Choosing Window Air Conditioning Units
Most room air conditioners are mounted in a window. This allows the system to exhaust warm air outside the room. Window air conditioning units are a good choice if you are cooling only a small area like one or two rooms. This is a more economical choice than opting for a central air conditioning system. Aside from avoiding energy loss accounted by ducted central units, window air conditioners cost less initially and in the long run.
However, the problem with window installations is that they can be drafty at the end of the sweltering season; it may need to be removed from the window and be stored during the winter.
When choosing a room air conditioner, keep in mind that size is important. Too small units are noted to run continually but not cool the room effectively. Meanwhile, too large units for the space to be conditioned operate less effectively than units of the correct size. Bigger units cool the room quickly but they do not remove humidity from the air, which results in frequent turning off and on. The room will then feel soggy, dank and of course, less comfortable. Furthermore, larger units cost more as they use additional energy while smaller units running for a longer time use less energy to completely cool a room.
By the way, the cooling capacity of window air conditioning units (and other types of AC) is measured in British Thermal Units or BTU per hour. This measure helps in figuring out the right air conditioning unit size for your room. So first, measure the room to be cooled and match with the BTU chart. Multiply the length by the width of the room to know the square footage.
Here are some tips in relation to finding the correct size of air conditioner:
o For a room shaded heavily, decrease the BTU capacity by 10%;
o For a very sunny room, raise the BTU capacity by 10%;
o For a room regularly occupied by more than two people, add 600 BTU for each additional person; and for a kitchen, add 4,000 BTU/Hr.
Further, in choosing window air conditioning units, check the units’ Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER), which is used to estimate the operating cost of the unit. You can use this to compare with similar models. The point is to choose the one with higher EER because it will cost you less to operate. Also, see to it that the unit you choose has Energy Star rating. The rating means that the unit utilizes advanced heat transfer technologies which save energy. It also means that the air conditioner exceeds by at least 15% the minimum federal standards for energy consumption.
To easily maintain window air conditioning units, select the unit that has a slide out filter, because they are easy to manage during cleaning of the filter. Keep in mind that cleaning the filter helps in saving energy and money.
Other features to look for that will help you economize in the long run are a compressor switch, so that it does not operate continuously, three-speed fan controls that allow adjustment of the amount of cool air and noise, time setter, and digital thermostats.