Whole House Audio Amp location

I am helping my brother set up his new house...

I am concerned that whole house audio amp will generate lots of heat (it weighs a ton). I am not sure of the brand - but it is a 6-input/6-zone setup.

He wants to stick the amp in a closet inside his laundry room. That seems like a bad idea to me. Not to mention the pain of wiring it - since the closet will not be much wider than the amp itself.

Should we be concerned with the location of the amp? Does it need lots of ventilation?
 
I am helping my brother set up his new house...

I am concerned that whole house audio amp will generate lots of heat (it weighs a ton). I am not sure of the brand - but it is a 6-input/6-zone setup.

He wants to stick the amp in a closet inside his laundry room. That seems like a bad idea to me. Not to mention the pain of wiring it - since the closet will not be much wider than the amp itself.

Should we be concerned with the location of the amp? Does it need lots of ventilation?
First thing I would do is to look at the specifications of the amp (usually in the back of its manual). It should list its operating environment min and max temperatures.
 
In addition to the heat issue - if it's not much wider than the amp itself, it will always be a PITA to wire. The only way to wire it (or change wiring later) is to pull it straight out, have someone hold it, make changes and slide back. Of course you can build a sliding shelf if there is room but it's still more work...
 
You could always add ventilation holes to the door, unless the top of the closet is much higher. I have a similar issue with an amp that drives my master bath, but it's only on occasionally. The ceiling in there is about 24" higher than the top of the door. I was going to add a vent in the ceiling, but then decided against it due to the possibility of hot attic air coming down if the wind is blowing just the right way.

Another idea would be to just add a circulation fan. The idea being that if the closet is tall enough, there will be cooler air at the bottom that can be brought up.
 
Location , Location, Location...

Is the laundry room central in the house? If so it's probably a good location if you can work out some ventilation (you'll need it).

If the laundry room isn't central and the home is large, you may want to look for an alternate location that will keep wire lengths shorter and and make wiring for the system easier.

You can almost always sort out a way to ventilate equipment. I usually try to think more about finding a good location that will make wiring easy and also keep speaker wire lengths less than 80-100ft.

Will the source equipment be located with the amp or remotely in another location? If it's going to be with the amp, be sure to account for the heat output of this gear too. If it's a CD player, no big deal... if it's a cable/satellite tuner or media server these can also generate a great deal of heat.

Cheers,
Paul
 
I'm with pkoslow. Also don't use an exterior wall, laundry rooms almost always have an exterior wall. Fishing through insulation sucks compared to a hollow wall.
 
I am helping my brother set up his new house...

I am concerned that whole house audio amp will generate lots of heat (it weighs a ton). I am not sure of the brand - but it is a 6-input/6-zone setup.

He wants to stick the amp in a closet inside his laundry room. That seems like a bad idea to me. Not to mention the pain of wiring it - since the closet will not be much wider than the amp itself.

Should we be concerned with the location of the amp? Does it need lots of ventilation?
First thing I would do is to look at the specifications of the amp (usually in the back of its manual). It should list its operating environment min and max temperatures.

As far as access- if you have the space, consider mounting it in a tray that tips down- pivot at the back. That way you get good access to the back, and it is supported. I did my patch panel this way as I have very limited space.
 
bfisher, can you share some more results? whats the temp when it comes on and what temp does it drop to and how long does it take to drop the temp? very interested for client installs possibly. thanks!
 
I have it come on at 82F and off at 80F (so it wouldn't cycle frequently). Depends on the office room temperature (the main room next to it) as to how long that takes. Sometimes I keep the door to my closet closed and it builds heat quicker... it all varies.

Besides the room temp, if 1 of my PCs in particular comes on (used for racing simulation... gets very hot) or my theater amp turns on (also gets very hot) - I have it turn on the fan regardless the room temp because I know it's going to get hot in there.

It is very quiet - I have to go into the closet to hear it running. I just have it dumping into my unused garage (I didn't bother ducting it to the outside). I can hear it running in my garage easier than in my closet.

The maximum temp I've seen my closet rise to (since installing this) is 86F. And that temp sensor is mounted about 12" below the ceiling of the closet (12' ceiling).
 
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