window Air conditioners tips

Room or Window AC units are designed to cool just one room or part of the house. Unless you do need to cool the whole home, window air conditioners are a cheap option that can provide significant energy savings. Just take into account some tips, when buying, installing or using them...

Buying Tips for Window AC

Window AC components: EERE image Buy AC units with an EER of at least 12. Replacing an EER-6 AC unit with a EER-12 AC unit will cut your air conditioning costs by half.

The EER, or Energy Efficiency Ratio, is the relation between the cooling capacity and the watts power input, and a measure of the efficiency of room AC units.

Also look for UE eco-labeled room AC units (in European countries) or for Energy Star labeled units, in USA, Canada or New Zealand and Australia.

Window AC Tips

Small details matter when installing a room AC. They can save you electricity and money... Pay attention to some basic window air conditioner tips:

- Level the AC condenser, when installing it: the room AC condenser must be level for proper operation and higher efficiency. Problems with drainage or even premature wear will occur otherwise.

- Minimize leaks: fit the room AC unit snugly into the wall or window opening, to minimize leaks and to higher performance. Use foams to seal openings and gaps.

- Location: Locate the equipment in a shaded spot, whenever possible. Avoid as much as possible direct sunshine on the outdoor elements of your AC equipment. Having or planting trees and shrubs to shade the air conditioner - without blocking the equipment airflow - is a good practise.

- Thermostats: Keep the AC thermostat sufficiently away from lamps, televisions and other sources os heat.

- Location within the room: install the AC unit in a central position within the room, whenever possible. If you have to install it near a corner, look for units able to drive their airflow into the whole room. When installing it in the extreme of a long room, look for window AC units with "Power Thrust" or "Super Thrust" control fans: fans that can send the cool air into the whole room...

Other Window Air Conditioner Tips

- Thermostat settings: you will not get a faster cooling by adjusting your thermostat to a very cold setting. A normal setting will cool your home as fast as a colder one. A colder setting will represent an excessive cooling and higher bills. See:

- Digital readout: Prefer a room AC with a digital readout for the thermostat setting, and a built-in timer.

- AC fan speed: In high humidity days, set the AC fan speed on low. It will cool your home better and it will dehumidify more, due to slower air movement through the cooling equipment;

- Fans: Using a fan together wid room AC can be a good option: it will spread the air very effectively with low costs (fans require very low energy consumption).

- Size: Do not oversize (or undersize) your room AC. Over-sizing is a major cause of inefficiency. Over-sizing causes air conditioners to run in short cycles, wasting energy.

- Circuit requirements: smaller room AC – demanding less than 7.5 amps of electricity, can be plugged into common household circuits. Larger room AC (more than 7.5 amps) may require dedicated 115-volt circuits or even dedicated 230-volt circuits.

- Maintenance: regular maintenance is crucial to get window air conditioning tips. See: AC maintenance.