Air Conditioning Options - Central, Ductless, Or Through-the-wall

Question : I wish to install air-conditioning on the first floor of my two story home

. I have casement style windows that swing out so I can't install a window unit. I could install central air, but I do not use the second floor of the house. The windows are ten yr old Anderson. Should I replace one window with a double hung window so I'll slot in an air conditioner or go for central air?

Answer : My first choice for energy conservation, as well overall comfort, is to install a central air-conditioning system. These systems can be "zoned" so they may only cool one floor of the home and not both. Nonetheless you definitely should plan on both and debate that with your contractor as it could be less costly to install some of the channeling to "stand by" for cooling the second floor at some particular point in future times.

Another choice could be to install a through-the-wall air con unit. Plenty of the bigger units are available with wall mounted sleeves. To install, you'd need to chop a hole in the exterior wall and frame it out the same way you'd frame an opening for a window or door. It is vital to do that properly, as you'll be impacting the structural integrity of the house. Also, this sort of system will highly likely result in a heat loss in winter as it is terribly hard to seal it to stop cold air dribbling in.

A better choice, which cost-wise will be between the price of a central system and a through-the-wall mounted conveyable, could be ductless air-conditioning. I have Fujitsu ductless aircon system like this in my office and the ductless air-conditioning system works amazingly well as a supplement to my central system, which doesn't absolutely extend into the office space. With ductless air-con, you've a wall blower that hangs on the inside wall of your house. This is connected through a refrigerant line to a tiny compressor which sits outside, just like a central system. The compressor supplies chilled refrigerant to the blower within, which circulates the cooled air.

Given the above, my choice would be (1) central; (2) ductless; (3) through-the-wall.

Irrespective of what you finally decide, you ought to be sure to select the most efficient air-conditioning unit achievable. Energy Star has a good new programme called chill your World With Energy Star Home that will help you understand cooling potency and options.

Tom Kraeutler is the Host, Founder and Chief renovation Evangelist of The Cash Pit. He's a hands-on home-improvement broadcast reporter and the sort of guy householders wish to call at midnight when their cellar floods. He first earned his renovation stripes as a pro home inspector, assembling over twenty years expertise learning how homes are put together, and how they fall apart!

by: David Vega.

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