Window Air Conditioners
An obvious choice for apartments, home offices
Window or room air conditioners are a sensible choice for apartment dwellers or even homeowners who spend a lot of time in one room or who want to strategically keep one room cool. Aside from the limited cooling, these also have a reputation for noise pollution.
Bear in mind that many mechanical and technological improvements have been made to newer air conditioners – your old AC may sound like a lawn mower, but many new units are equipped with multi-settings which help keep the noise down.
When looking for an air conditioner, there are a number of important factors to consider:
- Cooling capacity. An air conditioner's cooling capacity is measured in BTUs. The higher the BTUs, the more cooling power the AC unit will have. It's very important to not overbuy BTUs; don't simply get the largest unit available. This may result in waste. Match your unit with the amount of space you want to cool.
- Energy efficiency. This is given as an EER (energy efficiency rating). Any new unit sold in the United States must display an EER. The higher the rating, the better the efficiency, with a typically good EER of 10.
- Window size. Know the size of your window before you purchase. And make sure that you know the weight of the unit. Window air conditioners can be very heavy, so make sure that someone around has a strong back.
- Noise level. Be sure that you know how much noise your unit is going to kick out along with all that cool air. Some cheaper window units will not have optional settings but most larger units will, and this will greatly reduce the noise output.
There are extra options available on many window air conditioning units today that were not available in previous generations. These include timers, air filters (for allergens and odors) and remote controls.
Some alternatives
Window air conditioners are only one possibility when it comes to single room or small apartment air conditioning. Portable air conditioning is probably cheaper. Wall units can be mounted in a hole cut into the exterior wall. The advantage to these is that they need not be moved and they don't take up window space. They are much more installation-intensive, of course.
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