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Selection

Two different kinds of room air conditioning systems are available in the market: a Window air conditioner, and a Split air conditioner. What's the difference? A very elementary way of differentiating would be that a window air conditioner is the big box you fix outside your window, while a split system hooks onto the wall.

What type of system do you need?

It really depends on whether you are looking at cooling a room or the entire house. If you live in a small house or apartment, a window air conditioner is best suited for your needs. But if you have a room where there is no window or for some reason the air conditioner cannot be fitted on the window; or you need to keep the noise levels low, then you might want to consider getting a split air conditioning system, although this can cost you little more.

Capacity and Location

If you have decided to buy a unit air conditioner, the first thing you need to do is select the capacity of the air conditioner required for the room. A thumb rule is that about 100 sq feet floor area needs one ton of cooling capacity. An expert will be able to advise more correctly after site inspection. You also need to consider the surroundings, whether the room is exposed to sunlight for instance.

 

The air conditioner needs fresh air outside the room to work efficiently. There should not be any blockage at the back and no source of heat. The moisture from the room, collected in the form of water needs to be properly drained out. Getting the right capacity of air conditioner, calculated on the basis of the area to be cooled, is also important.

 

Also, remember that cool air does not travel around corners, so do not expect to place an air conditioner in a curved lobby and maintain a temperature of 65°F in your bedroom at the other end of the lobby. It just will not work.

  • When shopping for an air conditioner, first determine which type of system best suits your needs: split air conditioning or window air conditioning. Window air conditioners are usually window mounted units, while splits are wall-mounted units, and both only cool the immediate areas that they are placed in.

  • Proper sizing is very important for efficient air conditioning. A bigger unit is not necessarily better, because a unit that is too large will not cool an area uniformly. A small unit running for an extended period operates more efficiently and is more effective at dehumidifying than a large unit whose cycles switch on and off too frequently.

  • When determining the appropriate size of the air conditioner for your home, consider the dimensions of the area to be cooled. Based on size alone, an air conditioner generally needs 20 Btu for each square foot of living space. Other important factors to consider when selecting an air conditioner are room height, local climate, shading, window size, etc.

  • Verify that your home's electrical system can meet the unit's power requirements. Room units operate on 230-volt circuits. Room units rated at 230 volts may require a dedicated circuit with a Circuit Breaker Switch known as the Mechanical Circuit Breaker (MCB), which protects the wiring from getting burnt by switching off the air conditioner.

  • If you are mounting your air conditioner in the corner of a room, look for a unit with airflow in the desired direction for your room layout.

  • Look for a unit whose filter slides out easily for regular cleaning. For efficient functioning, clean the filter frequently.

  • Select a unit with logically arranged controls, a digital readout for the thermostat setting, and a built-in timer.

  • When considering several comparable units, select the unit with higher Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER). Higher EER means lower electricity consumption. Even if it is a little costly initially, it will be less expensive in the long run.

  • If you need to mount the air conditioner at the narrow end of a long room, then look for a fan control known as "Power Thrust" or "Turbo" that sends the cooled air farther into the room.

  • Central Air Conditioners

    Central air conditioners have set certain standards in the air conditioning market today. Apart from keeping the air cool, central air conditioning systems also filter and dehumidify the air that we breathe, which is around us. When choosing a central air conditioner, there are many factors you need to consider. A central air conditioning system uses ducts to distribute the cooled and dehumidified air to various rooms, which could be for an office or even a home. When choosing a central air conditioner, one must also keep the budget in mind and the requirements for the air conditioning. Before buying a central air conditioner you have to first decide which parts of the office space or the home space, need the air conditioning. Sometimes it so happens, that the entire building may need the air conditioning. There are many advantages of choosing central air conditioners.

    Choosing Your Central Air Conditioner

    What to look for when buying a central air conditioner? Here are some things to consider while choosing a central air conditioning unit for your needs:

    • Before choosing a central air conditioner, you must consider the size of the air conditioner. This is primarily because the right sized air conditioner needs to match the cooling power to the characteristics of your home. For this, you may need to ask your contractor to do a load calculation which would ensure that you can take a proper account of the size of the home, the window area, the insulation levels and such other factors. Apart from choosing the right size of the central air conditioners one also needs to take care about the position of the unit that would be installed. This is because the position of the air conditioning systems can also affect its efficiency. If there is too much interference in its vicinity, then there are chances the air won’t flow freely through this area.

    • Look at the moisture performance of the central air conditioner. This is because your comfort depends as much on controlling the humidity, as it does on keeping the area cool. The central air conditioning systems vary in their ability to remove the moisture from the air. Therefore, you need to ask your dealer about the performance of the units.

    • A large size central air conditioning system may sound very attractive and appealing but remember before choosing this; you must consider there are certain drawbacks which are as follows:

      • An oversized unit turns on and off very frequently as compared to one that is of the appropriate size.

      • These also bring a higher equipment cost.

      • These also face more wear and tear.

      • Using an oversized system will not even run long enough to wring the moisture out of the air.

      • These air conditioning systems also draw loads of electricity and subsequently cause higher electricity bills.

    • When choosing a central air conditioner, one will come across different seer ratings (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). This would give you the necessary know how on the efficiency of the air conditioning systems. Most of the new models of central air conditioning systems do not have a rating that is below 13. The older units are known to have a seer rating of 7.

    Advantages of Central Air Conditioning Unit

    There are certain benefits of having a central air conditioning system. Here’s a look at some of the advantages of choosing central air conditioners:

  • Central air conditioning systems are one of the most effective ways to regulate cool air throughout all the parts of the building. The centralized units that cool the air also sends it through a direct route which is through the air ducts or the vents that are located in the individual rooms.

  • Compared to the window air conditioning systems, these make less noise.

  • Central air conditioning units have compressor as the visible part of the unit, which is outside the building or in any such place that makes it as inconspicuous as possible. Therefore, central air conditioning systems do not affect the view from your window or block the space. These do not take any added space in your room and are very convenient to operate.

  • The central air conditioner systems are also much more energy efficient as compared to the window air conditioning systems.

  • Most of the central air conditioners are known to work in a reversed cycle as well. This would simply mean that in winter, it pumps hot air. Besides, the central air conditioners also keep your entire house cool instead of cooling one room.

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