problems to address, as best you can: 1. Heat/air flow; 2. Solar gain (the sun just beating down on your metal roof which conducts heat well),;and 3. Humidity.

You can’t address all three problems without a big retrofit. Cheapest is to address ventilation by getting really aggressive about moving air through this building. Next most expensive, which no one has mentioned yet, is insulating your roof. There are more- and less expensive ways to do that. How much do you want to spend? A lot or a little? The really hard one is humidity. My personal favorite here is building a barn of concrete block.

[Jarpur]

We have air gaps at the top of the front and back stall walls (similar to what @clanter mentioned, although ours are permanently open); this allows hot air to move up and out. They’re well-sheltered by the roof overhang, so no problem with rain being driven inside. Is there some way for you to partially remove the top foot or two of wall somewhere in a relatively protected spot?

We also had the roof insulated when we built the barn. Easier during initial construction, of course, but perhaps you could add some insulation now – I’m thinking that a roll of bubble insulation (such as that sold by FarmTek) might not be that difficult to install. We have a friend who hung a similar product inside the west-facing overhead door of his garage, and it made an incredible difference.

We also situated the barn not only to catch the summer breeze, but between two deciduous trees, which have grown into large ones – one each at the east and west sides of the barn – which I’m sure helps. Perhaps you could do something with landscaping.

Do the horses have access to the outside of the particularly hot side walls of the barn? If not, it might be possible to apply something such as lattice to those walls, to allow climbing vines a place to grow. They’d spread relatively quickly, and provide some shade on the walls, while newly planted trees become established.

Also, would it be possible to hang shade cloth (found at places like FarmTek, Lowes, etc.) somewhere that would be helpful? I’m thinking of using shade cloth, or possible a shade sail, in a way that could keep direct sun from hitting the barn walls at certain times of day.

[lenapesadie]

You mentioned the south end was kept open? Do you have other airflow points to allow the air to move through?

If you have a concrete aisle, you might try a mister fan over it.

I’m in NW FL and mister fans feel cooler to me than regular fans. YMMV

[cardinale]

I’m in another very hot area, albeit without high humidity, and am looking into putting shade cloth over the metal roof of my stalls. Has to be elevated to allow air movement underneath (i.e., you can’t just lay the shade cloth on the roof), so there would be a steel frame with the shade cloth stretched inside. 96% shade cloth–which you can get with a 5-10 year lifespan–is supposed to cool the air underneath by 15-20 degrees F.

Also have planted deciduous trees on the S and W sides, which get the hottest.

Also have had a contractor suggest spray-on insulation on the roof.

[EmilyM]

Insulation and exhaust fans. My metal roof is insulated and makes a world of difference.

[Amym600]

I am in AZ. I bought the best white roof coating I could, used an asphalt brush and thick coated it on my metal roof panels. I cannot believe the difference in temperature in my barn. It’s fantastic. Absolutely worth the price, I did do it myself since I can kneel on my roof. If you can do the roof and the sides you will be amazed.