AC Easy: Choosing the Right AC for your Home

Window Type ACs

Found pretty much everywhere and always popular, window type ACs are a safe and reliable choice for many homes. As their name suggests, window type ACs fit nicely into any hole meant for a window or any wall where the exhaust can point outside. They come in a variety of sizes but work best when tasked to cool a single room or a small area.

Window type ACs are composed of a single unit with all the necessary components built inside, all of which serve to send hot air outdoors and send cool air indoors. They can have the controls in the form of buttons or knobs on the face of the unit, or a remote control. They also have filters inside the grill which can be slid out and cleaned to maintain optimum efficiency. 

Advantages:

• Because they’re placed on the wall, homeowners with smaller rooms can get more out of their limited floor space.
• They typically have lower entry costs and are inexpensive to operate.
• They’re easy to maintain and clean.
• They’re easy to install, even without expert knowledge.

Disadvantages:

• They can be quite noisy, with a rumbling or humming sound.
• They need to be placed near an electrical outlet.
• If they’re placed in a hole meant for a window, that means having to sacrifice a window view or being able to open a window for fresh air.
• Not all windows can support ACs, and since they tend to be rectangular or squarish in shape, window type ACs may be incompatible with some irregularly-shaped windows.

Split Type ACs

Ah, the sleek and stylish split type AC. Loaded with features, including comparatively low-noise functions and impressive energy efficiency, these are popular choices in many modern homes. They attach to the upper end of walls and rain down a blanket of cool air, making them great for bedrooms or living rooms.
Split type ACs consist of two parts: an outdoor unit with a compressor and an indoor unit with a condenser. These two units are connected via tubes that go through your wall while refrigerant circulates throughout the system differently depending on whether you use your AC for cooling or heating.

Advantages:

• In terms of appearance, they can be at best an attractive part of your interior design and at worst, unobtrusive, making them a good aesthetic choice.
• They can be installed in pretty much any room in your home without a terrible amount of hassle and complicated ductwork.
• They’re generally more energy efficient than other AC types since split type ACs adopt new technologies to upgrade functionality and efficiency.
• Their energy efficiency leads to energy savings over time, making them a good long-term investment.

Disadvantages:

• Because split type ACs are much larger than window type ACs, they operate at a much higher capacity and as such, are accompanied by a considerably pricier entry cost. 
• They need to be installed by trained technicians, both for safety concerns and to validate your warranty, and may incur the inconvenience of having to schedule installations or repairs. 
• While they can be quiet indoors, the compressor unit outside can be quite noisy.
• They may require a good bit of upkeep, as they need to be cleaned quite often—monthly or bimonthly—to retain efficiency, particularly the filters. The outdoor condensers will also need to be cleaned at regular intervals, and it may be advisable to have a technician perform a professional cleaning job once or twice a year.

Portable ACs

Just like window type ACs, portable ACs have all their components stored inside one unit. Unlike them (or any other AC for that matter), they can be moved from room to room as needed. They just need access to a power outlet and a window where the exhaust funnel can be attached to function.

Naturally, the strength of this type of AC comes from its portability. This makes it a great choice for providing temporary cooling to a room or for installing in a room where another, larger-sized AC would be impractical, like a bathroom.

Advantages:

• Quick and simple to set up.
• They can be moved around the house with little issue.
• They can be installed or uninstalled as needed; no permanent setup required.
• Effective for direct, small area cooling or creating pockets of cool air.
• Easy to store away when not in use.

Disadvantages:

• Not ideal for cooling large areas; doesn’t have widespread cooling capability.
• Some models can be noisy.
• Portable ACs that come with a hose need to be placed near an applicable window and outlet, and will cover the view of the lower part of your window.