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?
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.
This is correct, you need a “ closed” loop of outside air (by this I mean, the unit does not vent inside air through the condenser coils to the outside) and the two-pipe units are the only way to achieve this.
If you go that route, be aware that these usually collect the evaporator moisture and you either have to manually empty the bucket or pump it to a drain (you can connect it to a laundry machine drainpipe for example). If that isn’t possible and your indoors isn’t sealed well you might be emptying it a lot. Still, there are situations like smaller basement windows for which this is the only practical solution.
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.
Idk, I got one made by Midea and it’s pretty good imo. Granted, we have casement windows (the ones where the window slides to the side to open, not up/down) so the usual window units weren’t an option.