Tower fans are better than small portable ACs for most conditions.Single-hose ACs heat up your room when it’s hotter than about 85 ☏ outside.Portables use far more power than window units, and don’t cool rooms well.Portable air conditioners work differently than other systems, and there are a few facts that make buying them a bad idea in most cases: Choosing the size of a portable air conditioner Finding a bonded local contractor who will be able to inspect and service your system for the next 20 years isn’t always easy, but asking other homeowners for references is well worth the time it takes. ![]() are certified by either the North American Technician Excellence (NATE) program or the HVAC Excellence program, though certification is not required. While it’s possible to buy parts for do-it-yourself work on a central HVAC system, a professional will help you install a system that actually does what you need it to do. A home on the Florida coast will need more cooling capacity and will have far different humidity concerns than a home in Nevada, even if summer temperatures reach similar highs. Air conditioners this large are often rated in “tons” of 12,000 BTUs with a standard rule of thumb being 1.5 tons per 1,000 square feet. The shape and size of ducting in your house will change requirements for the central fan (or “air handler”), and some installations may need additional circulation fans to keep an entire building at a more even temperature.Īside from the extra calculations for an air handling system, with the amount of money you need to invest in a central air conditioner it’s also important to tweak your system capacity to match the demands of your climate. ![]() Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) systems rely on a large central fan blowing air through ducts to cool or heat each room in a building. Moving from room air conditioners to central systems, the calculations become more complex. Choosing the size of a central air conditioner If you’re cooling a big room, though, it’s far easier to find a large ductless air conditioner that can cool more than 1,300 square feet of space, and you have more flexibility to install it in a location that gives you the most effective airflow. It’s still only cooling one room, and you’ll have the same problems with humidity if it’s cooling too quickly. Sizing for a split-system or “ductless” air conditioner is the same as with a window system. The system is also typically more expensive to begin with, from three to five times more expensive than a window air conditioner for the same BTU capacity. The big difference between a split system and a window system is that instead of using a window to separate indoor and outdoor components, split-system installation requires drilling holes, running coolant and drain hoses, running dedicated electrical wiring, and hanging the hardware from your walls. Choosing the right size for split AC systems Adding a kitchen makes the most difference, with stovetop or oven use adding 4,000 BTUs to the recommendation. A very sunny room needs 10% more BTU capacity. For example, more than two people using the room adds extra heat, averaged out to 600 BTUs per extra person. ![]() Knowing how much capacity you need means knowing where the heat in your room comes from. Take the time to find out the right size, and you’ll save yourself some headaches. Just because an air conditioner is easy to find in stores and you can afford the sticker price doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good pick for your room, though. In our review of the best window air conditioners we focused on 8,000 BTU units, since they’re the most popular.
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