The Way To Select The Most Suitable Portable Air Conditioner
A portable air conditioner is definitely the most inexpensive means to cool a particular room in your home or office. They are very easy to install and of course there is the additional benefit that you can move them from room to room as needed. It often comes as a surprise to people how effective a portable air conditioner can be. The effectiveness depends on making sure that you get an air conditioner is suitable for the size of your room.
The opportunity to be able to move them from room to room brings several advantages. For example you can move the unit between the bedroom at night and another living area during the day. You additionally save money compared to running window units or a central ac system which will cool down rooms even when you are not in them. There are many rented properties where a fixed air con system cannot be installed and a portable unit gets round this problem.
The first thing you need to do therefore is to calculate the floor area in the room that you want to cool. This is simply done by multiplying the width of the room in feet by the length in feet. They only need to be approximate figures. This will narrow down your search to particular models. Manufacturers always specify the square footage that each particular unit is designed for. This is important because if you choose an unit that is rated for a larger area, you will never cool the room down and if you buy an unit that is rated for a smaller area, you will be using more energy that you need to. Most portable air conditioning units are designed for rooms having a floor area between 300 and 400 square feet. As you can see this is a typical area for a bedroom or living area.
Installation of portable air conditioners is quite straightforward and the method is pretty much the same for all makes and models. The unit will come with a flexible hose that is used to vent the warm air that has been extracted. In order to remove this air from the room, a window venting kit is used which fits into your window unit and allows the hot exhausts to escape. The hoses are usually 5 to 8 feet in length so there is no need to place the portable unit right next to the window if you do not want to.
There are 2 other features that are worth having. The first is a timer, which can be used to turn on the air conditioner an hour or so before you return home in the evening. The other is a thermostat control. This is very useful for saving energy as it will turn of the unit once the desired temperature is reached.
A further factor to consider is how quiet the unit is. You want to buy an unit that is as quiet as possible, particularly if you are going to use it at night.
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how to decide air conditioner size as per room area?
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Replacing a thru-wall air conditioner with a smaller one?
I have two thru-the-wall Air conditioners that look pretty old and have died over the past few years. We have been debating on replacing them. I think my wife took the dimensions to Sears and it was $500 for a new a/c and install. Not sure???
One opening is 27 1/8 inches x 16 3/4 inches. The opening is 26 inches x 18 3/4 inces. My question is do I need to find the exact air conditioner size to replace these, or can I go a bit smaller? If so, how much smaller? The current a/c dimensions are a bit smaller obviously to fit the opening.
I would love to be able to install myself to save some $$$. I assume it is just a matter of disconnecting the power and sliding out the current A/C. Then, sliding the new A/C unit in and connectint the power wires??? Much else to it than that?
You said to "fill in the gaps" if I put in a smaller A/C unit. Assuming there was an extra inch or two on the top or sides, what do I use to fill in the gaps? This would be between the actual A/C unit and the chassis!
-I have the old a/c in the wall.
-I want to keep the old chassis'.
-I will put in a smaller A/C unit
-what do I use to fill in the extra space/gaps between the new a/c AND the inside walls of the chassis?
-I do not want to reframe the hole. I want to use the existing chassis!!!
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Air conditioner size?
I have a 2,600 sq. foot house. This does not include the basement, which is not usually included in the sq. foot calculation. However, i have a finished 400 sq. foot basement that is heated and cooled by the central air system. Therefore, if i include the basement, the total sq. footage that is supplied heating and cooling is approx. 3,000. The house is well insulated and originally had a 3.5 system in it (this system caused the first floor to be about 7 to 10 degrees cooler than the 2nd floor). The old system was installed before we moved in and was only about 7years old before it died (a few days ago. We were told that the system was probably overworked b/c it was too small for the house). We had 2 A/C people come over and give 2 different size requirements for A/C. One said 4 ton and the other said 5 ton. I am not sure what would be the best solution and we do not want to have to go without A/C for much longer, so did not want to have to shop around any longer. Neither of those that gave us quotes did any analysis on the house to determine the proper size of the system. They just used the square footage as the basis (as did our home warranty company). I don't want to get too big of a system (5 tons) and have humidity problems (and potentially mold and mildew), but i don't want to buy a system that is too small to cool the house properly and potentially risk overworking the system. Can anyone provide me with any advice. Thanks in advance for any information provided.
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about central air conditioner size?
I live in southern california. My home is about 1100sf 2 story town house. My air conditioning unit is 30 years old and it needs to be replaced in the near future.
The air conditioner is 3 ton unit and it goes on and off so often, I think.
When it is 90 out side, it is on for 6 minutes and off for 8 minutes. It repeats this cycle all day.
I think this happens because the unit is too big.
If I replace it, do you think I have to get smaller unit?
What is the right size for my home? 2.5 or 2 ton?
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