Selecting a Through The Wall Air Conditioner

The required cooling capacity for a room air conditioner depends on the size of the room being cooled: Through The Wall Air Conditioners generally have cooling capacities that range from 5,500 Btu per hour to 14,000 Btu per hour. A common rating term for air conditioning size is the “ton,” which is 12,000 Btu per hour.

Proper sizing is very important for efficient air conditioning. A bigger unit is not necessarily better because a unit that is too large will not cool an area uniformly. A small unit running for an extended period operates more efficiently and is more effective at dehumidifying than a large unit that cycles on and off too frequently.

Based on size alone, a through-the-wall air conditioner generally needs 20 Btu for each square foot of living space. Other important factors to consider when selecting a through-the-wall air conditioner are room height, local climate, shading, and window size.

Verify that your home’s electrical system can meet the unit’s power requirements. Room units operate on 115-volt or 230-volt circuits. The standard household receptacle is a connection for a 115-volt branch circuit. Large room units rated at 115 volts may require a dedicated circuit and room units rated at 230 volts may require a special circuit.

If you are mounting your through-the-wall air conditioner near the corner of a room, look for a unit that can direct its airflow in the desired direction for your room layout. If you need to mount the through-the-wall air conditioner at the narrow end of a long room, then look for a fan control known as “Power Thrust” or “Super Thrust” that sends the cooled air farther into the room.

Other features to look for:

• Logically arranged controls
• A filter that slides out easily for regular cleaning
• A digital readout for the thermostat setting, and
• A built-in timer.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Energy Efficiency of Wall Air Conditioners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.