My house once had an option to have a powder room on the ground floor, but it became a utility closet. Because it was intended to be a bathroom, it has an exhaust for the HVAC in the ceiling. In such a small space, with the door closed, the space stays cool as a cucumber. I keep a battery-operated temperature gauge next to the carboy so I can know what range the ale is fermenting in. Best thing--this temperature gauge lists what range it experienced for the past 24 hours. Range is typically 64-67 degrees, even in the tropical-like summers of DC.
This setup works very well in summer, and in winter, I just close the vent so heat doesn't affect it. It's a town house, so the insulation on both sides keeps a more consistent range than a single-family with more windows.
The reason I provided so much detail is that I reckon there are many homebrewers living in newer homes having a room which could have optionally been a powder room. It tends to offer reasonable control with no additional cost or setup. Now, to guarantee consistency and more control, obviously a chest freezer would be ideal, but this tends to produce excellent beer.
Cheers!
This setup works very well in summer, and in winter, I just close the vent so heat doesn't affect it. It's a town house, so the insulation on both sides keeps a more consistent range than a single-family with more windows.
The reason I provided so much detail is that I reckon there are many homebrewers living in newer homes having a room which could have optionally been a powder room. It tends to offer reasonable control with no additional cost or setup. Now, to guarantee consistency and more control, obviously a chest freezer would be ideal, but this tends to produce excellent beer.
Cheers!
It was below zero here for months this winter and the heat index is 104 today. Cry me a river, NorCal! 
