Quick Tip: Buy and Install a Room Air Conditioner Make your measurements and energy calculations before you buy. What to Look for Room air conditioners are rated by the number of BTUs, or British thermal units, of heat that they can remove per hour. Contrary to what you might think, it doesn’t make sense to run out and buy the most powerful unit you can find. You could wind up spending much more than you need to. Upgrading to the highest efficiency you can afford, however, is a good investment. In very hot climates you need an efficiency rating of 10, but 9 will do in milder climates. To calculate the number of BTUs you need, measure the room you’re cooling and multiply by 35. A room that is 12 x 12, or 144 square feet, for instance, needs a unit with a capacity of around 5,000 BTUs to keep it cool. If you’ve got a shady window to install the unit, you can lower that number by 10 percent. For a sunny window, add 10 percent. If it’s in the kitchen, add 4,000 BTUs.

And if it’s a room used by more than two people during cooling hours, add 600 BTUs per person.how big should my air conditioning unit be Plugging in Your Air Conditionercarrier hvac parts supplies Most room air conditioners can be plugged into a standard 110V 15- or 20-amp circuit as long as it’s not shared with any other major appliance. ac unit american standardLarger 7.5-amp units need their own dedicated circuit. Make sure to measure the window you’re installing in before you buy. While it should come with expandable filler panels, you’ll need weather stripping and tape to seal the unit to the window and keep heat from leaking in. Have some spare lumber and screws handy in case you need to build up the window frame or sill to accommodate the unit.

Getting Help with Installation Most importantly, have a friend help you. Even small air conditioners are heavier than they look and you don’t want to drop the unit out the window.8,500-10,000 BTU A/Cs with a >=23" Installation Width? July 15, 2006   Subscribe Please help me iron out two weird quirks relating to the purchase of an air conditioner, says the Chicago MeFite looking at a 104-degree heat index coming down the pike. (And even if you don't have an answer, check out two simple corollary queries you might be able to help me with at the end.) I have a 500 square foot studio apartment, which means about 10,000 BTUs. I was all set to buy a particular model until I learned of two problems: the three windows in my main living area are just narrow enough to screw me, and the window in the kitchen/dining area is not only nowhere near an electrical outlet, it's far enough away that even an industrial extension cord (you shouldn't use normal extension cords with A/Cs) couldn't reach

, and even if it did, would be prime tripping material. And the landlord's electrician advises me that there's no wiring anywhere near the window in question, meaning a new outlet can't be installed without gutting a good part of my apartment's drywall. I'd ideally like to see if I can find a good, reliable air conditioner that nevertheless fits the physical requirements I need to fit it into one of my living-area windows. The window I need to put it in looks like this: The first "frame" of the window is 23 inches wide. The next step in measures 22 inches. The width of the screen window, when opened, is 19-20 inches. Essentially, this means that I need an air conditioner that installs in a 23-inch window, and is physically no more than 19 inches wide. The physical width of an air conditioner is usually discoverable online, but its installation width is often only in the manual. Amazon has quite a few A/C manuals, but not a comprehensive selection. A couple of quick notes: The installation width is not the same as the physical width of the unit;

many air conditioners have a minimum installation width of 24". This will not fit -- unfortunately, that extra inch does screw things up. I know this from experience with a recently purchased twin window fan.) If decreased BTUs will decrease the size, I'm open to suggestions. I don't think anything below 8,000 BTUs would adequately cool the space, and I'm not wild about decreasing the BTUs, but, if that's absolutely the only solution ... I suppose I'm open. I'm aware of casement air conditioners and portable air conditioners, but they increase the cost significantly from all research. They are a fallback option. I'm not willing to put a "normal" air conditioner on its side. I've heard of people doing it and shoring it up with plywood, but my understanding is that not only is it physically unsafe, but it can screw up the way the unit both works and drains. Now for those corollary queries. Even if you can't help with the specific question above, I'd appreciate (a) casement air conditioner recommendations (with prices and/or links, if you have them handy), and also, (b) the answer to this question: for MeFi apartment dwellers, how do you guys handle storing window air conditioners in cooler weather?

Do you leave them in the window with covers around them, or do you store them somewhere in your place (and if so, how do you keep them from getting in the way?(Crammed a lot into this post, didn't I?!?)What are the specs for a Trane air conditioning unit? The 13 SEER Trane air conditioner is the cheapest unit that is manufactured by Trane and comes in seven models that are all 29 inches tall, range between 25.5 to 29 inches wide, and are between 23.5 and 28.5 inches deep. The cooling capacities range between 18,000 and 60,000 BTUs. The model XR14 16 SEER air conditioning unit is the most moderately priced unit manufactured by Trane. The XR14 comes in nine different models that have cooling capacities between 17,000 and 56,000 BTUs per hour. The units are all similarly sized, ranging in height from 29 to 37 inches, width from 29 to 37 inches, and depth from 26 to 34 inches. The XR14 units also have a nominal tons measurement from 1.5 to 5 for the larger ones. The most expensive air conditioner sold by Trane is the XV20i variable-speed model.

There are four different models of the unit that fall between 2 and 5 nominal tons. The XV20i models are larger than the less expensive models at between 48 and 54 inches tall, 33 to 37 inches wide, and 30 to 34 inches deep. All of the Trane air conditioners are ENERGY STAR certified, except for the XB300 13 SEER unit. A Trane air conditioner is an area temperature-control unit featuring the Trane brand, which is owned by Ingersoll Rand. Trane offers over a dozen self-con... What types of air conditioning systems does Trane offer? The XV20i Variable Speed, the XL16i and the XB16 are some air conditioning models by Trane. The XV20i AC unit is one of the most efficient air conditioners... Which models of Trane air conditioning systems have been recalled? In June 2014, Trane voluntarily recalled 37 models of the Trane XB300 and American Standard Silver SI outdoor air conditioning systems, including units wit... What are some TV networks that air unsolved crime shows?