Looking for a window AC unit for my downstairs, currently have one for bedroom. Downstairs consists of Kitchen (230sq ft), Living room (210sq ft), and bathroom (45sq ft). The Living room and bathroom both connect to the Kitchen. Yes, 485sq ft total for the first floor. ceilings are 7’2", doorways are about 31" or 32". Insulation is Ok, not great. Live in NE Pennsylvania. I keep a dehumidifier in the living room to control the humidity. My house gets pretty humid.
Would I be best served with a 12,000btu unit (placed in the Living room, this is the main room I want to cool, but still do want the Kitchen cooled as much as possible.
Bathroom to a lesser extent), with a fan blowing into the Kitchen? I was looking at this: Amazon.com
Or put a 6,000 btu in the Living room and an 8,000 in the Kitchen (8,000 btu to try and cool the bathroom as well). Getting 2 units isn’t really saving any money upfront, especially if I go with inverter units (which I would rather go with for the energy savings). And I know I need to seal around the ac units and windows very good to prevent leakage.
I was doing a bit of research, and like LG inverter units. Just not sure of the best route. Thanks for any help
If you have a top to bottom sliding “hung” window, this sort of unit works extraordinarily well. The hot part of the unit (compressor etc) stays outside the house, the window can close almost all the way down (less filler plastic to use, better insulation) and it is way quieter this way.
The inverter kind is absolutely worth it for the energy savings and noise reduction. Both the U shaped one and the portable freestanding ground ones I have are inverters and they are whisper quiet.
No opinion on LG in particular, but window ACs in general have come a long way and the modern mid-budget ones ($300 to $500 ish) are mind-blowing compared the ones I grew up with in the 90s and 2000s.
Not upfront, but maybe over time. It probably depends on how your house is laid out. If it’s relatively open with easy airflow, one centrally-located unit might be enough. In longer layouts, though, it’s less work for each smaller unit to have its own smaller area to take care of, just so they’re not trying to cool across a long floor. You can also try using a regular fan to circulate the air, but IME that doesn’t work as well as just having multiple small AC units.
And plus, having multiple units lets each area cool to a different temperature, as needed. The kitchen might get hotter if you’re doing a lot of cooking/baking. It’s kinda like having zoned HVAC or several mini-splits.
Why not? They’re cheap and work very well, compared to having nothing at all (like if you don’t have central cooling).
And if you need heating too, mini-split heat pumps are probably the way to go… they can cool in the summer and heat in the winter, all through a little duct in the wall. But if you just need cooling, or are a renter, the window ACs are a godsend.
I was reading about the Midea u-AC units. Seems to be a lot of people saying they are much more prone to mold buildup, due to there design and lack of proper drainage.
I have one of those LG inverter AC’s, and it is very nice, super quite and even hard to hear it at all in sleep setting.
Before that I was cooling about 750 sq ft multi room large open area including the kitchen dining, living room, office, in a home with OK but not great insulation. That used to be very well handled by a conventional 15000 BTU but very heavy conventional unit that lasted almost 20 years. It handled it like a champ, and even though it was in a corner window, it cooled the area evenly, with a nice spillover into the middle section of the home as well (very open home design).
When that conventional a/c shit the bed I went for a LG 9500 inverter unit which I like a lot. I combined this with a spare conventional 6000 BTU unit that would go in a opposite window. My main goal is that 15k unit was very heavy and I would struggle to get it in and out every season so I needed an easier lighter option. The 9500 inverter unit was much lighter. It was also much quieter. It became the main unit I would run and I would only turn on the other 6000 BTU for quick cooldowns or if it did get very hot. Getting too hot for the inverter unit was actually very rare, and mostly used for quick cooldowns, as once it got to temp it usually could hold it. Also since the inverter A/C was internet enabled it allowed me to precool when hot weather was expected when I was away, so less use of the conventional a/c to rapid cool when I got there. I’m in the Hudson Valley of NY, so similar weather to NE PA. It also was very even cooling no matter how I was running the AC’s. I was very happy with the multi unit setup, easy in and out of the windows and having one main one that is inverter and a conventional (cheap as dirt - or in my case free) ‘helper’ AC that would run occasionally to boost helped keep the cost manageable while getting the benefits of the inverter.
However later I went with a 18K heat pump, which I installed myself. Senville LETO series 18000 BTU’s. ‘All in’ the cost of everything including tools, vacuum pump, outside stand, gauges etc. the cost was about $1500 which not only cools but also heats and heats at a substantial savings over propane. I was able to position it slightly more central then I could with the window units. Later I installed another on the other side of the home (all in $1000 as I had all the tools), and dropped my propane usage from 550 gal/year to about 90 gal/year (I use propane for cooking and hot water and drying too). With these 2 minisplits the home effectively has central a/c and 2 complete heating systems. The extra BTU’s are not needed for cooling, but heating. However it does cool great and does not leave extra humidity. This is because inverter a/c’s (and heat pumps) run at partial loads which means it can run at about 6000 BTU’s at its lowest setting which works great to maintain proper humidity.
A 12,000 BTU window AC will be quite loud and may not be effective for cooling multiple rooms.
Some U-shaped window units can hang below the window entirely on the inside and outside which greatly reduces noise and leaves the window mostly free of obstruction.
It’s quite a bit more money to get into a split system with multiple heads but certainly worth it for minimizing noise and maximizing cooling in multiple rooms.
Most AC units of all types now have de-humidifying modes.
I looked into the u-shaped ones that hang below, and have read that they are prone to dripping water on the inside of the house.
Because of their shape, they need to pump the condensation over the hump, which is an added failure point.
Huh, interesting. I live in a pretty dry climate, so haven’t really noticed that (we leave it in all winter too). I can imagine how it might be an issue in damper environments.
Was there a particular article or thread that discusses this?
One things to be thoughtful about is the electrical load on each circuit. An AC on the kitchen circuit might mean you’ll blow the breaker if the fridge, AC, and toaster are all running at the same time.
I can see that as a problem, especially in a high humidity locale. My experience is that most of the noise will come from the fan in the interior portion of a window AC so having that part below the window may not help quiet it down at all. Wall mounted ACs are usually mounted as high up as possible so they don’t have to blow cold air upward which requires faster air flow from the fan and generates a lot of noise. Window ACs are full of trade-offs, but cost much less than central air systems.
I read several threads on Reddit saying they are more prone to mold. People said when the AC fan is blowing, they can smell it. My house is pretty humid in the summer, so I’d rather just avoid the possible problem.
I get that, but even back when I was renting, whenever one of my old window units broke, my landlady would replace it with a mini-split. I sort of assumed they just weren’t an option any more.
You have a nice landlady! A window AC is a few hundred bucks and typically requires no permanent installation. A mini split is typically a few grand, I think, and usually requires professional installation or a bit of DIY work.
Maybe it’s a regionalism? In many places I’ve lived, it was “bring your own window AC” and people tended to bring them from one rental to the next.