We have to buy a window unit for our house. We have Central AC but it’s not keeping up and we can’t afford to upsize it right now. So until then I’m researching which window units to buy. Any advice or anything to cut through all the marketing spam and AI copy that I have to wade thru?
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All I can really say is to avoid the floor models, since they put the hot part of the conditioner inside your home, thus have to work a lot harder
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My experience with these units is that they’re horribly unreliable too. I worked in an industry where we’d use these for temporary or emergency cooling for server rooms and I don’t know if I ever saw a model last more than a year. A lot of window units are pretty flaky too, unfortunately, but you’ll probably at least get 2-3 years out of one.
Well most of the world lives in apartments where only floor* units are an option so they do exactly what they should. Ofc it’s less efficient if the hose is uninsulated. But that’s fixed with 20bucks and some tape
Even renting a house it’s in my lease I can’t use a window unit. Which sucks because our swamp cooler outputs into the living room in a way that makes it very difficult to get its air into the second bedroom.
Don’t do it at this time of year.
I know it’s a considerable cost increase and installation, but still way cheaper than upgrading your central A/C, and way more efficient, quiet, elegant than a window unit: add a mini-split to the room. I added a Mitsubishi to our hot office with tons of electronics and it’s one of the best home investments I made.
They’re mostly all made in one or two factories in China. Midea and another one.
When it comes time to replace the AC, consider getting one that’s reversible and runs as a heat pump. You don’t need to use it, but it shouldn’t cost much more and gives you flexibility.
Be aware that most window A/C units are power hogs. Expect to see a significant rise in your power bill. It might be cheaper to have your home A/C unit serviced instead. Could it be low on freon? Would it benefit from having the coils cleaned?
Make sure you buy one with enough cooling power to cool the room it’s in. If it’s a small bedroom you’ll want 5,000-8,000 BTU and if it’s a larger area like a living room you’ll probably want 12,000-14,000 BTU.
I just put a 12,000 BTU unit in my living room because it’s open to the kitchen and it’s about 550ft².
A good rule of thumb is 20 BTU per Ft², so my 550ft² living room/kitchen area would require at least 11,000 BTU.What size is your central AC (usually measured in “tons”) and what’s the total area of the space you’re trying to condition? Single story or multiple stories?
Just don’t get a portable unit. They suck and are just a waste of money most of the times.
These are portables if you’re unfamiliar.
While the dual hose ones are better, I agree that these all kind of suck because you have the compressor inside and it’s always the loudest part of an AC.
The single-hosed ones literally suck…
…air out of the room. This inevitably leads to ingress of warm air from the outside through various crevices. But you know that already from this comment section.
If you get an expensive one with both in and out ventilation through the window it can be good. But you’re spending a lot more than just a window AC at that point. The cheap ones actually vent your cold air outside.
I got a couple of $150 cheapo units at the big box stores to supplement our central air during heat waves, have been just fine. 5k or 6k BYUs at least.
Just don’t get a portable unit. They suck and are just a waste of money most of the times.
Get a dual-hose unit if you get one. There are a lot of companies selling single-hose units. Those are a lot less efficient and aren’t much cheaper. I would guess that in a situation where they get any kind of meaningful use, a dual-hose unit pays for itself quickly.
I don’t think I’d agree that they suck, but if you can use a window unit — not all rooms and windows are amenable to this — you normally want a window unit instead of a portable unit, unless you must take down the AC unit on a regular basis. Less noise inside, more energy efficiency.
Not what you asked, but you might check that:
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The central AC doesn’t need to be recharged. If it has leaked coolant and is low, it will drop in effectiveness.
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Or, even more simply, that the air filters don’t need to be replaced.
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You can’t improve insulation. Doing so is a one-off cost, as opposed to the ongoing cost of throwing more air conditioning muscle at the problem. Weatherstrip leaks, replace any single-pane windows with double-pane, etc.
On top of that, some rooms don’t have proper cold air return to the furnace, meaning those rooms don’t get proper air circulation and can be the reason for a room being warm. I’m experiencing this right now. One bedroom has a cold air return on the other side of the wall, but nothing in the room itself, and it’s the hottest room in the house. I gotta cut an entry to that cold air return duct.
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I was in the same situation as you at my last house. Central AC was added to a 100 year old house but it was never enough. I got new windows put in, and that helped, but it still got to hot in the summer.
We got this U Shaped Midea window unit and that did the trick: https://www.midea.com/us/store/cooling-and-heating/window-air-conditioners/u-shaped-air-conditioner-ultra-quiet.MAW08U1QWT
It’s better than a standard window unit because you can close the window nearly all the way, unlike standard window units that rely on those crappy plastic accordion things.
Best of luck.
I have 3 of these and love them. Unfortunately there is a recall on them for mold (never had a problem with mold in my units) and I think because if it, they’re really hard to find now. Amazon has pulled them from sales.
