Directly over our pillows in the bedroom is a shelf built between the two hanging closets fixed into the front corners of 'Harvey', it's a pretty standard layout, and has an LED light fixture attached below.
We never use the light as it's obnoxiously bright. I long since added a goose-neck LED fixture to the inside face of both the closets, but that's another story.
We sleep with the A/C on in the warmer months, but even with the ducted system, the aforementioned shelf seems to trap warm air. I suggested we swap ends and sleep feet forward but this fell on deaf ears.
In an effort to waft some cool air around, Dearly Beloved had taken to clipping a rechargeable 6" dia. fan to the front edge of the shelf over her side. Nice idea.
Trouble is the clamp is starting to chew up the front edge of the shelf, the batteries don't last all night, the motor whines, the switch is just too far out of her reach to operate without sitting fully upright in bed, and worse of all, the elbow joint, providing directional orientation has a habit of slackening off and it ends up disturbing the dog who promptly migrates to my pillow.....
I decided it was time to kick start my ingenuity. A quick search on Amazon and about $25.00 had all the pieces I needed heading my way. I bought two 3" diameter brushless variable speed 12v centifugal fans that run on about 3v to 12v. (some won't), two rotary speed control/on/off switches also rated for a similar voltage range, and two gimballing automotive style dashboard vents.
From a 12" x 24" sheet of 1/8" craft plywood I had laying around, I designed and cut a chassis to mount the electronics and a cover to contain and direct the discharged airflow.
The chassis was sprayed satin black and the cover stained and varnished to match the underside of the shelf. The intakes are protected with a piece of fiberglass screen hot glued onto the inside.
I removed the LED and hardwired the fan unit into the same bedroom lighting circuit which is protected by a fuse in my breaker box. We now have a Dual Zone Independently Adjustable Ventilation System.
When I patent this for NASA I'm sure they'll call it D-ZIAVS and pay me millions of dollars. Giggle..
When at full blast the two fans are less audible than the single clip-on one. The control knobs can be reached easily when laying down, and the vents are as directable and efficient as any found on a cars dash.
We've experimented and found that at about half speed, ie. 6v, the fans are silent, you have to listen intently to hear that they're on, and even then it's only the air movement you hear, there is absolutely no resonance, and the airflow feels cool and fresh. DB is now a very happy bunny, (actually she's always the happiest of bunnies) and bonus, the mutt stays put over her side.
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