Window Air Conditioners – Still a Mainstay for Room AC

With the growing popularity of portable air conditioners and mini-splits, some might tend to discount window air conditioners as outdated. But this is hardly the case. Window units and their close relatives, through-wall air conditioners, remain popular. It is surprising to me how many folks don't even really want to discuss these options.

I think it's a mistake, because they've gotten quieter and added feature over the years. They are not the noisy, ugly, cumbersome devices blowing the curtains around we remember from our grandmother's house. In fact, modern units have sleeker design with many convenience features.

Window air conditioners nowadays have the same convenience features as portable units. Things like remote controls, electronic display, and directional air flow are common. Older style manually controlled units are still available, and are less expensive.

Window and through wall units have a couple of distinct advantages over portable units, making them a better option for selected applications. First, they do not take up any floor space. This can be a real plus in smaller rooms like bedrooms or home offices, where floor space can be limited. Trim kits included with the unit give a much more finished look than the older styles, making them look like they belong in the room by design. This is especially true for through wall air conditioners, which cleanly fit into a perimeter wall with the bulk of the unit invisible from inside the room.

A second real advantage is the range of power available. Whereas portable air conditioners commonly max out at 14,000 BTU, window air conditioners range from 5000 up to 25,000 BTU. This means they can serve a much larger room adequately. Game rooms, dens, garage apartments, etc., are generally not too large for these big guys. The more powerful units generally require a 230V circuit, which can be hard wired in the wall, giving an even cleaner look.

Heating is also an option, which means year-round comfort from a single device. Window air conditioners heat in one of two ways. Some use the same method as in portable air conditioners, which is a reversal of refrigerant flow in the heat pump coils. This method often produces a BTU rating similar to that for cooling. The second method uses a heating strip, which does not produce as much power, and should only be used for light duty heating. Some units actually have both, with the strip available for supplemental heat as needed.

Since window and through-wall air conditioners have a component outside the building, drainage of condensate is not a problem. It just runs outside. Some units have a directional port so the drainage can be directed away from the house, or in whichever direction is best.

One downside of window and through-wall units is the outside component, which some consider unsightly. Some apartment complexes and homeowner associations do not permit them, or restrict them to areas invisible from the street. Before buying, it's a good idea to check on this.

While window and through-wall air conditioners can be removed, they are not nearly as easy to move as portable units. This can be a plus or a minus, depending on the situation. But if a more permanent looking installation is desirable, one would want one of these types, since portable units basically always look like a post-construction addition. Certainly through-wall units require a bit more work to install unless they are replacing existing units, but they do have a very permanent, finished look.

The point of this article really is not to give the idea that window an through wall units are better than portable units, but to encourage those needing a room air conditioner to consider all the available options for their particular application.