Choosing the Best Type of Room Air Conditioner

Choosing the Best Type of Room Air Conditioner

A room air conditioner is just an air conditioner designed to control temperature in a single room, as opposed to a central air conditioner, which is for cooling a whole house or multiple rooms. There are several types, but some require professional installation. Three types can be readily installed by a homeowner including portable, window, and through-wall air conditioners. The latter may require a bit more help, but more on that later. All three types come with the option of heating function, digital or manual controls, and remote controls. Each type has characteristics that make it a more or less suitable for a given application. It is very important to consider these factors, because an air conditioner that doesn't fit the intended use is a costly mistake!

Portable air conditioners are the least 'permanent' of the three. They are also the easiest to install and the most portable. They are heavy, but have wheels and can therefore be easily moved to different rooms on the same floor. Stairs are a bit more difficult due to the weight, but with enough manpower, stairs are not too much of an obstacle. Portable ac's sit on the floor, so they do take up a bit of space in the room They require some method of ventilating hot air outside the room. All come with a window kit designed to fit in a sliding window, so no alteration to the house structure is needed. But an alternative venting structure like a dryer vent or ceiling vent kit can be used in a room without a suitable window. Older models had the need to empty the condensate from a drip pan, often daily. A major improvement in most newer models is the addition of either an auto-drain or evaporative function to get rid of condensate without having to do it manually. Units designed for residential use generally max out at 14,000 BTU of cooling power, so the maximum recommended room size is around 500 square feet, depending on the efficiency of a given model. For single hose units, I don't recommend using them in rooms over about 400 or 450 square feet unless the room has very little heat load and the unit is supplementing central air. Pretty much all residential portable air conditioners use 110 volt power supply. A portable ac can be a great room air conditioner when used properly and in the right circumstance. They are versatile, user friendly, powerful, and mobile. Commercial units are available with much greater cooling power, but they have a completely different look and for most people would not be suitable for home use.

Window and through-wall air conditioners are very similar in function, and differ mostly in the cabinet design. Window units are designed to sit semi-permanently in a sliding window, and have a seal that the window closes onto. Through-wall units have a sleeve designed to fit through a hole in the wall, and the unit then slides into the sleeve. Obviously, unless there is already a hole for the unit, this installation requires quite a bit more work and maybe professional help to create the hole and frame out a suitable support structure within the wall. Through-wall units have trim that surrounds the unit for the most 'finished' look of the three types, but are definitely considered a more permanent installation. Removing them leaves a big hole to repair! Neither window or through-wall units take up floor space, but they do have more of a presence on the outside of the building which some consider unsightly. Some apartment complexes and homeowner associations forbid or limit their use for this reason. These types of room air conditioner range in power from 5,000 all the way up to 25,000 BTU, so they can be used in much larger rooms. Units over 12,000 BTU are generally designed for commercial use and usually require a 220 volt power supply, which may mean some extra electrical work and expense when using one of these more powerful units in a home. Window and through-walls are generally more efficient than portable ac's, because they have no ducts to pump air through, and the compressor is outside, so it doesn't add to the heat load in the room. When the room air conditioner is the sole source of cool air, (i.e., when there is no central air conditioner), these types are probably a better choice than portable ac's except in very small rooms. For the same power, window units are usually the least expensive of the three types. To help matters more, many models are Energy Star rated.

This has been an overview of some of the things to consider when choosing the best type of room air conditioner for residential or small office use, which buyers can install without professional help in most cases. There are other types of room air conditioner which may be better for a given application, for example mini-split units, but they definitely require professional installation. I hope the reader finds the information helpful.

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