I have an unfinished storage room off my basement. About half of it is underground. Concrete floor, brick walls. About 8x10 ft.
I am temporarily storing some wine there, and wondering if there is anything I can do to bring down the temperature a few degrees.
I dont want to install a permanent cooling unit or put in a bunch of insulation, but wondering if there are any hacks that might make a practical, meaningful difference with minimal effort.
Anyone ever done anything to that effect?
thanks!
portable air conditioner plus some humidity management.
I’m in the same boat. I’m wondering if some insulation board hastily tacked to the above ground part of the walls is enough to cut the temp a few degrees.
What is the ambient temperature now?
Do you have central ac? If so do ducts run through the area?
Do the walls have any constant sun exposure? Is there any mechanical (boiler, furnace, water heater etc) in the basement?
I did. Mine is passive in Virginia. 50 to 65 ish with good humidity.
2x6 walls with rockwool + 2" polyiso foam around the whole outside. Ceiling filled with insulation, bare concrete floor. All the foil taped for a full vapor barrier.
Have to have the right basement depth, northern exposure for the outer wall, and be far enough north. Any warmer and it might not work unless the basement was much deeper underground.
Overall I’m pretty happy with it.
This seemed like the perfect solution. but it turns out all portable AC units require external venting, and since this space has no windows, id have to create a hole through the walls or door, which would go beyond easy/lazy 
This area does not get steady sun exposure. There are no mechanicals in this room.
I do have central AC, but the ducts dont go into this room
Yes, it will help!
They make very easy to install stiff panel insulation that does a great job.
I think the key here is what are your current temperatures throughout the year. Buying a cheap tool to monitor that will give you an idea of how many degrees you need to come down. If it really is just 1 - 3 degrees all year around then yeah, probably just some insulation board on the walls and ceiling. But much more and you need a cooling solution or a very robust passive cellar plan.