What You Need to Know About a Single Room Air Conditioner
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A single room air conditioner, also known as a portable air conditioner or a window air condition unit, is great for cooling off single spaces. This can include rooms such as your home office or even the attic, basement or garage where the cooling solutions that you have might not work as well. Many people will use an air conditioner for a room that gets more sunlight and therefore doesn't cool down as well, or for a guest room that doesn't get used as often as the other rooms.
With any smaller spaces or rooms with walls and a door, a single room air conditioner is a great choice for efficient cooling. With the advanced technology of window air conditioner units, the models that are available are extremely adept at handling even larger areas like master bedrooms. The key is to choose a single unit that can properly cool the space. That is decided by BTU's rather than the actual size of a single room air conditioner. Once you have the right BTU's, you can easily cool any room of your home.
Learn the Single Room Air Conditioner Lingo
When your goal is to buy a single room air conditioner, it helps if you understand the terms that you will be seeing so that you can make an informed decision. First and foremost, you need to know exactly what a BTU is. A BTU is a British Thermal Unit and is considered an international measurement of energy. BTU's measure the amount of heat an air conditioning unit can remove from the room and it is your main factor in choosing an air conditioner unit. An EER is the Energy Efficiency Ratio which is calculated by dividing the BTU by the number of watts in the air conditioner unit. The higher the EER the more efficient the AC unit is. Other terms you will see are the thermostat that tells you the temperature in the room, the filter which helps to filter out dust and give you clean air and then the fan which helps to move the air.
Choosing the Right Size of Your Air Conditioner Unit
It is essential that you measure your room well before you choose any cooling unit. The square footage, which is determined by the length multiplied by the width, should be the most important factor in choosing the size of the air conditioner. Here is the guide to follow:
100 to 150 sq ft - 5,000 BTU's
150 to 250 sq ft - 6,000 BTU's
250 to 300 sq ft - 7,000 BTU's
300 to 350 sq ft - 8,000 BTU's
350 to 400 sq ft - 9,000 BTU's
400 to 450 sq ft - 10,000 BTU's
450 to 550 sq ft - 12,000 BTU's
500 to 700 sq ft - 14,000 BTU's
700 to 1000 sq ft - 18,000 BTU's
Keep in mind that you should not get a larger single room air conditioner than you need because you will be wasting energy as it will go on and off too frequently and overcool your room.
Installation of Your Single Room Air Conditioner Unit
When you initially start to install your air conditioner you should already have the window dimensions measure to make sure you are getting the right single room air conditioner unit. Follow the directions exactly about how exactly it should be installed, but mostly all single room units should just pop right into any double hung window. Make sure you have an electrical outlet that is nearby and just plug it in and go making sure you keep it at the right angle so that any excess water drips down and that the air circulates properly. Keep in mind the weight of the unit and make sure that your window will support it.
How to Take Care of Your Single Room Air Conditioner
The maintenance of your single room air conditioner is of the utmost importance so that you can keep it in good condition and keep it running efficiently for many years to come. Make sure to always replace your filter as recommended by the manufacturer as that is what keeps your air clean and also keeps it running efficiently to use the least amount of energy. If you have a filter that you can clean yourself, run it under warm soapy water and make sure not to damage the filter in any way. Also, keep the coils on the back of the air conditioning unit clean as well and remove any dirt and debris from the back end as often as possible to keep the air flowing well.
Single Room Air Conditioner
Single room Air Conditioners come in multitude styles and designs. This is one indication of their popularity. Even though most buildings are now centrally cooled all space of the accommodation is not at a comfortable temperature. Many people then go in for single room air conditioner without shelling out much money. The cost of these ACs is directly proportional to its energy efficiency. Look for energy star logo. Most come with remote control accessory. Most of these ACs are attached to a spot and are with specifications catering to the single room requirement. The agent will help you in calculating the size of the AC for your room.