If you are looking to buy a new wall unit air conditioner the best time to buy it is in the fall or winter months. Most retailers will be out of wall mounted air conditioners, or any air conditioners, during the peak summer months.
When buying an air conditioner there are four things you want to take into consideration: 1) Cooling capacity; 2)Energy efficiency; 3) How difficult will it be to install: 4) Extra Qualities.
Cooling Capacity
The cooling capacity is measured in BTU (British Thermal Units) per hour. The higher the BTU the more power the unit has to cool. If you buy a unit that has too much cooling power it will go off and on too often. This can be wearing on the machine and will not stay on long enough to eliminate the humidity.
Measure your room in square feet before you shop for that wall unit air conditioner. A room of 350 square feet with a eight foot ceiling can be cooled by 9000 BTU.
Energy Efficiency
The energy efficiency of the unit is measured in Energy Efficiency Rating (EER). The higher the EER the more efficient the unit will be in saving energy and lowering your electric bill. A wall unit with an EER rating of 10 will use about 20% less energy than a unit of an EER of 8.
Installation
Installation of a wall unit air conditioner can be somewhat awkward and heavy.
Unlike free standing air conditioners the wall unit air conditioner is designed to be installed in a hole in the exterior wall. Since burglars like to use the air conditioning units as a means of entrance into a residence, the wall unit makes it more difficult for them to gain that entry.
Extra Qualities
Some of the qualities you want to look for when buying your wall unit air conditioner is how it will maintain a constant temperature; how noisy is the unit of your choice. Air flow is another important quality you want to look for. How does the air flow, does it have manual or electric louvers to direct the flow of air up and down? Does it have the ability to switch to the outside when you want the air out of the room?
Today’s air conditioning units have all sorts of abilities and the one you don’t want to forget is the remote control. Unlike a portable room air conditioner which you can easily operate, the wall unit air conditioner may be mounted a little higher than you can reach.
All of this information may seem like a lot of work just to buy a simple wall unit air conditioner, but keep in mind that a little homework and research before you shop can save you a lot of money. You will save money because the unit will be more efficient therefore more suited to your cooling needs and it will save energy. You will also feel a certain satisfaction for accomplishing what could have been a stressful task.
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